Edinburgh named best city for skin health in the world
UK cities have a less harmful impact on residents’ skin health than most, new research has shown.
The study by beauty retail site Lookfantastic scored cities across the world out of 10 after looking at four environmental influences: air pollution levels, average temperatures, annual sunshine hours and the estimate of smoking prevalence. Pollution levels and UV exposure can impact the skin and cause serious medical issues, such as skin cancer.
The UK took two of the three top spots in the list of “healthiest” cities for skin, with Edinburgh named the city where skin is least impacted by the environment, scoring 8.24/10, and Manchester placing third with a score of 7.88. Dublin and London also made the top 10:
1. Edinburgh, Scotland – 8.24/10
2. Helsinki, Finland – 7.92
3. Manchester, England – 7.88
4. Vancouver, Canada – 7.83
5. Dublin, Republic of Ireland – 7.78
6. Stockholm, Sweden – 7.77
7. Oslo, Norway – 7.75
8. Toronto, Canada – 7.60
9. Montreal, Canada – 7.58
10. London, England – 7.42
Edinburgh ranked so highly due to the low annual sunshine hours (1,895), meaning UV exposure is reduced. Manchester also has low sunshine hours (1,862), helping to prevent dryness, irritation, and other conditions. Both cities also ranked low for air pollution levels, averaging just 4.9μg/m. (Edinburgh), and 11.1μg/m. (Manchester).
While the UK capital scored higher than some for air pollution (12.9), its comparatively low sunshine hours (2,109) and smoking prevalence (17.8%) improved its overall score, putting it just ahead of Copenhagen in Denmark and Bogota, Colombia.
