A hickey is a bruise, and like all bruises, there’s no instant fix. Most hickeys fade on their own in 3 days to 2 weeks, depending on how much blood pooled under the skin. You can speed things up slightly and reduce visibility, but the honest truth is that concealing it will do more in the short term than any removal technique.
What a Hickey Actually Is
When someone sucks or bites your skin hard enough, the pressure breaks tiny blood vessels called capillaries just below the surface. Those vessels release small spots of blood into the surrounding tissue. A cluster of these spots forms the dark, round mark you see. It’s the same process that creates any bruise, just caused by suction instead of impact.
The color changes over time as your body reabsorbs that trapped blood. A fresh hickey looks red or dark purple. Over the next several days, it shifts to blue, then greenish-yellow, then fades completely. The darker and larger it is, the longer it takes to disappear.
Why Most Home Remedies Don’t Work
The internet is full of hickey hacks, and dermatologists have weighed in on the most popular ones. The consensus is blunt: most of them are useless or make things worse.
The toothbrush method (rubbing bristles against the hickey to “break up” the blood) scrapes the skin’s surface without reaching the pooled blood underneath. It’s more likely to irritate the surrounding skin than improve anything. The pen cap or lipstick lid technique, where you press a cylindrical object into the bruise and twist, carries the same problem. Dermatologist Dr. Shah has noted there’s no evidence these approaches break up a bruise or speed healing. They can further traumatize the area and actually make the hickey darker or larger.
What Can Help (a Little)
No technique will erase a hickey overnight, but a few approaches have some basis in how bruises heal.
Cold in the First Few Minutes
If the hickey just happened, applying something cold can provide minor relief from any irritation or swelling. A chilled spoon from the freezer, held against the spot for about 10 minutes, is one simple option. But don’t expect dramatic results. Cleveland Clinic dermatologist Dr. Vij puts it plainly: the trauma to your skin from a hickey is minimal enough that cold won’t do much good. This isn’t the same as icing a deep bruise on your shin. If more than a few minutes have passed since you got the hickey, skip the ice entirely.
Topical Arnica
Arnica is a plant extract that has the strongest evidence behind it for bruise recovery. In a controlled trial, a topical 20% arnica gel helped laser-induced bruises resolve faster than a placebo. Multiple studies on post-surgical swelling and bruising have also found arnica reduces both. You can find arnica gel or cream at most pharmacies. Apply it to the hickey a few times a day. It won’t perform miracles, but it’s the one home remedy with clinical data supporting faster bruise resolution.
One important note: arnica is for topical use only. Ingesting it can actually dilate blood vessels and increase capillary permeability, which is the opposite of what you want.
Gentle Warmth After 48 Hours
Once a bruise is a couple of days old, warmth can help your body clear the trapped blood faster. A warm washcloth held against the area for 10 to 15 minutes increases circulation to the spot, which helps your body’s cleanup crew do its job. This is standard bruise care, not specific to hickeys, but it applies.
Concealing a Hickey Right Now
Since nothing removes a hickey on demand, covering it up is the most effective short-term solution. A color-correcting concealer works well. For a purple or blue hickey, use a yellow or orange-toned corrector first, then layer your regular skin-tone concealer over it. Set it with translucent powder so it doesn’t transfer onto clothing.
Turtlenecks, scarves, collared shirts, and strategically placed hair all work for obvious reasons. A bandage with a casual explanation (cat scratch, curling iron burn) is a time-honored if not entirely convincing backup plan.
How Long It Will Last
Most hickeys disappear within 3 days to 2 weeks. Smaller, lighter ones on people with faster healing tend to be gone in under a week. Larger, darker hickeys on areas with thinner skin (like the neck) can linger closer to two weeks. People who bruise easily due to genetics, medications like blood thinners, or certain supplements like fish oil may notice hickeys last longer and appear more vivid.
If a bruise of any kind lasts longer than two weeks, feels unusually painful, develops a hard lump underneath, or you find yourself bruising frequently without explanation, that’s worth a conversation with a doctor. Those patterns can signal issues with blood clotting or other underlying conditions that have nothing to do with the hickey itself.