How to Get Rid of a Hickey: 10 Ways

Hickeys have a special talent: they show up uninvited, right where everyone can see them, and they always seem to appear
the day before something important. The good news? A hickey is usually harmless. The bad news? It’s basically a bruise,
which means you can’t “delete” it instantly like a bad selfie.

Still, you can make a hickey fade faster (or at least look less dramatic) by treating it the way you’d treat any
bruise: reduce swelling early, then encourage the body to clear the pooled blood over the next few days. Below are 10
practical, dermatologist-approved-ish approaches, plus what to avoid so you don’t turn a small mark into a whole situation.

What a hickey actually is (and why it looks so loud)

A hickey is a superficial bruise caused by small blood vessels (capillaries) breaking under the skin. That leaked blood
gets trapped in the tissue, and your body slowly reabsorbs it. As it breaks down, the color changesoften from red/purple
to blue/green, then yellow-brown before it disappears.

How long do hickeys last?

Most hickeys fade in about 7–14 days, depending on your skin, the size/depth of the bruise, and whether you accidentally
keep irritating it (scratching, rubbing, or “testing” if it’s still there every hourrelatable, but not helpful).

How to get rid of a hickey: 10 ways that actually help

Think of this as a two-phase plan. In the first 24–48 hours, your goal is to limit swelling and additional bleeding.
After that, your goal is to increase circulation so your body can clear the bruise faster.

1) Use a cold compress ASAP (first 24 hours is best)

Cold narrows blood vessels, which can reduce swelling and slow the spread of discoloration. Wrap an ice pack (or a bag of
frozen peas) in a thin towel and apply it for 10–20 minutes at a time. Repeat a few times throughout the day.

Important: Don’t put ice directly on skin, and don’t “camp out” with an ice pack for an hour straight. Too
much cold can irritate or damage skinespecially on the neck.

2) Try gentle, steady pressure (but skip the aggressive rubbing)

In the very early stage (when it’s fresh), gentle pressure can sometimes limit how much blood spreads under the skin.
Think “lightly pressing” for short periods, not scraping or grinding.

If you’ve heard “rub it with a coin” or “scrub it with a comb,” that’s not a hackit’s a fast track to skin irritation,
broken capillaries, and an angrier-looking bruise.

3) Keep the area calm: no picking, no friction, no heat-yanking scarves

A sneaky way hickeys get worse is constant friction. Tight collars, rough fabric, backpack straps, necklaces, and even
repeated touching can prolong healing. If it’s on your neck, go easy with anything that rubs the spot.

4) Elevate when you can (especially if it’s not on your neck)

Elevation helps reduce pooling of fluid and can lessen swellingthis matters more for bruises on arms/legs than for a
typical neck hickey, but it still helps to avoid lying directly on the area. Sleeping with your head slightly elevated
may reduce morning puffiness around a neck bruise.

5) Switch to warm compresses after 24–48 hours

Once the bruise has “set” (usually after the first day or two), warmth helps increase circulation. Better circulation
helps your body break down and reabsorb the trapped blood.

Use a warm (not hot) washcloth for 5–10 minutes, one to three times daily. If you’re the “I’ll just microwave a towel
until it’s lava” type, please don’tneck skin is sensitive, and burns are not an upgrade.

6) Massage lightly after the first couple of days (if it doesn’t hurt)

Very gentle massage around (not aggressively on) the bruise can support circulation. The goal is “encourage movement,”
not “erase the mark by force.” Use clean hands and a little moisturizer so you’re not dragging the skin.

If it’s painful, swollen, or you notice the bruise expanding quickly, skip massage and stick to conservative care.

7) Consider arnica gel (some evidence, low drama)

Arnica montana is a common ingredient in bruise gels. Evidence is mixed, but some studies suggest it may help bruises
resolve a bit faster. If you try it, do a small patch test firstsome people get irritation.

Apply as directed on the label. More is not better; it’s just stickier.

8) Try a vitamin K cream (may help for some bruises)

Vitamin K creams are often marketed for bruising. Research suggests topical vitamin K may help reduce the severity of
bruising in certain settings, though results vary. If you use one, keep expectations realistic: it may speed fading, not
produce instant disappearance.

Again: patch test first, and avoid applying to broken/irritated skin.

9) Support your skin barrier: aloe or a plain moisturizer

Aloe vera and simple moisturizers won’t magically vacuum the bruise out of your skinbut they can reduce dryness and
irritation, especially if you’ve been using compresses or accidentally rubbing the area. Calm skin tends to look better
while healing.

Choose fragrance-free if you’re sensitive. If it stings, stop.

