As we mentioned earlier, bruises can go through color stages — red, purple, blue, even yellow — and color correcting neutralizes them:
8 Simple Ways To Get Rid of a Hickey Fast
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.
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.
“Any abrasive treatment of the skin like scrubbing with toothpaste or trying to scratch off the discoloration would be too superficial to impact the hickey. And it could even make the problem more apparent with scratches, bleeding, additional discoloration and scar formation.”
According to makeup artist Ivy Boyd, you want to use a color corrector and concealer to hide a hickey. A fresh hickey has red and/or purple undertones, so apply a green corrector to red areas and a yellow corrector to purple areas. Then, use a concealer that matches your skin tone and set with powder.
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.
There's no proven method to make a hickey disappear, but cool compresses, arnica cream, and creams with vitamin K may help it fade faster. A hickey will fade over time, but it can take up to 2 weeks for it to completely disappear.
Tell them it's a mark leftover from touching something hot.
These are especially good excuses for when you have a hickey on your neck. “I was straightening my hair and burned my neck with the flat iron.” “I was waxing and made the wax way too hot.” “I left a heating pad on for too long and it actually left a mark.”
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.
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.
First make sure your bruise is free of cuts, nicks, and stitches. Then choose a hypoallergenic concealer with a yellow base; the hue offsets blue discoloration. But if your bruise is red, you'll want to use a green concealer. If your bruise is brown, you'll want to use white concealer.
With a centuries-long history as a natural pain reliever, Arnica montana can also help relieve the symptoms of bruises and may heal bruises faster. When used topically, arnica cream can help restore the color of bruises and reduce pain and inflammation.
Blood leaks into tissues under the skin and causes the black-and-blue colour. As bruises (contusions) heal, they often turn colours, including purplish black, reddish blue, or yellowish green. They usually heal within 2 to 4 weeks.
Dab on a color corrector based on the color of your hickey (red hickey = green concealer, purple hickey = yellow/peach concealer, yellow or green hickey = purple or red concealer). Don't worry about completely blending this into your skin—you'll fix this in the next step. Cover it up with a full-coverage concealer.
Home remedies for getting rid of a bruise include ice, arnica, vitamin K creams, and eating foods that contain bromelain, such as pineapple. Bruising is a typical response to an injury. Bruises occur when tiny blood vessels become damaged, leaving behind blood trapped beneath the skin.
While you can't make a bruise vanish instantly, you can take steps to help it heal faster and reduce discomfort. Try these tips: Rest. Give the affected area a break.
How to Get Rid of a Hickey
A simple and effective hack to reduce the appearance of bruises is to apply toothpaste on the area overnight and put a bandage over it to prevent it from getting on your clothes. Toothpaste has the ability to break up clots and increase blood flow to the area, thereby working its magic to remove the discolouration.