Hairdressers as Diagnosticians

Recently a study was published in the Archives of Dermatology to found out how often Cosmetologists and Barbers check their clients for cancerous moles and lesions. The study discovered that out of the 203 people who answered the survey just over half of them have had alerted clients to some form of growth on their scalp or face within the month leading up to the question.

The study concludes that “hair professionals are looking for suspicious lesions on customers’ scalp, neck, and face and are acting as lay skin cancer educators. 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.”

I don’t know about you but I would love to have some more training as far as how to spot cancerous growths. If any of you have heard about courses for Cosmetologists that help learn more about it, please leave a comment and I will post it.