Getting Rid Of Unsightly Hickeys Just Got Easier

Here's a question: when was the last time you got a hickey? We know, they're so high school, right? Obviously, we know them as those little purple sucker bites you get after a hot makeout sesh, but what exactly is a hickey? More importantly, what's the point of giving one? Hickeys are formed by breaking the small blood vessels in your neck known as capillaries, Healthline explains. As for their purpose, people use hickeys as a way of marking their territory — it portrays to others that your person is taken. 

When your partner gets a little too frisky and starts sucking on your neck, they disrupt those capillaries, causing them to leak blood that gets trapped under your skin. This creates that purple bruise we all know and love. Fortunately, they only last a week or two, just like any other bruise, except you may want to cover up this one. Still, the best part is that there are easy ways to get rid of them.

Yes, aloe vera helps soothe sunburns, but it also has healing properties that can reduce the look and feel of that stubborn hickey. The plant possesses anti-inflammatory chemical compounds, which work to bring down the swelling, per Penn Medicine. Additionally, aloe vera can help relieve any pain you might be feeling (depending on how hot that makeout sesh really was). You can also get rid of hickeys using a lotion that contains vitamin C, which can repair broken skin tissue surrounding the broken blood vessels, according to research published in the scientific journal Antioxidants.

As the broken skin tissue regenerates, it will help strengthen those blood vessels, making it easier for your hickey to properly heal and disappear. Now, keep in mind neither of these solutions will make the hickey disappear overnight. It's a slow process, but the aloe vera and vitamin C can bring you some comfort until the bruise is completely gone.

If you ever injured yourself as a child — whether you twisted your ankle in soccer or fell off your bike — your parents probably rushed to get a cold compress to reduce the swelling. Well, besides decreasing swelling, cold compresses can reduce the amount of blood leakage from those capillaries we talked about earlier. The cold temperature makes the blood vessels constrict, which puts a halt to that leakage, Lecom Health explains. The quicker you're able to apply the compress, the better. You'll be surprised how quickly the size of the hickey goes down. 

However, using a cold compress on its own can't heal those broken blood vessels, which is where the warm compress comes in. Hot temperatures help to get the blood circulation back to its normal state, says Vinmec; however, it's important to wait a couple of days after applying the cold compress to switch to the warm one. If you alternate too soon, you risk bleeding and bruising, which may increase the size of the hickey. 

All that being said, if you aren't getting results with either of these methods, grab your trusty concealer and cover it up.