Hair stylists are on the lookout for suspicious lesions on their customers’ scalps, necks, and faces, and are "very" interested in receiving formal skin cancer education, according to a study published Oct. 17 in the Archives of Dermatology.

Although only 28% of hair professionals have received any formal skin cancer education, many reported routinely looking for problematic spots or changing moles, according to Dr. Elizabeth E. Bailey of the department of medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Dr. Bailey and her colleagues received 203 completed surveys from hair professionals in January 2010 on skin cancer practice and knowledge. The hair professionals were from a chain of 17 salons in the greater Houston area.

Hair stylists who frequently talked with their customers about health issues, including personal skin protection practices, were more likely to scan for suspicious lesions. However, it didn’t seem to matter whether or not the stylists had basic skin cancer knowledge, possibly because most already knew the basics, the investigators reported (Arch. Dermatol. 2011;147:1159-65).

According to the study, about 90% agreed or strongly agreed that a customer should see a health professional for a mole that is changing in size or frequently bleeds. A total of 89% said customers should see a health professional if they have a mole that is changing in color, and 78% said moles that itch frequently should be checked out.

A total of 37% of the hair professionals surveyed had scanned more than half of their customers’ scalps, 29% had scanned more than half of their customers’ necks, and 15% had scanned more than half of their customers’ faces for suspicious lesions in the past month.

Survey participants who knew the ABCD rule for melanoma were more likely to look at customers’ skin, and "understanding the difference between melanoma and ordinary skin growths and disagreeing that skin cancer was more difficult to detect than other types of cancer was also associated with a higher likelihood of customer observation," the investigators wrote.

Hair stylists who were confident looking at their own moles also tended to look at their customers’ skin, and stylists who had a personal history of skin cancer or experience with a friend or family member’s skin cancer also looked for potential problem spots on customers’ skin more often, the study found.

About half (49%) of survey participants said they were "very" or "extremely" interested in participating in a skin cancer education program, indicating that dermatologists should consider investigating hair stylists’ potential role in skin cancer prevention and detection.

"Hair professionals are currently acting as lay health advisors for skin cancer detection and prevention and are willing to become more involved in skin cancer education in the salon," said the investigators. "As professionals who have a natural view of difficult-to-see areas and who develop a close rapport with their customers, hair professionals are ideally suited to this role."