A skin cancer education program for hair and beauty professionals

The Melanoma Foundation of New England is proud to announce “The Skinny on Skin,” an educational campaign focused on early detection and prevention of melanoma utilizing beauty industry professionals. The Foundation’s goal is to deliver training programs to salon professionals throughout New England free of charge. The training will educate salon professionals about melanomas and how to discuss skin health with their clients.

Think your salon should be trained?
Send an email to program coordinator Meghan Rothschild for more information.

Are you a salon professional who wants to bring this training to your work?
Send an email to program coordinator Meghan Rothschild.

 

Salon owner Vicki White had this to say about “The Skinny on Skin.”

“I was very excited to launch the Skinny on Skin program in my salon. This program has given us the confidence to analyze the skin and open the conversation with our clients about possible concerns. This past year there have been numerous times we have been able to identify a suspicious mole or mark, then recommend the client see a Dermatologist, and it was either pre-cancerous or cancerous. As an owner I value programs that educate not only my staff but also my clientele! This is the perfect program for our industry because we see our clients so regularly and they trust us. My hope is one day all salons will have access to this incredible program!”
– Vicki White, Owner, Salon E.

 

How The Skinny on Skin was started

The Melanoma Foundation of New England, working with Elizabeth Bailey, MD/MPH candidate at Baylor University, and Alan Geller, RN, MPH, Harvard School of Public Health and MFNE Medical Board Advisory Chair, decided to create The Skinny on Skin training program to mobilize health care professionals in the fight against melanoma. Their work is a direct result of a study that researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health recently conducted of 203 Houston hair professionals that found:

Only 28% of surveyed hair professionals had received formal skin cancer education. 37% looked at more than 50% of their customer’s scalps, 28% looked at more than 50% of their customers’ necks and 15% looked at more than 50% of their customers’ faces for suspicious lesions.

These findings suggest that hair professionals are looking for suspicious lesions on customers’ scalp, neck, and face and are acting as lay skin cancer educators. Additionally, these results provide evidence that hair professionals would be receptive to skin cancer education and that further investigation into the role of hair professionals in skin cancer prevention and detection campaigns is needed.

Download our Skinny on Skin Brochure.

Sponsored by the Melanoma Foundation of New England

Skinny on Skin was created by Elizabeth Bailey, MD/MPH Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Alan Geller, RN, MPH, Harvard School of Public Health

Special Acknowledgements to: Ida Orengo, MD and Ashfaq Marghoob, MD for their invaluable contribution to the program and their images on common skin lesions. Special thanks to the faculty from Baylor College of Medicine and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.