It never fails. Every time! I end up with a bruise right before a beach vacation! It's happened so many times that I have my own how to heal a bruise faster regimen.
First, let's talk about what a bruise actually is. A bruise is an injury to the skin due to some sort of impact. The impact breaks small blood vessels in the skin. Blood from the small blood vessels collects near the surface of the skin resulting in dark discoloration. In my case, running into the arm of a chair was the impact that caused my latest bruise. The bruised area can have a firm swollen lump the feels sore or it may be flat and sore.
A bruise can take 2 to 4 weeks to heal and changes many colors as the blood is reabsorbed by the body. For example, the initial injury usually starts out red and then turns blue as the leaked blood loses it's oxygen. Then, the bruise turns dark purple as the red blood cells break down. The red blood cells release hemoglobin which breaks down to biliverdin and then you will see green. Finally, the bruise turns yellow green then yellow before it fades away. The yellow color is from bilirubin which occurs from the continuing break down of the hemoglobin.
Now that we know what we are dealing with, let's do some things to heal it faster. We need to reduce the swelling and soreness, increase circulation to the injured area to help the body reabsorb the blood faster and increase drainage.
Click here to watch my How to heal a bruise fast! video
My Bruise Treatment Details:
Step 1: Reduce the swelling and soreness
Ice
Apply ice 3 to 4 times during the day. Use a wash cloth between your skin and the bag of ice for comfort. Leave the ice bag on for 10-20 minutes at each application. Use ice for the first 24-48 hours.
Arnica Gel
Apply Arnica gel. Arnica gel is an topical homeopathic treatment to help ease pain and help heal muscle pain & stiffness, sprains, swelling from injuries and discoloration from bruises faster. The daisy like flowers from the plant Arnica Montana are used to create Arnica gel. It should not be applied to broken skin or be taken internally. Apply it 3 times during the day. It works wonders!
Step 2: Increase circulation
Heat
Switch from ice to heat after 48 hours. Heat will help stimulate circulation to the bruised area helping the body heal the injury. Use hot compresses 2-3 times per day to the injury. A hot wash cloth in a plastic bag makes a great little hot compress for a bruise. Use heat throughout the healing process.
Massage
Lightly massage the bruise for 2-3 minutes as you apply your Arnica gel to help stimulate circulation to the area.
Dry Brush
Use a dry body brush to stimulate circulation and promote drainage. Lightly brush the bruised and surrounding area with the body brush for 2-3 minutes. My bruise is on my thigh so I use the body brush on my entire thigh to stimulation a large area for drainage. Do it twice a day.
Step 3: Promote more drainage
Cypress Oil
Along with a dry body brush, cypress essential oil is fabulous for promoting drainage of retained fluids and the pooled blood from a bruise. Most essential oils should not be applied directly to the skin. They need to be mixed with a carrier oil. The carrier oils can be any oil such as olive oil, almond oil, avocado oil, sunflower oil or jojoba oil. Add 1 drop of cypress essential oil to 1/2 teaspoon of your choice of carrier oil. Apply to the bruise at night. Cypress also makes a great cellulite treatment!
Cover it!
You can always cover up a bruise as it heals. A highly pigmented concealer designed to cover tattoos works great for hiding bruises, too. I like Tattoo Camo and Kat Von D Lock-It Concealer.
Click here to see my How to Cover a Tattoo video. You would use the same technique to cover a bruise.
Luckily, for me, my treatment worked nice and fast to heal that ugly bruise. It was a really dark one but faded in 10 days. Here's how it looked on the beach. Not bad for less than two weeks!
A bruise can take 2 to 4 weeks to heal and changes many colors as the blood is reabsorbed by the body. For example, the initial injury usually starts out red and then turns blue as the leaked blood loses it's oxygen. Then, the bruise turns dark purple as the red blood cells break down. The red blood cells release hemoglobin which breaks down to biliverdin and then you will see green. Finally, the bruise turns yellow green then yellow before it fades away. The yellow color is from bilirubin which occurs from the continuing break down of the hemoglobin.
Now that we know what we are dealing with, let's do some things to heal it faster. We need to reduce the swelling and soreness, increase circulation to the injured area to help the body reabsorb the blood faster and increase drainage.
Click here to watch my How to heal a bruise fast! video
My Bruise Treatment Details:
Step 1: Reduce the swelling and soreness
Ice
Apply ice 3 to 4 times during the day. Use a wash cloth between your skin and the bag of ice for comfort. Leave the ice bag on for 10-20 minutes at each application. Use ice for the first 24-48 hours.
Arnica Gel
Apply Arnica gel. Arnica gel is an topical homeopathic treatment to help ease pain and help heal muscle pain & stiffness, sprains, swelling from injuries and discoloration from bruises faster. The daisy like flowers from the plant Arnica Montana are used to create Arnica gel. It should not be applied to broken skin or be taken internally. Apply it 3 times during the day. It works wonders!
Step 2: Increase circulation
Heat
Switch from ice to heat after 48 hours. Heat will help stimulate circulation to the bruised area helping the body heal the injury. Use hot compresses 2-3 times per day to the injury. A hot wash cloth in a plastic bag makes a great little hot compress for a bruise. Use heat throughout the healing process.
Massage
Lightly massage the bruise for 2-3 minutes as you apply your Arnica gel to help stimulate circulation to the area.
Dry Brush
Use a dry body brush to stimulate circulation and promote drainage. Lightly brush the bruised and surrounding area with the body brush for 2-3 minutes. My bruise is on my thigh so I use the body brush on my entire thigh to stimulation a large area for drainage. Do it twice a day.
Step 3: Promote more drainage
Cypress Oil
Along with a dry body brush, cypress essential oil is fabulous for promoting drainage of retained fluids and the pooled blood from a bruise. Most essential oils should not be applied directly to the skin. They need to be mixed with a carrier oil. The carrier oils can be any oil such as olive oil, almond oil, avocado oil, sunflower oil or jojoba oil. Add 1 drop of cypress essential oil to 1/2 teaspoon of your choice of carrier oil. Apply to the bruise at night. Cypress also makes a great cellulite treatment!
Cover it!
You can always cover up a bruise as it heals. A highly pigmented concealer designed to cover tattoos works great for hiding bruises, too. I like Tattoo Camo and Kat Von D Lock-It Concealer.
Click here to see my How to Cover a Tattoo video. You would use the same technique to cover a bruise.
Luckily, for me, my treatment worked nice and fast to heal that ugly bruise. It was a really dark one but faded in 10 days. Here's how it looked on the beach. Not bad for less than two weeks!
Have a Beautiful Day!
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