REVEALED: The American cities where residents have the best skin- where does your city land?
The 10 cities where Americans are most likely to have the best skin have been revealed in a new report.
Researchers analyzed data on hundreds of cities from across the country for their rankings.
They ranked cities based on eight factors, including air pollution, UV levels and working hours — which can indicate stress.
Overall, cities in the West of the country fared best on the index — with only two out of the top 10 in the East. None were in the South.
The above map shows the ten cities where the researchers said people would have the best skin in the US
Above is a picture from Cheyenne, Wyoming, where people have the best skin quality - according to the report
Cheyenne, Wyoming, one of the highest capitals in the US at 6,000 feet, came top — because of its clean air, short working day and few traffic jams.
Billings, Montana was in second place, linked to its moderate UV levels, while Denver, Colorado came third — also down to its low UV.
Rounding out the top five were Albuquerque, New Mexico and Salt Lake City, Utah.
Experts at Liberty London — a fashion retailer that carried out the research — used statistics from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, satellite navigation companies and online forecast websites for the analysis.
Other factors they analyzed included temperature, humidity, smoking rates and the number of sunlight hours per day in an area.
Skin is firm and elastic in young people because it contains plenty of collagen and elastin fibers.
But from the age of 25 years, experts say it can start to lose this quality — as the body starts to make fewer of these fibers.
Fine lines can begin to appear and people can also start to lose volume in their face as skin ages.
This process can be sped up by regular exposure to sunlight, which has UV rays that damage collagen and elastin fibers — causing them to lose their elasticity.
Air pollution can also cause the skin to age faster because it releases free radicals — or unstable atoms — into the air that damage skin cells.
And even stress can drive this, as it can cause inflammation in the body which impairs cells ability to repair damage — including those in the skin.
To protect skin, experts recommend using sunscreen daily, staying hydrated and moisturizing skin every evening.
Other recommendations included avoiding smoking, eating a balanced diet and managing stress levels.
