Beyond being an ear to listen and a confidant to chat with during hair coiffing sessions, hair professionals have stepped up their roles and the degree in which they interact with clients. In a recent survey of hair professionals, conducted by Elizabeth E. Bailey, M.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, and her colleagues, many hair professionals reported that they check clients' faces, scalps and necks for suspicious skin lesions and abnormal moles. The survey was conducted among 304 hair professionals (and had 203 respondents) from 17 salons in a single chain in the greater Houston area.
Hair professionals are ideal for this type of role since they have a natural view of difficult-to-see areas and are renowned for fostering close rapports with their clients. More than half of the people surveyed reported that they have recommended at least once, that a client see a health care professional about an abnormal mole.
According to the study's authors, Melanoma of the scalp and neck represented 6 percent of all melanomas and accounted for 10 percent of all melanoma deaths in the U.S. from 1973 to 2003.
When answering questions about observing suspicious skin lesions during the month prior to the survey, 37.1 percent reported looking at more than 50 percent of their customers' scalps; 28.8 percent reported looking at more than 50 percent of their customers' necks; and 15.3 percent reported looking at more than 50 percent of their customers' faces. The study's authors also found that frequency of observation of their customer's lesions was associated with their own self-reported health communication practices and personal skin practices, but was not associated with their own knowledge about skin cancer.
Of the 203 survey respondents, 69 percent reported being "somewhat" or "very likely" to give customers a skin cancer information pamphlet during an appointment; 49 percent reported they were "very" or "extremely" interested in participating in a skin cancer education program; and 25 percent share general health information with customers "often" or "always." Most respondents (71.9 percent) also reported they had not received a course on skin cancer, but a modest number were educating their clients and observing for suspicious lesions.
Bailey and the other authors of the study say that future research should focus on creating a program that provides hair professionals with expert training and effective health communication tools, so that they can become confident and skilled lay skin cancer educators. More education will certainly lead to a higher rate of detection.
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