In response to the Royal Society for Public Health’s report that hairdressers could support efforts to raise awareness of public health issues

Hilary Hall, chief executive of the NHBF, said:

Hairdressers have a unique relationship with their clients and are pillars in the community, so potentially our industry could help to raise awareness of public health issues.  

Hairdressers already provide much-needed contact for older people, who may not see another person all week, and can be informal counsellors or therapists providing a listening ear to people who need to get things off their chest.

Although it’s positive that the report says one in four people would be prepared to take public health advice from a hairdresser, that still leaves 75% unsure. The public may not see hairdressers as experts in public health and are likely to be sceptical.  Therefore formal training and more public information about the programme would be needed. This raises questions about who will be paying for it and how do busy business owners have time to spare to focus on such initiatives, which are worthwhile from a public service point of view, but take their focus away from running a successful business.”