A hickey, also known as a love bite, kiss mark or bug bite, is a type of bruise caused by kissing, biting of sucking the soft skin in the neck and arm area. When your skin is affected like that, capillaries are broken and blood is seeped out into the near tissue then blood clots are made and hickeys appear. At first, hickeys are red in color and then turn into purple or brown.

Hickeys fade out and disappear after about a week and not leave scar like other skin disorders.  Although hickeys don’t affect to health, it makes many people feel embarrassing when going out or at work. If you are afraid of this bug bite, here are 5 treatments on how to get rid of hickeys you need to know.

  1. Cold compress

Cold compress is a method can aid to constrict the broken capillaries and decrease bleeding. Moreover, it has ability to break blood clots apart. As a result, the blood will spread out and hickeys will disappear.

How to use:

  • Cover some ice cubes by a light cloth.
  • Use the wrap to press lightly in your skin area caught hickeys for about 15 minutes.
  • Repeat 3-4 times each day

Note: Don’t leave directly on your skin to avoid an ice burn.

  1. Peppermint

Peppermint possesses the stimulant effect which can help to improve the circulation of blood and heal the broken capillaries. Hence, this is an effective home remedy on how to get rid of hickeys.

How to use:

  • Apply some peppermint toothpaste on the affected skin area in several minutes. When applying, you might feel quite tingling, but this sensation will quickly disappear.
  • Use a warm washcloth to clean off the skin

Note: Only use the method once per day.

  1. Rubbing alcohol

If you have caught hickeys for several hours, alcohol is a useful solution on how to get rid of hickeys you should try. In alcohol, there are cooling, smoothing and disinfectant factors that can aid to treat hickeys efficiently.

How to use:

  • Use cotton balls to apply some rubbing alcohol into the affected skin area.
  • Rub the skin for a few minutes to minimize any irritation.
  • A side-effect of rubbing alcohol is dry the skin so you need to apply moisturizer on the skin.
  • Repeat several times daily in 1 or 2 days.
  1. Aloe vera

Aloe vera contains soothing and anti-inflammatory ingredients which has function of healing the broken capillaries quickly. The herbal is also a natural moisturizer so the user doesn’t have to be afraid the skin dry like rubbing alcohol.

How to use:

  • Extract fresh gel from aloe vera leaf, then apply it on your hickeys. Repeat 2-3 times daily to get the best result.
  • If you don’t have times for extracting gel, you might use some aloe vera-based cream to apply it on the affected area. Repeat the method 2 or 3 times per day.
  1. Banana peel

Last but not least is banana peel which method might make many people feel surprised. In fact, banana peel possesses cooling and soothing properties that can aid to treat hickeys successfully.

How to use:

  • Cut a part of banana peel that is similar to size of the hickey.
  • Apply the banana peel cut on the hickey for 10-30 minutes
  • Repeat 2-3 times daily to get rid of bruises quickly.

Those are 5 simple but efficient method on how to get rid of hickeys. If you want to remove your hickeys fast, choose one of them and apply.