How Long Do Hickeys Last? Before They Notice, An Investigator Offers a Conclusion!


how long do hiceyes-last

The entire process of getting a hickey is pleasurable for some people, but the aftermath is usually not as exciting since a visible hickey can be embarrassing. People tend to notice hickeys very easily, knowing how long they last can help you prepare.

How long do hickeys last? Hickeys can last for a few days or up to two weeks before disappearing. Hickeys tend to last longer on the thighs than anywhere else, sometimes exceeding two weeks.

The Daily Orange published an article on the stigma that comes with having a hickey, since it denotes sexual activity. The paper highlights that some people do not mind the attention that comes with sporting a hickey, but others are more cautious, resorting to measures like turtlenecks, scarves, and makeup to cover them.

How To Give a Hickey

The most direct way to give a hickey is to suck aggressively into a person’s skin. You simply must create a seal or form an “o” with your mouth, place it on the recipient’s skin and suck on it for about 10 to 15 seconds.

A hickey, also known as a love bite, is a bruise-like mark caused by aggressively sucking or kissing another person’s skin. Hickeys have a very distinct appearance that can be decisive regarding the average person wanting to show them off.

It is especially important that when physically engaged with someone, consent must be given. If you want to learn how to give a proper hickey, here are some steps that you can follow.

  • Start By Setting the Mood:

Before going ahead to give a hickey, it is best if the mood is right. Begin with kissing and smooching your partner. You can start with light kisses and progress to French kisses. If you spend the right amount of time, you can intensify the whole experience.

Try as much as possible to kiss your partner in sensitive areas such as the neck, collarbone, throat, or shoulder. If your partner enjoys all this intimacy, you can go ahead with giving them a hickey. Always remember that consent is needed as you would be leaving a mark on someone’s skin.

  • Choose The Location of the Hickey:

Hickey’s work on any part of the body but most commonly, they are placed on the neck. If you want to step away from the routine, you can place hickeys on the inner thigh or the skin in the crook of your partner’s elbow.

Depending on the situation, hickeys are meant to be intimate and not symbols for public display. So, they can be placed in areas that are not openly visible.

Also, make sure to check in with your partner to know where they are most comfortable with having the hickey. Some partners could be extremely embarrassed at having a visible hickey so you could place the hickey in a position that would be comfortable.

For example, if your partner has long hair, placing a hickey at the back or side of their neck should not be an issue, since the hair can cover up the hickey. Also, a hickey close to the shoulder or one’s collar bone can be easily covered by a shirt.

  • Slightly Part Your Lips and Place them on the Skin:

To get this part right, imagine you are making an “o” with your lips. After getting the right mouth shape, firmly press your lips onto your partner’s skin making sure they are perfectly sealed without leaving any room for air to escape.

  • Suck On the Skin:

Once your mouth is clamped on your partner’s skin, suck hard. Hickeys are formed when the capillaries just underneath the skin break. So, you should apply just the right amount of pressure without causing any unnecessary pain.

Biting down with your teeth can spice things up and boost pleasure, but it can also be painful and cause slight injuries. Your partner might not mind when you use your teeth, however, so you could check in with your partner beforehand.

To finalize the hickey, suck on the same spot for about 10 seconds, and then you can take a break by kissing your partner for a while. You can then return to suck on the same spot as before for another 10 seconds then proceed to kiss again. Switching things back and forth stops the whole experience from getting boring.

  • End it with Gentle Kisses:

After following the steps listed above, you should have made a hickey on your partner’s skin. You can ease things up by placing gentle kisses on the area where the hickey was formed. However, you should be careful when kissing the hickey spot since it will be sensitive.

Below is a video that offers a unique perspective on how a hickey can be given to your partner.

Hickey Stages

In most cases, hickeys last about one or two weeks before they fade off. A hickey is a bruise so it will have to take time to heal. The amount of time a hickey takes to fade off depends on how much the harshness of the suction affected one’s skin and the health of the recipient.

After a hickey has been placed, it starts to heal, and the color begins to change. The dark mark that defines a hickey is trapped blood that eventually gets broken down and reabsorbed, leading to its disappearance. Here is what to expect during the color change stages.

  • The hickey starts as a reddish mark under the skin. This is caused by blood that leaks from damaged blood vessels.
  • After a day or two, the hickey becomes darker as the hemoglobin in the blood changes. Hemoglobin is an iron-rich protein that carries oxygen, and it is responsible for giving blood its red color.
  • By day four or five, you’ll see your hickey starting to fade in some spots and it might appear blotchy too during the healing process.
  • In the space of a week or two, depending on the amount of damage caused by the suction, the hickey should fade into a light yellowish color or should have disappeared.

How Long Do Hickeys Last? And How Can You Excuse It?

Time it takes for them to fade:Usually a hickey (depending on circumstances) usually takes 1 to 2 weeks to fade normally.
What can you do if someone asks you about it?Typically regarding it as a rash or some skin condition or irritation is an effective way to fend off anyone that questions your marks. If you have a history with eczema, it can be called off at that notion. Or if you’ve had an allergic reaction/overall irritation.
All information has been derived from relevant forums

Do Hickeys Hurt?

