How to Remove a Hickey

1. Apply an icepack to the hickey as soon as possible after receiving it. You can wrap some ice in a towel, use pre-frozen ice packs or put a spoon in the freezer for a few minutes. Gently hold the cold compress to the skin for several minutes (up to 20 minutes, if it doesn’t feel too uncomfortable), remove the compress for several minutes, and then apply it again.
2. Try the toothbrush or comb method. Many people swear by it, but it’s important to remember that a hickey is a bruise, and they just take time to disappear, so don’t expect a miracle.
   • Lightly brush the hickey and the area around it with a stiff-bristled toothbrush or a comb. Doing this breaks up the blood clot and gets circulation going again.
   • Wait about 15 minutes. The redness and swelling will spread, but will be less obvious after about 15 minutes.
   • Apply a cold compress, as above.
   • Repeat if necessary. Depending on the magnitude of your hickey, this method may work or it may just spread the discoloration a bit (pressing too hard can make it worse.)
3. Conceal the hickey with makeup. The most effective is green-tinted concealer, as it's designed to negate red skin tones. Apply a foundation (one a little lighter than your skin tone) directly on and all around the hickey so it's not obvious you’re concealing something. Try an eyeshadow that’s lighter than your skin tone if sans concealer.
4. Cover the hickey. Wear a turtleneck, scarf or collared shirt or blouse (dress appropriate for the weather!). Style your hair (if it's long enough) so it hangs over the hickey. Frequently check the positioning of the covering agent, ensuring it still hides the hickey.
5. Use a coin. This method is probably the most painful, but has proven VERY effective. First, stretch the skin flat (pulling away from the hickey on two opposite sides). Then, use the edge of a large coin to scrape the skin. Use the coin like the hickey was butter on toast, and spread outward. The only difference is that you must press quite HARD (as hard as you can, but not so that you break the skin, bleed or hurt). What this does is push the excess blood, which has escaped from the capillaries, out of the surface skin. There will be redness from the scraping, but that will go away much faster than a hickey. Anyhow, a scrape is much less conspicuous than a hickey.
6. Put a spoon in the freezer for a few minutes. Apply pressure and slide the spoon along the hickey. The pressure and coldness help disperse the blood that has formed. You will need to repeat freezing as a warm spoon is useless. You must use a lot of pressure with the spoon but should see results over a few minutes of doing this.