Skin Cancer Awareness in the Dermal, Hair, Tattoo, Beauty and Wellness Industries

Hairdressers, barbers, beauticians, tattooists, massage and dermal therapists are professions which see a lot of skin in their daily work, so they are well placed to recognise changes to the skin and provide sun safety advice.

For example, hairdressers can easily view the scalp on their clients and advise of any spots or moles in this area which the individual may not have noticed. Scalp melanomas tend to be more aggressive and mortality rates are more than twice that of melanoma on other parts of the body (1). This may be due to scalp melanomas being located in a hard to see spot and are easily hidden by hair making them more difficult to self-detect.

Similarly, a tattooist providing a tattoo on an individual’s back which is a hard to see location could talk to their clients about skin awareness if they have the skills to notice any suspicious spots.

Skin Cancer Prevention Queensland and The Australian Skin and Skin Cancer Research Centre held an industry forum to discuss how we can equip the dermal, hair, tattoo, beauty and wellness industries with the skills to start a conversation about skin changes that could help to detect skin cancer earlier and save lives. This forum brought together academic and research sectors, clinicians, government, non-profits and industry to talk about this important topic.

Helping these professions develop the skills and confidence to speak confidently with their clients about sun protection and how to chat about skin changes with their clients has the potential to reduce the impact that skin cancer has on the Australian population.

You can watch the sessions below.

Read the Skin Cancer Prevention QLD Annual Industry Forum Report 2023.

Session 1