To fade a love bite (hickey), use cold compresses (ice pack, cold spoon) immediately to reduce swelling, then switch to warm compresses after a couple of days to increase blood flow and help break down the bruise; you can also gently massage the area, apply Arnica cream or Vitamin K cream, or use concealer to cover it up while it heals naturally over one to two weeks.
8 Simple Ways To Get Rid of a Hickey Fast
How Long Do Hickeys Last? Like other bruises, hickeys can take anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks to go away. Hickeys are superficial bruises, which means they are on the surface of your skin. These types of bruises usually don't take as long to heal as deeper bruises like black eyes.
Apply warm compresses
Your best bet is to treat your hickey with good old-fashioned warm compresses. “Warm compresses can help open up your body's blood vessels and break down the stain, taking away the red blood cells that have spilled out from the blood vessels and into your skin,” he explains.
Beyond pulse dye laser, Zeichner says that topical creams like Arnica or Vitamin K are your best bet for a speedy recovery. Plus, Zeichner says if the skin barrier is disrupted and the hickey becomes dry or itchy, you can also apply Vaseline petroleum jelly to protect the skin from infection and keep the wound clean.
A fresh hickey has red or purple tones, which you can color correct with a green or yellow color correcting cream. Then, go in with a concealer that matches or is one shade lighter than your skin tone. Set the makeup with powder.
Lip balm cap
Using the cap from a tube of lip balm to massage the skin is yet another suggestion that pops up all over Google. As with the massage techniques listed above, this won't “break apart” the hickey either.
Hickeys start out red because of the intact red blood cells in the bruise loaded with hemoglobin underneath the skin. After a few days, the red blood cells begin to break down, and shades of blue and purple appear. You may even see some shades of brown as your body breaks down the red blood cells (Jeney, 2013).
A hickey, often referred to as a love bite in British English and specialised use, is a bruise or bruise-like mark caused by biting or sucking the skin of a person, usually on their neck, arm, or earlobe.
Unfortunately, once they develop, there's no easy answer for getting rid of them quickly. Cold compresses applied before a bruise forms is your best bet for reducing the size of a hickey. Other treatments like using topical vitamin K or arnica creams may help.
Some people call the act of giving a hickey as “marking” a partner.
While the healing process may take up to 2 weeks, here are a few tips that will help any bruise to the skin, including hickies: Put an ice or cold pack on it right away to reduce pain and swelling. Repeat the cold treatment several times a day for 10 to 20 minutes each session.
For best results, apply a cold compress as soon as possible, or within the first 12 hours of getting the hickey. Hot packs and massage: When 48 hours have passed since you got a hickey, hot compresses can be applied to speed healing. Use a clean cloth soaked in warm water or a hot water bottle on the hickey.
Neutralize the Discoloration
Use a green color corrector for red undertones or a peach corrector for purple tones. Lightly dab it on the hickey and blend out the edges to balance the skin tone before applying foundation.
Dabbing Toothpaste on Your Hickey
Putting a glob of toothpaste on your love bite isn't going to do it any good. In fact, you might irritate the skin further.
The best ointments for bruises often contain Arnica, an herb known to reduce inflammation, or Vitamin K, which aids in blood clotting and healing, with creams providing good moisturization. Other helpful remedies include Bromelain (from pineapple), Aloe Vera, and topical Vitamin C to soothe and speed up the bruise-healing process, alongside immediate RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) therapy.