Executive Summary: The Skin Well® Project

A national invitation to reframe how we treat skin.

The Skin Well is an England-based project asking one core question:
What if we treated skin as the organ it is — through national health policy, not just personal care?

This is not a brand, a business, or a product launch. It’s a structured, multi-phase case for change — inviting experts, institutions, and the public to rethink how skin is handled in education, regulation, and everyday messaging.

At its heart are four clear asks:

• That skin is recognised as a national health issue.

• That education — at all levels — is shaped by this recognition.

• That the sector is regulated to protect the public and the profession.

• That the titles skin therapist and beauty therapist are protected by law.

Each of these asks is grounded in existing systems and public policy precedent.
The Skin Well doesn’t demand radical reinvention — it proposes overlaying what already exists with national alignment and evidence-based structure.

The Four Phases of the Campaign

This work unfolds across four distinct phases — each one building on the last:

Phase One: Quiet Questions

A series of thoughtful scenarios and open letters asked:

• Why is skin excluded from national public health messaging?

• Why are those working with skin not formally recognised in public health planning?

• What would change if they were?

This phase explored the gaps, posed the “what ifs”, and introduced the foundational idea that skin is both a benefit and a symptom of health — not just a cosmetic surface.

Phase Two: Clear Cases

This phase turned ideas into proposals.
Each solution was grounded in feasibility, mapped against existing frameworks, and organised into four national pillars:

1. Public Skin Health Messaging

2. Skin Education for All Levels

3. Oversight and Regulation

4. Protected Titles and Public Confidence

Phase Two included:

• The proposal for S.C.I.M.™ — Skin Competency & Integrity Modules

• The draft outline for a General Skin and Aesthetics Council (GSAC)

• A case for including skin therapists in national frameworks

• Calls to align NHS messaging, supplier standards, and training delivery

Phase Three: Proving the Case (current phase)

This is a national call for evidence.
The Skin Well is now asking institutions, academics, and policymakers to help answer key questions:

• Does earlier public intervention reduce the burden of skin conditions?

• Does consistent education improve public safety and outcomes?

• Does regulation reduce harm and improve trust?

• Do protected titles offer the public clearer, safer routes to care?

A national Skin Health Framework has been proposed.
But frameworks need a formal home. That’s why this phase also introduces the call for a UK-wide, Ministerial-backed Task Force to take this work forward.

Phase Four: Action (future)

If the evidence supports it, this phase belongs to those ready to build:
Government bodies, professional regulators, awarding organisations, education providers, and health services.

Why Now?

Skin is our largest organ.
It reflects our environment, stress, sleep, age, hormones, and more.
Yet there is still:

• No national skin health campaign

• No coordinated education

• No oversight of who delivers advice

• No clarity for the public on who to trust

We already do this for other organs — heart, lungs, teeth, eyes.
So why not skin?

This is not about over-medicalising beauty or limiting consumer choice.
It’s about creating a baseline of safety, consistency, and public trust — one that includes everyone who supports skin, from Level 3 therapists to dermatology consultants.

And What Next?

The path has been laid.
The Skin Well has mapped what’s missing — and how to fix it.

But now this work needs a formal home.
A structure. A mandate. A task force.

This isn’t just an invitation to participate. Its an invitation to act.

If you're part of a UK-based institution, government department, academic setting, or professional body — and believe this work has value — this is the moment to help shape what comes next.

Whether by commissioning research, building partnerships, or helping convene a national task force,
Phase Three is now open.