Hickeys: What They Are, How to Make, Hide, and Speed Up Healing
Publicado: 2025-04-24 15:36:05
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Have you ever found an irritated purple mark on your neck after a particularly exciting date? We've all been there, and we've all been thinking, 'What is this?', 'When did it happen?', 'How long is this going to be here?' or 'How am I going to get rid of this?'
The truth is that hickeys are no big deal. There's no reason to shame someone for having a hickey – like all forms of consensual sexual behavior, you don't need to justify someone kissing your neck – but the paradox of the hickey is that it takes something private and creates a public. Whether your goal is to avoid hickeys entirely or simply give the best hickeys possible, we've gathered everything you need to know about them below.
What is a hickey anyway?
Hickeys are basically just broken blood vessels caused by sucking, which results in a bruise. While a little biting or hard kissing can go a long way toward getting a hickey, sucking is usually the culprit here, as it's more likely to burst the tiny capillaries in your skin.
It doesn't take long to get a hickey, 20-30 seconds of targeted suction can do the trick, and they usually come on quickly too. You might be surprised to walk out of a date to see a visible hickey five to 10 minutes later! Hickeys are also more likely to occur on softer, more sensitive skin like the neck, shoulders, and chest, although technically you can get a hickey anywhere.
How to identify a hickey?
What does a hickey look like, questions? Usually after getting a hickey, the blood under the skin turns dark red at first. Once it dries, though, it takes on a darker purple or brown color, creating the marks we know and love (or hate, whatever). As the hickey begins to heal, it can take on a yellowish color typical of most bruises.
As far as size goes, it's probably not a surprise that most hickeys are the size and shape of their mouths. Meaning? They are ovular and not necessarily large. Sometimes you can get more than one hickey at a time. This can give you the appearance of having a bigger hickey on your neck, for example, as the 'love bites' are likely to be clustered together.
How long can they last?
Surprisingly, there is little research done on hickeys, but the general consensus is that they rarely last longer than two weeks, with many hickeys disappearing in just a few days. How long the mark stays on a person depends on the types of hickeys in question (read: the level of harshness of suction involved) and the health of the person affected. The more intense the hickey, the longer it will appear, while the healthier the person is (think: well hydrated, good circulation, enough iron), the shorter the time of the hickey on the skin.
How to give someone a hickey
Giving someone a hickey is really quite simple. After first asking if your partner is comfortable receiving a souvenir mark - particularly visible - warm the neck or the intended location of the hickey. Then place your lips against the skin and form an “O” with your mouth. Breathe and suck (You should create a bit of a vacuum effect.)
Teeth aren't needed to cause a hickey - just suction will do that - but you can mix in a little biting and nibbling here if your partner is interested in that. After about 20 to 30 seconds of uninterrupted sucking, you are likely to see visible hickey results within the next few minutes.
What if your partner gets a hickey but prefers it not be in a super visible place? As mentioned earlier, the thinnest sections of skin are the best candidates for a hickey and exist on more than just the neck. Other candidates for the hickey site can include around the collarbone, on the inner thigh, on the stomach, or even on the skin in the crook of the elbow. The back of the neck may also involve less cover-up work for people with longer hair.
How to get rid of a hickey
Here's the bad news. You cannot “get rid” of a hickey, as there is no real cure for them. But if you're in a hurry for it to go away there are a few things you can do to speed up the healing process. The best ways to cover up a hickey are here:
1. Use aloe vera and vitamins E and C.
Once you get a hickey, you can start applying lotion with aloe vera and vitamin E to the bruise. This will help the broken capillaries heal a little faster, and the anti-inflammatory aloe vera can also help with swelling. Creams containing vitamin C can also help you heal the hickey faster – just make sure you have balanced expectations for it. No topical solution will get rid of a hickey overnight, but it can help with the overall healing process.
2. Make a cold compress.
You can put ice (wrapped in a paper towel) on the hickey on the first day. A packet of frozen peas is also great for this, and a cold spoon you've put in the freezer can work too. You should apply it directly to the hickey. Do this for about 10 minutes, give your hickey an equal length break and reapply the cold compress. You can do this throughout the day to decrease blood flow to the area, and moving the compress will also help break up clotted blood.
3. Try switching to a warm compress.
If you've had the hickey for two days, it's time to try a hot compress. Applying heat to the hickey will increase blood flow, which at this point can really help. (Note: if it's before 48 hours, don't do this - it can really increase the hickey if you do this early on, when the blood vessels are still healing.)
4. Keep your hands away from the hickey.
In addition to applying heat or ice, try leaving the hickey alone. Never shave, massage too much or squeeze the hickey. This will only irritate the spot further and increase the lifespan of the hickey, but it can also be seriously harmful and even lead to scarring.
5. When all else fails, cover it up.
We are sure that high collars should not be seen as a last option as they are a guaranteed solution to hide hickeys. You can also simply apply a concealer that matches or is a little lighter than your skin tone and ideally contains color correcting properties.