10) If you need it to look better now: color-correcting + concealer

This doesn’t remove a hickey, but it can make it much less noticeable. The trick is to neutralize the color first, then
conceal:

• Purple/blue: use a peach or orange corrector (lighter peach for fair skin, deeper orange for deeper skin tones).
• Red: a tiny bit of green corrector helps (use a light hand).
• Then: add concealer that matches your skin tone, and set lightly with powder so it doesn’t slide.

If makeup isn’t your thing, a high-collar shirt, scarf, or hairstyle change can helpjust avoid anything so tight it
irritates the skin and slows healing.

What NOT to do (unless you want it to last longer)

• No toothpaste: it can irritate skin and won’t “draw out” a bruise.
• No coin/comb scraping: friction can break more capillaries and worsen discoloration.
• No super-hot compress on day one: early heat may increase bleeding under the skin.
• No mystery essential oils straight on skin: many can cause irritation or burns if undiluted.
• No raw meat: it’s an infection risk and not effective (movies lied to us).

When a “hickey” might be something else

Most of the time, it’s just a bruise. But consider getting medical advice if:

• It’s extremely painful, very swollen, or you have numbness/tingling nearby.
• You bruise very easily, get frequent unexplained bruises, or the mark doesn’t improve over 2 weeks.
• You’re on medication that affects clotting (or have a bleeding/clotting disorder).
• The skin looks infected (increasing warmth, pus, fever, worsening redness spreading beyond the bruise).

How to prevent future hickeys (quick, respectful, and practical)

Prevention is mostly about communication and boundaries. If you don’t want visible marks, say so clearly. And if you’re
prone to bruising, be extra cautioussome people mark easily with minimal pressure.

Also: avoid using aspirin “just in case” before an event (it can increase bleeding for some people). If you need pain
relief, acetaminophen is often considered easier on bruising than NSAIDs, but always follow label directions and check
with a trusted adult/clinician if you have medical conditions or take other meds.

Experiences and lessons learned (the real-world hickey playbook)

People usually try to handle a hickey in one of two moods: (1) calm and practical, or (2) frantic and convinced that
rubbing it “just a little harder” will solve everything. The calm approach winsalmost every time.

A common experience is noticing the mark late. Someone catches it in the mirror while brushing their teeth,
freezes, and immediately starts Googling “how to get rid of a hickey fast” like the internet is going to send a tiny
ambulance of concealer to their house. In that moment, the best move is boring: grab something cold, wrap it, and apply
it for 10–15 minutes. People who do this early often report the bruise stays smaller and less intense than expected.

The next-day experience is also predictable: the bruise looks darker in the morning, and panic levels rise. This is
normalbruises often look worse before they look better. Many people think they “made it worse overnight,” when really
the blood under the skin is just settling and the color is shifting. The practical fix here is consistency: cold compress
again, minimize friction, and stop poking it every hour to see if it has magically vanished.

Around day two or three, people tend to split into two camps: the “warm compress converts” and the “DIY
chaos agents.” Warm compress users often describe the bruise starting to soften in color and edgesless sharply defined,
more like a fading watercolor blot. Meanwhile, the DIY chaos agents try toothpaste, vigorous brushing, or aggressive
massage. The result? Frequently a bright red, irritated patch on top of a bruiseso now it’s both a hickey and a rash,
which is like ordering extra embarrassment for free.

Another very real experience: discovering that makeup is basically wizardry when used correctly. People who
go straight to concealer sometimes get a grayish smear because they didn’t neutralize the color first. Once they learn
color-correcting (peach/orange for purple-blue, a tiny touch of green for redness), the “I can’t leave the house” feeling
often turns into “okay, this is manageable.” The biggest practical lesson is to set lightly with powder so it doesn’t
transferespecially if the mark is on the neck where collars and hair can rub.

By day five to seven, many people notice the bruise turning greenish or yellowish and assume something is
wrong. That color shift is actually a sign it’s healing. This is when patience pays off: keep the skin calm, continue
warm compresses once or twice daily if you like, and moisturize so the area doesn’t look dry or irritated. People often
say the hickey becomes easier to cover at this stage because the color is lighter and more diffuse.

The final lesson that comes up again and again is that the “best” remedy is a combo: cold early + warm later + do
nothing that makes it mad. Add a bruise gel like arnica or a vitamin K cream if your skin tolerates it, and use
makeup for time-sensitive situations. Most importantly, people learn that trying to erase it aggressively tends to backfire.
Treat it gently, and it fades on schedulelike a bad plot twist that eventually gets written out of the show.