Yes, hickeys can hurt, and this depends on both the giver and the recipient. Hickeys can be painful because they are a result of hard kissing, deep sucking, and sometimes biting on a person’s neck, upper arm, inner thighs, or shoulder.

Hickeys are a blend of pain and pleasure, but they can be quite painful if the sucking or biting gets too intense and could even lead to a severe bruise. For some individuals, hickeys are not painful, and even if hickeys hurt, they find the pain to be pleasurable.

For some other people, the complete opposite is the case. People are built differently and have different interests. That is why it is important to know what your partner is into.

For someone who might not like hickeys, if, in the heat of the moment the person gets a hickey, it could hurt them emotionally asides from physically. It could be awkward for the person to have bruises on an exposed part of their body since they could be made fun of by other people.

A person with sensitive skin might not be able to escape the hurt from a hickey since their hickeys tend to feel sore.

Where Do Hickeys Stay the Longest?

Hickeys stay longest on the thigh, specifically on the inner thighs. Hickeys on the inner thighs typically last longer than anywhere else on the body. Hickeys on the thighs can last more than two weeks depending on the nature of your skin and the severity of the hickey.

The duration of hickeys is affected by how vascular the affected body part is. This simply means that hickeys last longer in areas where blood flow is high. While the neck is more vascular than the thighs, some other factors still make hickeys last longer on the inner thighs than the neck.

  • Skin Tone:

A hickey given on a light part of the body will be visible for much longer than a hickey on a darker part. For most people, the inner thighs are much fairer in complexion than the neck, causing hickeys to stay longer on their thighs.

  • Exposure of the Body Part:

Hickeys tend to fade faster in areas that are exposed to the sun, as ultraviolet rays can speed up their healing process. The thighs are less exposed than the neck and most other parts where a hickey can be placed, causing them to last longer. The neck is always exposed so the hickey will fade away much faster.

How to Remove Hickeys Instantly?

There is no treatment that can instantly remove a hickey since it is a minor injury that would have to go through the body’s natural healing process. You can reduce how long a hickey lasts by applying heat, a cold compress, cocoa butter, or Aloe Vera.

However, if a quick cover-up is needed, one can always improvise by either wearing a turtleneck or using a scarf to cover up. The use of concealers is also helpful if you aim to cover up. Listed below are some treatments that could be applied to a hickey that would help reduce how long the hickey might last.

  • Cold Compress:

Apply a cold compress with ice cubes as this will increase the blood flow, distributing the blood spilled under one’s skin due to the hickey. The dried-off blood will be washed along with the blood flowing, and this will help reduce the size of the bruise.

For a cold compress, wrap some ice cubes in a piece of paper and apply it to the affected area for about 20 minutes.

  • Place Heat on the Hickey:

Applying heat to the affected area will also help to increase blood flow, which will speed up the healing process. You can use a heating pad or a cloth soaked in warm water and apply it on the part where the hickey is for about 20 minutes.

Note that you could take breaks when applying the heat pad to help you give your skin a chance to return to its normal temperature so that it does not get burnt.

  • Apply Aloe Vera:

Aloe Vera is a natural moisturizer that can help to clear hickeys very quickly. Aloe Vera contains a thick gelatinous pulp that can reduce skin inflammation, swelling, or pain. Twice a day, apply Aloe Vera pulp directly on the hickey spot and smoothen it out. Leave the pulp on the spot for about 10 minutes, then wipe with a tissue.

Or conversely you can try some organic aloe vera gel, which has all the benefits listed above, but with an easy to apply topical gel form. Try out this selection from MOUNTAIN TOP, that offers a 100% pure and natural aloe vera gel. Click here to learn more!

  • Cocoa butter:

Cocoa butter is normally used for several types of skin treatment, and it is effective for hickeys. It is used for reducing stretch marks, smoothing scars, and reducing wrinkles too. It helps with skin elasticity which makes the skin appear better. With all these benefits be sure to check this selection from Palmer’s, with an extended capacity of 1.6 lbs., you will not be running out of cocoa butter any time soon. Click here to learn more

Apply cocoa butter to the affected area twice daily. Try not to apply a lot of pressure while rubbing cocoa butter on the hickey as it could make the bruise larger.

  • Vitamin C Cream:

Vitamin C is well known for its ability to boost the immune system, but it also plays a very vital role in the production of collagen. Collagen is a protein that improves the quality of the skin

Applying vitamin C cream directly to the hickey can speed up the healing process, clearing out the bruise quickly.

Can Hickeys Be Dangerous?

Yes, hickeys can be dangerous. Depending on its severity, a hickey can cause the spread of active oral herpes and can lead to a blood clot, which is often dangerous.

If a person with sensitive or thin skin is kissed hard on their neck or thigh by their partner, it will be easier for them to get a hickey because their blood vessels are closer to the surface. In cases like this, the chance of getting injured is higher.

When the skin is sucked or bitten so hard, it can cause the blood vessels called the capillaries underneath the surface of one’s skin to rupture. This can be threatening as it could cause a clot in the major blood vessels or even a stroke.

It is also possible to get a disease when you receive a hickey. If a person has an active case of oral herpes, also called cold sores, they can transfer the infection to their partner by giving them a hickey.

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