Barbers could play a role in preventing cancer

Barbers could play a key role in preventing their customers from developing skin cancer, a university study has suggested.

Helen Fleming, from the University of Portsmouth, found more than half of the barbers she surveyed in the city would be willing to talk to their customers about sun protection.

Fleming said the industry represents "an untapped public health resource" and an opportunity to embed skin cancer prevention messages into everyday interactions.

The researcher has also distributed 1,000 bottles of sunscreen free of charge to barbershops across Portsmouth, thanks to funding from the university.

Portsmouth has melanoma rates 35% higher than the average for England, the study said.

According to Cancer Research UK one in 35 UK males will be diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in their lifetime.

"Most skin cancers are preventable, yet many men continue to underestimate the risks of sun exposure, particularly in the UK climate," said Fleming.

She added that barbers "have regular contact with men, often see areas of the head and neck that customers cannot easily examine themselves, and are well placed to start simple conversations about sun protection".

"Small interventions in trusted community settings could help reduce future skin cancer risk and ease pressure on NHS services," Fleming said.

Her research has called for a national skin cancer prevention strategy that places greater emphasis on education and prevention alongside treatment, and stated that barbers could become important allies in reaching groups that traditional public health campaigns often struggle to engage.

Gareth Penn, from the Hair and Barbering Council, said: "Barbers are absolutely perfectly placed to be the first line of identifying these instances and just signposting clients to go and get a check out."

He added: "This is exactly the sort of social service that they love giving."

He said the council currently works with a charity called Skcin and offers training courses for barbers so that they can understand the melanoma symptoms.

"It saves lives," Penn said.

"What harm can it be to just create some awareness?" said Harry Phelan, owner of Studio H barbershop.

He said conversations with Fleming had given him the confidence to discuss skin cancer with his clients.

Speaking while having his hair cut, customer Stuart Granger, 68, said he thought it was a "great idea", adding that skin cancer was not something he considered when he was younger.

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