More Than Skin Deep: Embracing the Role of Estheticians for Health Promotion and Community Collaboration.

Abstract

Pubic hair removal is a common practice, and many people seek pubic hair removal from skincare professionals or estheticians. Estheticians play a unique role in which they often have deep, trusting relationships and a well-established rapport with their clientele, whereby they could serve not only as trusted providers of skin and beauty expertise but also as health promotion partners/facilitators. This study aimed to explore the frequency of estheticians' involvement in 7 potentially concerning health-related symptoms on their clients' skin and examine estheticians' comfort by engaging in discussions about health, knowledge regarding these health issues, and interest in being more formally involved in their clients' health. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between March and August, 2023. Potential participants were identified using purposive sampling of Yelp listings (of hair removal/waxing salons), supplemented by snowball sampling, in 11 preselected U.S. metropolitan areas. A total of 359 estheticians who provided pubic hair removal services completed an online Qualtrics survey (97.5% women, 36.2% White, 24.0% Black, and 20.1% Hispanic). The most noticed, discussed, and referred issue among the sample was general skin health (90.3% noticed, 82.2% discussed/referred), followed by sexually transmitted infections (39.2% noticed, 36% discussed, and 26% referred). More respondents acknowledged discussing (26.6%) rather than noticing (19.8%) skin cancers. Most participants indicated high acceptance regarding improving the health of their clientele, and 72.7% expressed support for partnering with health professionals in such efforts. This is a prime opportunity to aid in the facilitation of estheticians directly improving health and well-being beyond the skin of their clients.