Bridging beauty and wellness: examining beauty professionals’ comfort in discussing sexual health

TL;DR

This study explores how comfortable beauty professionals are in discussing sexual health with their clients and how they could help improve health education in Black women's communities.

Contribution

The study identifies beauty professionals as potential community health advocates and explores their comfort and barriers in discussing health topics.

Findings

Beauty professionals feel more comfortable discussing health topics than they actually do it.

Stigma, privacy concerns, and lack of training are major barriers to health conversations in beauty shops.

Interventions could help beauty professionals become effective health messengers.

Abstract

Gaps in sexual health service uptake and education disproportionately effect Black women in the United States. Education is crucial to increasing health service uptake, and new avenues to provide education are continuously being developed. This current study examines beauty professionals’ comfort in discussing important women's health topics with their clients and explores their potential role as community health advocates.

A total of 38 beauty professionals in Tarrant and Dallas counties, Texas completed a needs assessment survey. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, and correlation analyses were used to explore levels of comfort and frequency in discussing health topics, factors influencing willingness to engage in these conversations, and perceived barriers within beauty shop settings.

Beauty professionals reported significantly greater comfort in discussing health topics than the actual frequency with which these conversations occur. Key factors associated with increased engagement included comfort with sharing health information and the perceived importance of clients’ access to healthcare services. Identified barriers included stigma, concerns about privacy, and a lack of confidence or training in providing health information.

Findings highlight several factors that may inhibit health-related conversations in beauty settings. The results underscore the potential for targeted interventions to support beauty professionals as trusted health messengers within their communities.