Ever been lost in the moment and once reality hits you realize you have a souvenir?
Going out with a guy, things start to heat up, and then your partner sucks on your neck a little too hard and shit! You now have a mark that you cannot seem to cover!
Well, we have all been there. So, don’t panic.
A hickey or as some people may call it a love bite, is merely a bruise that comes from kissing or sucking too hard on the skin. The broken capillaries form a pool of blood around the area causing the skin to turn purple or reddish.
While this mark is pleasurable to some, it may seem embarrassing to others and can bring humiliation if exposed in public. Although it is non-hurting and usually disappears within a week, some of you might want to get rid of it immediately to avoid the trouble of gruesome explanations.
So, to help you skip those unnecessary glares, stares, giggles, and excuses, here are some easy feats to get rid of those vampire bites fast.
Contents
Method 1: Cold Compress
Ice can freeze our blood vessels. So when you apply this method, by breaking blood clots and freezing blood vessels, it will minimize the size of a hickey. It immediately reduces swelling, too.
- Wrap a few ice cubes in a towel to make an ice compress.
- Apply it on the spot where you have the hickey. Do not apply it for too long though. If you feel an unbearable cold feeling, take it off immediately.
Method 2: Frozen Spoon
This amazing spoon hack offers a complete solution when it’s used in combination with the cold compress method.
- Place a steel spoon in the freezer for a few minutes.
- Apply it on a hickey. Ensure the spoon covers the whole affected area. Otherwise, you will be left with an oddly shaped hickey.
Method 3: Toothbrush/Hairbrush
Brushing the affected area helps stimulate blood circulation. A new toothbrush is preferred for this method.
- Brush the hickey and the area around it using a stiff-bristled toothbrush or hairbrush. Avoid pressing too hard while brushing because it might make the hickey much worse.
- Wait about 15 minutes to see the results. The swelling and redness will spread, but it will become a lot less evident after 15 minutes.
- Apply a cold compress to the area.
- Repeat the procedure if necessary.
Method 4: Coin and Battery
Coin scrapping is a painful hickey removal method, but it can be useful. This method pushes the blood clot out of the surface skin, making it look like a scrape mark. Also, it helps the hickey appear much less conspicuous.
Use a coin on the hickey
- Stretch the affected skin until it seems flat. Make sure to press the skin quite hard, but be careful not to injure the skin or hurt yourself.
- Use a large coin and scrape the skin outward from the hickey.
Rub a battery on the hickey
- Place the flat end of an AA battery directly on the hickey.
- Rub it over the skin for 10 minutes.
- You can now notice a significant change in the color of the hickey.
The idea here is to manually break down blood clots and spread the blood out to be reabsorbed back into the body faster.
Method 5: Peppermint Essential Oil
Peppermint essential oil contains menthol. It helps remove a hickey by healing the broken capillaries and improving circulation to dissipate the accumulated blood from the affected area.
Things you'll need:
- Peppermint essential oil
- Cotton Ball
Massage peppermint essential oil on the hickey
- Put a couple of drops of peppermint essential oil on a cotton ball.
- Gently massage the affected area with it.
You should feel a minor stinging sensation, which should go away in a couple of minutes. If the stinging sensation seems a bit too uncomfortable, you can dilute the essential oil with a carrier oil, such as olive oil.
If you cannot get hold of peppermint essential oil, you can use Vicks Vaporub or even some peppermint toothpaste instead.
Tips to get rid of a hickey
- In case of emergency, use the camouflage technique to hide the bruise. You can use concealer or other cosmetics to fade the mark.
- Vitamin K has natural coagulation properties and thus creams with vitamin K can be used on the affected area twice or thrice a day for removing marks.
- Refrain from applying too much pressure on the hickey as this may cause a permanent mark on your skin.
- Avoid any instant hickey cures as blood clotting is a natural process. So allow the clot to heal naturally.
- Using a banana peel is also an effective way for removing marks of hickey as banana skin had cooling properties that soothe the bruise.