Students and staff at Exeter College and NHS Devon are celebrating after their ‘Love Your Skin’ skin cancer prevention project was shortlisted for Best Social Marketing Project in the prestigious Health Service Journal Awards.

The joint campaign, led by beauty students who had been trained up in using an ‘ultraviolet facial scanner’, revealed early signs of sun damage on the skin. The girls gave advice to students and tutors on finding out their skin type, how they can protect their skin in the sun and avoid burning, and they gave fake tanning demonstrations to show a safer alternative to sunbathing or sunbeds.

Devon has some of the highest rates of malignant melanoma in the country and nationally rates are disproportionately high in 15-34 year olds. Virginia Pearson, NHS Devon Director of Public Health said “Eighty percent of skin cancer could be prevented by avoiding overexposure to ultraviolet from the sun or sunbeds. This project was a really interactive way of visibly showing the damage that the sun can do to skin. Younger people might feel a tan looks good now, but UV exposure is the biggest cause of early ageing in the skin, making it look coarse, leathery and wrinkled.”

Student Candy Walton, said “I used to go on a sunbed sometimes five times a week for twenty minutes, but now I know the damage it can do to my skin I’m trying to use fake tan instead. I used to worry about the streaking so it was good to have the application explained.”

Nick Bridge, Health and Wellbeing Manager at Exeter College, said “Being shortlisted for this award for the project we ran in partnership with NHS Devon showcases the excellent partnership work that took place between the two organisations on this important South West health issue. Special thanks should go to Sarah Bird (Health Improvement Project Officer) and Tracey Bennett (Level 3 Beauty Tutor) and her students for all the hard work they put into designing, producing and running the project.”

For further information, call Sylvia Jarman on 01392 205585 or sylviajarman@exe-coll.ac.uk