To be on the safe side, try not to give or receive a hickey close to the carotid artery. That's the area at the top of your neck, just to the side of your chin.
Other hickey site contenders could include around the collarbone, on the inner thigh, on the stomach, or even the skin in the crook of your elbow. The back of the neck may involve less cover-up work, too, for people with longer hair.
The neck may be the most popular spot, but you can technically give a hickey to any area of sensitive skin. For a less visible and more intimate mark, try giving her a hickey on the top of her breast or the inside of her upper thigh.
Hickeys vary in size and color depending on the length of time and how strongly the skin is sucked. They can happen anywhere on the body, but the skin on the neck is often where they show up.
Hickeys Can Transmit Oral Herpes
It's also so easily transmissible that you don't even need mouth-to-mouth contact to pass it on. "If your partner has oral herpes, they can pass the virus on through a hickey," Gall says.
Hickeys are like friendship bracelets - juvenile and a little bit childish. While they are great and maybe even significant when you're a kid/teenager, they tend to lose their appeal the older you get.
Hickeys are seen as an intimate act that leaves visible marks on the body, and adults tend to value consent and communication in their relationships. Giving a hickey without explicit consent can be seen as invasive and disrespectful, potentially violating the boundaries of the other person.
Most hickeys start as a dark red or purple oval. Like other bruises, they will change color over time as they heal and fade. Hickeys start out red because of the intact red blood cells in the bruise loaded with hemoglobin underneath the skin.
Usually, neck areas are popular spots for giving a hickey, which is fine if your partner has long hair. You can also consider other spots like the crook of the elbow or the inner thigh. To give your partner a hickey, make an O with your lips and press them firmly on your partner's skin.
Gently suck on your partner's neck for just one or two seconds at a time. Just don't do it too quickly or you'll leave a hickey, and your partner may not be into that.
It is advised that you apply a cold compress when you first notice your hickey (and generally within 12 hours of receiving it) to aid in the reduction of inflammation. The cold will constrict the broken capillaries and reduce bleeding, allowing for bruising to be less significant.
Hickeys can be used as symbols of one's unavailability to the public. But they are not always intended for this purpose. I would venture to say that most hickeys don't have a purpose other than pleasure. In the heat of the moment, you might just get caught up and accidentally suck too hard for too long.
A hickey ISN'T a sign of love, it's a sign of lust and desire. It also serves as a possession marker. Your significant other, is marking his, or her, territory like a dog marks his.
"Hickeys don't always feel good. For some people they do, for others they find it painful," Dr. Jaber says. If you do it find it painful, that could be a sign that hickeys aren't your thing.
Maybe your partner thinks they're cool with having a hickey, but they hate the way that it feels while you're doing it. Or your partner decides they can't risk their parents or employer seeing the mark. Always respect your partner's wishes if they say "no," even if you've already started the process.
Hickeys should be celebrated, not stigmatized. Having a mark on your neck means that you were shown love, which there isn't enough of in the world already. Many are quick to assume that you've recently had sex or that you have a controlling partner that just wanted to “leave their mark.” This is not always the case.
The origin of the word is from its earlier meaning of "pimple, skin lesion" ( c. 1915); perhaps a sense extension and spelling variation from the earlier word meaning "small gadget, device; any unspecified object" which has an unknown origin (1909).
Love bites can prove to be extremely dangerous for you as there is a high chance of a small vein of the body getting suppressed, increasing the risk of stroke. At the same time, the possibility of having a paralysed attack from a love bite also increases.
To form a hickey, try sucking on the skin for about 20 to 30 seconds. Once you're done, the bruise can take anywhere from five to 10 minutes to appear. Of course, some people bruise easier than others, so the effect will be different depending on the person.