We do a lot of things in the heat of the moment, and giving or getting a hickey is one of the most common of these spontaneous acts of aggressive love. And although there’s no reason to dial 911 for advice on how to get rid of a hickey, it sure can take some time to heal and can be extremely embarrassing if it’s too serious or on a highly-visible spot.
A hickey is mild bruising of the skin that usually occurs when the soft tissue areas of the body are bitten or kissed-aggressively. A hickey is the result of external pressure being applied on the thinly-walled capillaries that line the lower portion of our skin. This pressure causes the capillaries to rupture and release blood cells into the surrounding cells. The subsequent blood clot that forms around the bitten area, is the hickey, or love bite. The ruptured capillaries and resultant blood that escapes in to the body, causes the formation of a bright purplish-red mark that will eventually turns dark brown or a bluish due to the lack of oxygen. A kiss mark can last for anything from a few days to a fortnight, depending on the severity with which one was bitten. And since you might have a job interview, client meeting or relatives to meet in that time, you probably want to try out some of these effective and economical home remedies to get rid of a hickey.
Symptoms
The only true symptom of a hickey is the mark that remains at the point of contact, and is in no way a reason to be alarmed.
Causes
There are only a few obvious reasons that could cause one to get a hickey:
- Affection: Considered to be a symbol of affection, most people wear hickeys with pride. However, the long term effects that a love bite can have on the skin are unknown.
- Diabetes: For those who are diabetic but don’t know it yet, a hickey can cause unpredictable blood reactions that can permanently damage the skin.
- Rupturing: A lot of people don’t know this, but you can also get a hickey if you get mildly injured on your neck.
How to Remove a Hickey with Home Remedies
1. Rubbing Alcohol
Rubbing alcohol has a very soothing and cooling effect, which relieves the blood clot caused by a hickey. Rubbing alcohol is also a great disinfectant. Be warned that this home remedy will only work is used within the first few hours of getting a hickey. Also, keep some moisturizing lotion handy because alcohol is notorious for drying up the skin.
2. Banana Peel
Banana peelings are also said to have a very soothing effect, enough to help you get rid of that love mark. All have to do is apply the peels in the affected part of your skin for about 10-15 minutes, with the inside part touching your skin.
3. Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a great home remedy for treating a hickey because it helps with skin repair. The best source of vitamin C is oranges, the fresh ones.
4. Cocoa Butter
Cocoa butter, which is a great skin moisturizer, is also great if you’re looking for an overnight hickey remover. It causes the skin to dry skin and flake, thereby speeding up the healing process considerably.
5. Tea Bag
Warm or just used tea bags are an effective way to get rid of a hickey bruise on your forehead as it acts as a warm compress for your skin. The warmth of the tea bag acts as a hot compressor, while the healing effects of the tea make sure that your dead skin cells heal fast.
6. Tuna
This one might come as quite the surprise, but tuna oil acts as a great home remedy for a hickey because of its rich omega and vitamin E content, which is an essential component for skin regeneration. Leaving tuna oil on your skin for about 10 minutes for a few days is said to completely remove all signs of a hickey.
7. Coin
Not something that you should consume, but you can use a coin as a scraper to literally scratch off the damaged skin cells. You’ll need to stretch your skin with two fingers and then scrape away and outwards from the center of your hickey. The basic idea is that this “scraping” will break down the blood clot and will spread it to the tissue surrounding it.
8. Toothpaste
Toothpaste is another surprise on the list of home remedies for hickeys. The fluoride in toothpaste is said to increase blood flow to and from a hickey, ensuring that the blood clot dissipates much faster than it normally would. It might cause a slight tingling feeling, but that’s just the paste doing its work.
9. Toothbrush
If you don’t want to use toothpaste on your face, A toothbrush can also serve you well in removing love marks. It works just like the coin remedy but can be pretty painful, though it’ll help you get rid of the hickey soon.
10. Massaging
Nothing works out a hickey better than a good old-fashioned massage. Working on a similar concept to the coin remedy, massaging a hickey will work to break down the blood clot. It’s best that you prep the affected area with a warm compress before you begin, for best results.
11. Vitamin K Cream
Vitamin K is also another great home remedy to get rid of a hickey bruise on the lip. Use it in a commercially available cream form for best results because the cream will helps the body to better absorb the blood clot that is superficially on top of the skin. Vitamin K is great if you’re looking for a way to instantly reduce discoloration.
12. Wait it out
A hickey is a fairly harmless injury, if you could even call it one. And if you’re fine with leaving it exposed for a couple of days and not looking for an overnight solution, nothing will heal a hickey bruise better and more naturally than time itself. And it typically heals completely in less than a fortnight.
13. Ice
Ice is the first thing you should be grabbing for when you get a hickey. Applying ice wrapped in a towel onto a fresh love bite will literally freeze the bruise in place, so that the mark doesn’t expand.
14. Comb
Using a comb on a hickey is almost the same as massaging it. In fact, it works best along with a massage. Use the teeth of the comb to disperse the blood clot.
15. Tube Press
Something you could probably learn from your grandmother. All you need to is a tube like device with a domed end that you will use to push the leaking blood back under the skin, by pressing it moderately onto the hickey.
16. Frozen Spoon
If ice is too much for you, you can achieve a similar effect with a frozen spoon, which will eventually get back to room temperature over time.
17. Arnica Salve
Arnica Salve is an ointment made from the Arnica plant that helps reduce bruising and swelling.
18. Aspirin
Aspirin can cure more than just headaches, crush aspirin and form it into a paste and apply on your hickey. It will reduce the intensity of the blood clot.
19. Preparation H
Originally made as an anti-inflammatory for puffy eyes, preparation H also works on hickeys by restricting blood vessels.
20. Chinese Egg Rolling
No, it’s not what you’re thinking! An old Chinese tradition says that you should roll a boiled egg on the area that has been bitten, as it works to bring down the swelling.