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.

How to Sweep a Girl off Her Feet

1. Strike up a conversation. If you haven't met her yet, find something unique about her or the situation the two of you are in and say something about it. If she's a friendly person this should give you enough to talk about until you can start asking her questions to get to know her better.

1. Find something about her that is truly special. Does she have anything about her that is unique? A subtle little quirk or feature that you find endearing, but that no one else seems to notice?
2. Let her know that you think she's special without expecting anything (a phone number, a date) in return. If this girl is really interesting to you, there should be something far from the common that you notice. If she's good looking, she probably gets several compliments a day, so offer her one that is as unique as you believe she may be, like mentioning something about her personality - first impressions will make a huge difference. For example:
   
   
   • "Hi, I don't mean to make you feel weird or anything, but you've just got the prettiest freckles I've ever seen."
3. She'll probably smile, say thank you, look away, and maybe even blush. Remember that even if ultimately, it doesn't work out, you've at least made her day by giving her a true compliment.
   • Try to walk the line between a feel-good compliment and a cheesy pick up line. Be sincere about it, but don't go over the top.
4. Offer her your company, and walk away. That is, right before you leave, give her your phone number or screen name, or offer a time and a place to meet, and let her know that if she chooses not to take you up on your offer, you'll never bother her again. Don't give her a chance to accept or reject you. Make your offer and run. Give her a chance to think about it by herself, and wonder "Hmmm...I wonder what he's like." If you do this confidently and impressively, she'll feel compelled by her curiosity to get to know you better, and she won't feel like she's being pressured or chased. Also, the fact that she might never see you again will encourage her to follow up on any glimmer of hope she has about you being the guy of her dreams.
5. Don't look back. If she doesn't call or show up, leave her alone. She's not interested, and if that ends up being the case, don't take it personally. However, if she does call you or meet with you, you've probably swept her off her feet! The rest depends on chemistry and compatibility. Good luck!

How to Hug

Unhealthy relationships

We've all known someone who's been unhappy with their romantic relationship. Yet they stay rooted, glued to the status quo despite feeling miserable. Reasons can range from guilt and fear to family or financial commitments.

But there might be an even more compelling reason for leaving than simple ennui — your health.

Two recent studies on relationships and health have shown that sticking it out in an unhappy union can actually make you sick. The effects on your wellbeing can range from general, persistent poor health right through to serious medical conditions such as heart disease.

The crazy way we met

Most of us have those strange almost-met-someone moments: Stuck in rush-hour traffic, you make eyes in the rearview mirror at the cutie behind you… or walking your sister’s dog while she’s out of town, you find the pup, well, strongly drawn to a poodle whose owner is adorable… Often, these incidents don’t lead anywhere, but for some of our lucky readers, they were the start of something very, very good. Read their inspiring stories, and be open to meeting your next honey in a most unusual way.

Alternative Cancer Treatments

Cancer is a scary word. If you haven't experienced it firsthand, it's almost certain that you know a family member or a close friend who has. With the many forms that cancer can take, there are a number of treatments that go along with them.

Depending on the type of cancer in question, modern treatments usually include surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Due to the pain and side effects of these treatments and their related drugs, there has been a surge of interest in learning about other therapies that can be done concurrently. Coined as "complementary" therapies, these techniques aren't to be confused with stand-alone alternative cancer treatments. Instead, they are forms of holistic healing that can improve a cancer patient’s quality of life by focusing on their physical, spiritual and emotional needs.

AskMen.com does not endorse or advocate any of these suggested alternative complementary treatments. They should always be discussed in detail with a medical professional or a certified holistic health practitioner.

Massage therapy

Thermo therapy

Hypnotherapy

Aromatherapy

Modern Love

Q: I've met a man who's 37 and he's quite interested in me. I like him but have no clue as to why he wants someone so much older. Some of my friends have mentioned that they've also experienced this situation; they get attention from younger men but rarely from those our age. I'm divorced and, ideally, I would like to find a long-term relationship again. Should I encourage him, or would it likely be a waste of time? He's never been married.

Are you afraid his attraction is only a boyish fantasy? It may be. But I find that younger men are often genuinely attracted to an older woman's self-acceptance and enthusiasm about life. Take comfort in knowing that you're part of a trend. In a recent survey AARP found that one third of older single women who are dating have a younger partner.

As your friends are noticing, women enjoy attention from younger men for the same reasons that many people seek partners who are at least a decade older or younger: it can be refreshing to spend time with someone who isn't facing the same fears, challenges, and hang-ups as you are. This motivation is also in the mix when a middle-aged man dates a younger woman, even though society often chides this as a purely physical pursuit.

