The terms pimples and zits are definitely interchangeable, although the two actually refer to slightly different skin issues. Despite these slight differences, understanding the exact characteristics of both breakout types can be helpful in finding out the most proper treatments and future preventions that are helpful for your entire skin health.

The difference between a zit and pimple

There are some differences that can be spotted between a zit and pimple. Those are:

The contributing causes

Both breakout types may cause almost similar skin issues—swollen skin filled with drainage consisting of pus, dirt, oil, and bacteria. The two are also caused by the same main problem; that is a blockage caused by the skin natural oil called sebum. However, there are different contributing factors between the two. While a pimple is mainly contributed by accumulation of dead skin cells and bacterial infection, a zit is more an effect of stress and body toxins.

Those who suffer from

Based on the main contributing causes of zits and pimples, these two skin disorders may affect people in different age spans. Pimples are common with teenagers who are entering their adolescence, wherein the hormonal imbalance is common and the growth spurt influences many bodily function, including skin health. Conversely, zits are common with people in age spans, from teenagers and adults. In addition, pimples is a skin issue that may be suffered by both genders—male and female, while zits are more common in men.

The issue of infection

Zits are infectious most of the time, while pimples are not always infectious. Initially, with pimples, clogged skin pores result in inflammation of the infection site, causing red, inflamed skin that is painful. When infested with bacteria, these papules can turn into pus-filled inflammation with whiteheads, similar to zits. However, both zits and pimples infection can be worsened if they are carelessly and forcefully popped without any proper techniques.

The infection site

Zits, which are more common in men than women generally affect any regions of the body, such as the face, chest, thighs, and back. Quite contradictory, pimples commonly occur on the facial skin regions, causing it to be more frequently visible. On facial skin, pimples may occur on any parts of the face wherein skin pore clogs occur, while zits commonly dominate the forehead and chin.

The location of clogs

Although the main cause of zits and pimples lies on clogged sebum or the body natural oil, there is a difference on the location of the clogs. Blocked skin pores causes pimples that occur on the surface of the skin, while clogged oil and melanin embedded in skin tissues triggers the occurrence of zits.

Treating pimples and zits differently

Seeing the differences between zits and pimples may give you an illustration on how you should treat both skin issues to get maximized effects of healing.

• Zits, especially blind zits should never be popped, as the pus may infect other regions when oozing out. On the other hand, pimples with whiteheads can be popped by aestheticians or dermatologist with sufficient knowledge and experiences.
• Blind zits should be compresses with warm water for encouraging the head to occur, while pimples commonly have already got whiteheads.
• Balancing daily diet by cutting down greasy foods and dairies is important to inhibit the occurrence of pimples, while promoting good hygiene by regularly wash the hair, and managing stress and anxiety are beneficial in preventing pimples from breaking out into pustules or zits that may be recurrent and frustrating. Exercising is advised for minimizing the risk of having both skin breakout types.