What could be more ideal, you had that smoking date with that someone very special last evening. And today you're cranked up for a big interview for a thrilling new job possibility. Or perhaps not. Possibly it's a high school reunion or an annual family event that can't be missed. Or it could just be plans with a bunch of pals who you know will never stop the teasing and interrogation. Whatever the case, you jump out of your skin when you realize it: last night's lingering love bit!
No two ways about it, there it is, your memento hickey! I know, you can't believe it, but alas, it's true. The question now is, cripes, you have to be gone in a couple hours. What can you do? How do you get rid of hickeys fast? We know, some will tell you that there's nothing you can do, you're stuck with it. We say phooey to that. Theories abound and we'll give you some, here.
To start, there is the ever popular cold spoon. And when we say cold, we don't mean your mama's cold, we mean ice cold. Many swear that applying the ice cold spoon to you hickey is the best way to reduce its spread. In fairness, though, we better warn you that others claim you'll only make matters worse: the hickey will spread. I suspect this is one of those personal physiology things. You won't know how it works on you until you try it. Maybe experiment though when there's not so much at stake.
After the ice cold spoon crowd, we have the advice from the crowd that apparently have difficulty distinguishing their neck from their teeth. There are a bunch of ideas for hickey management employing dental hygiene measures. One is to briskly brush the hickey with a tooth brush. The theory here is that you'll break up the clotting which is the cause of the hickey. Better circulation will get rid of the love bit faster. Also from the dentally misdirected crowd is the suggestion to use mint flavored toothpaste. You apply it to the spot just like it were a cream. I don't think you need to use the brush, but, heck, at that point, why not? And if that's not getting the job done for you, how about flagellating the darn thing with some dental floss? That's just my idea; I don't know if it would do anything.
Though less exotic, a more time honored approach to stimulating blood circulation is massaging the area. No magic here, but it should offer some relief. Much more exciting though is the coin technique. It may sound a little gruesome to some, but apparently many people report great results. Using the finger and thumb of one hand stretch out skin of the place where you have the hickey. Meanwhile, in the other hand, holding the coin, scrape the edge of it over the hickey. What you're trying to do here is to disperse the blood. You want to be sure, then, to scrape from the center of the hickey, out toward the edges. Don't freak out when you're first done doing this. There definitely will be an unsightly red mark from the scraping, but, if you did it right (you understand that you're not actually supposed scrape off your skin, right"), that red mark will clear up in just a few minutes. And once that mark is gone, there should be, to coin a phrase, a marked improvement in your hickey.
Here's another option, useful for when the hickey is a bit older. If it is at least 48 hours old, and it's only now you need to get rid of it, warm compresses can be effective. This is a good one, but also a tricky one. Your hickey really does have to be minimum 48 hours old! (You do know when you got it, right? This wasn't another of those three day benders of yours?) If you use this method too early, it is very likely to make your hickey a whole lot worse. Don't play with fire, here.
And, naturally, when you're really pressed for time to get rid of your hickey, well, that's the time for a little creative cheating. I mean, nothing gets rid of a hickey faster than hiding it. The old school turtle neck sweater is a classic. If your fashion IQ allows you to pull off scarves, that's always another reliable contingency plan. Unfortunately, sometimes weather makes these strategies just a tad transparent, if you know what I mean. When that's the case, our last resort is to turn to make-up.
I can't say I've tried this one, but my color coordinator assures me that powering a little green over the hickey, neutralizes its red. Once neutralized, the hickey can be covered with a flesh tone compatible with your own. This is supposed to make for excellent camouflage.
There are indeed plenty of options. Which one you go for will be a personal choice, possibly based as much on timing needs and pain tolerance as good taste. Though, good taste should never be underrated.
I've heard it said that, once bitten, twice shy. I wonder if that's going to apply in your case. Well, whatever happens, you know we're always here to help with your cosmetic crises, at How to Get Rid of Hickeys Fast.
No two ways about it, there it is, your memento hickey! I know, you can't believe it, but alas, it's true. The question now is, cripes, you have to be gone in a couple hours. What can you do? How do you get rid of hickeys fast? We know, some will tell you that there's nothing you can do, you're stuck with it. We say phooey to that. Theories abound and we'll give you some, here.
To start, there is the ever popular cold spoon. And when we say cold, we don't mean your mama's cold, we mean ice cold. Many swear that applying the ice cold spoon to you hickey is the best way to reduce its spread. In fairness, though, we better warn you that others claim you'll only make matters worse: the hickey will spread. I suspect this is one of those personal physiology things. You won't know how it works on you until you try it. Maybe experiment though when there's not so much at stake.
After the ice cold spoon crowd, we have the advice from the crowd that apparently have difficulty distinguishing their neck from their teeth. There are a bunch of ideas for hickey management employing dental hygiene measures. One is to briskly brush the hickey with a tooth brush. The theory here is that you'll break up the clotting which is the cause of the hickey. Better circulation will get rid of the love bit faster. Also from the dentally misdirected crowd is the suggestion to use mint flavored toothpaste. You apply it to the spot just like it were a cream. I don't think you need to use the brush, but, heck, at that point, why not? And if that's not getting the job done for you, how about flagellating the darn thing with some dental floss? That's just my idea; I don't know if it would do anything.
Though less exotic, a more time honored approach to stimulating blood circulation is massaging the area. No magic here, but it should offer some relief. Much more exciting though is the coin technique. It may sound a little gruesome to some, but apparently many people report great results. Using the finger and thumb of one hand stretch out skin of the place where you have the hickey. Meanwhile, in the other hand, holding the coin, scrape the edge of it over the hickey. What you're trying to do here is to disperse the blood. You want to be sure, then, to scrape from the center of the hickey, out toward the edges. Don't freak out when you're first done doing this. There definitely will be an unsightly red mark from the scraping, but, if you did it right (you understand that you're not actually supposed scrape off your skin, right"), that red mark will clear up in just a few minutes. And once that mark is gone, there should be, to coin a phrase, a marked improvement in your hickey.
Here's another option, useful for when the hickey is a bit older. If it is at least 48 hours old, and it's only now you need to get rid of it, warm compresses can be effective. This is a good one, but also a tricky one. Your hickey really does have to be minimum 48 hours old! (You do know when you got it, right? This wasn't another of those three day benders of yours?) If you use this method too early, it is very likely to make your hickey a whole lot worse. Don't play with fire, here.
And, naturally, when you're really pressed for time to get rid of your hickey, well, that's the time for a little creative cheating. I mean, nothing gets rid of a hickey faster than hiding it. The old school turtle neck sweater is a classic. If your fashion IQ allows you to pull off scarves, that's always another reliable contingency plan. Unfortunately, sometimes weather makes these strategies just a tad transparent, if you know what I mean. When that's the case, our last resort is to turn to make-up.
I can't say I've tried this one, but my color coordinator assures me that powering a little green over the hickey, neutralizes its red. Once neutralized, the hickey can be covered with a flesh tone compatible with your own. This is supposed to make for excellent camouflage.
There are indeed plenty of options. Which one you go for will be a personal choice, possibly based as much on timing needs and pain tolerance as good taste. Though, good taste should never be underrated.
I've heard it said that, once bitten, twice shy. I wonder if that's going to apply in your case. Well, whatever happens, you know we're always here to help with your cosmetic crises, at How to Get Rid of Hickeys Fast.
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