Who are the women you think your young admirer should date? Most are either frantic about their biological clocks or single parents trying to establish careers. If he doesn't want children and doesn't want to be immersed in those concerns, what stops you from being his ideal choice?

You know the obvious downside. You grew up with Howdy Doody and he grew up with Scooby-Doo. But that's not why you wrote to me. So I'll answer the questions you wanted to ask but didn't.

First, will he enjoy his Mrs. Robinson fantasy for a while and then drop you for a younger hottie? In my experience, no. In fact, he's at equal risk of having you break his heart.

Second, will he run you ragged? I doubt it. In the couples I see with big age differences, the woman almost always has more energy than the man does.

Third, if your relationship crashes, will people think you're a fool and say, "We told you so"? Maybe. I don't know your neighbors. But you can't escape gossip and avoid all risk and still enjoy living. And, frankly, life is one big country music song, so why pretend it isn't?

Instead of fretting about the rest of your life, answer this: are you interested in this guy? If so, proceed with pleasure. Encourage him. As long as you're both rational and both know all the usual caveats that apply in dating (regarding lifestyles, values, income, etc.), there's no reason to run.

If you must think long-term, remember that women live longer than men do. You two may be more in sync than he'd care to imagine.

8 Ingredients To A Healthy Heart

While it’s easy to get caught up in the aesthetic component of creating a good workout and nutritional program, you really must not overlook the importance of exercise and healthy eating when it comes to maintaining good health. Even more important is ensuring you have a healthy heart because cardiovascular disease is rising at an increasing pace.

While there are certain factors you simply cannot control, such as a genetic predisposition to heart disease, there are some you can and should control. The sooner you start taking measures to prevent heart disease, the better you’ll fair later in life.

That being said, here are the top ingredients you need to keep your ticker working the way it should, as we take a look at the eight ingredients to a healthy heart.

1- Cut back on red meat

2- Up your consumption of dark-colored fruits and vegetables

3- Control your insulin levels

4- Make your own meals

5- Up your soluble fiber content

6- Reduce your cheese intake

7- Drink in moderation

8- Do intense exercise

Ways To Keep Fit And Stay Healthy

You may have heard the expression, “Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic.” In the same way, you could say “Once a coffee addict, always a coffee addict.”

But before I go any further in telling you my story about coffee and all the whys and hows of quitting it, you should now that now is a good time to quit drinking coffee.

You've been eating mostly well, you eat your fruits and vegetables, you've been reading Frederic's newsletter - but you think, “a little cup of coffee once in a while isn't that bad.” Plus it's good for the mood.

But I'm telling you right now that that cup of coffee, which I'm sure you're enjoying more often than you'd like to admit it, is preventing you from achieving the levels of health you desire.

12 Affordable Ways To Good Health

1 Sleep earlier.
2 Consider vitamin supplementation.
3 Eat more vegetables, cut down on red meat, caffeine, sugar and salt.
4 Never skip breakfast
5 Never eat an incomplete meal.
6 Don’t let yourself go hungry.
7 Exercise, and at the very least, just walk.
8 Don’t stress out.
9 Wash your hands often.
10 Toss the vices.
11 Think twice about joining weight loss programs.
12 Visit your doctor for annual tests.

Romance Novel Love

Like most women, I'm a sucker for romance.

I love Valentine's Day, flowers, jewelry, and dinners on the town. I like to read novels by Francine Rivers and Jan Karon, and I even sneak a peek at the final episodes of dating shows like "The Bachelor," hoping unrealistically that someone might just find lasting love with a camera stuck in their face.
In fact, when I was eleven years old, I voraciously read every book in a series of teen romances. And as a budding author, I naively thought, "I could write one of these!" I ended up writing two. The title of my titillating novels? Magical Daydreams and Someday, Somewhere (gag!). I had no luck getting them published--not enough life experience with the subject matter, I suppose.

But I still held out hope that I would have my own romance someday, and I prayed for a Prince Charming. Imagine my surprise when that answered prayer and I had our first fight in the car, driving away from our dream wedding! He wanted to stop and clean the car of its "Just Married" debris--from top to bottom. I was ready to hose it down quickly and get to our destination, which was still an hour's drive away. Our second fight, which took place a week later in our newlywed apartment, was about how to organize the refrigerator. Can you say "obsessive-compulsive?"