Edinburgh has been named the best city in the world... for your skin.
Although Scotland's capital is not blessed with regular sunshine, a recent study conducted by skincare experts, LOOKFANTASTIC, has revealed that we may be better off then you think.
Several contributing factors such as pollution, environmental influences and smoking prevalence rates were all analysed to reveal which city has the healthiest air for clean and healthy skin.
Most of us will be fixated on a certain skincare routine, whether it's applying moisturiser regularly or using beauty treatments. However, getting the right amount of natural light may be the best routine of them all.
To conduct such a study, cities were given a normalised score out of 10 for each factor, with the worst city scoring 1 and the best city scoring 10.
The contributing factors were environmental influences, levels of pollution, annual sunshine hours, average city temperatures and smoking prevalence rates.
The Scottish capital recorded a 'skin score' of 8.24/10, based on its low levels of air pollution and low average temperature. Edinburgh was also recognised as having one of the lowest levels of annual sunlight in the world, which places the city at an advantage when it comes to SPF protection.
So, we may not be very thankful for short summers and long winter nights, but it appears to have its advantages compared to countries with too much sun.
A certain trend in this interesting study has revealed that the top cities in the world for your skin, were all ones with a generally cold climate.
Helsinki, Manchester, Vancouver and Dublin all joined Edinburgh in the top five cities, all of which endure a prolonged period of winter weather compared to Mediterranean or African countries.
While these destinations may not be the best for sun-worshipers, they can all now add a rather unusual attraction to their list. Lower exposure to UV rays in cities such as these could help prevent dryness, irritation and skin conditions such as acne and eczema.
To view the full list of world cities and the full research methods, visit here.
