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 — not only a cosmetic surface, but a matter of health and skin care — and gave it a place in national health policy?

For the public, “skin care” means the everyday acts of protecting and supporting skin through lifestyle, environment, and choices. For policymakers, “skin health” is the measurable outcome of those acts — preventable, improvable, and deeply connected to wider public health. The Skin Well brings these two realities together, making the case that skin deserves the same national attention as heart health, oral care, and eye care.

This is not a brand, a business, or a product launch. It is a structured, multi-phase case for change — inviting experts, institutions, and the public to rethink how skin is handled in education, regulation, and national 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 ask is grounded in existing systems and public policy precedent. The Skin Well does not call for radical reinvention, but for alignment: overlaying what already exists with national structure and evidence-based clarity.

The Four Phases of the Campaign

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 one tested for 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

It also introduced:

• 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 where theory gets tested. Phase Three sets out the case for a national Skin Health Framework — one that is fluid, functional, and rooted in public protection.

This stage doesn’t just ask questions. It begins building answers — through evidence-gathering, through feasibility testing, and through the call for a formal Task Force to bring the right voices together.

Key questions include:

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

• Does consistent education improve safety and outcomes?

• Does regulation reduce harm and improve trust?

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

The four national pillars remain the guide:

1. Public Skin Health Messaging

2. Skin Education for All Levels

3. Oversight and Regulation

4. Protected Titles and Public Confidence

But evidence needs a home. That’s why Phase Three also lays the groundwork for a UK-wide, Ministerial-backed Task Force — not just for enforcement, but for design. A place where skin health and skin care can finally be addressed as part of public health.

Phase Four: Action (future)
If the evidence supports it, Phase Four is where the work becomes real.
With a national framework mapped and a Task Force in place, this stage moves from testing to building:

• Government departments include skin in their health campaigns, prevention strategies, and everyday policymaking.

• Regulators create clear, joined-up oversight the public can trust.

• Education providers deliver consistent, evidence-based training across all levels.

• Health services and skin professionals work side by side to reduce burden and improve outcomes.

Phase Four is not about starting from scratch — it is about scaling what has been tested, agreed, and proven. The structure is already there. This is the moment to act on it.

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 is 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 is missing — and how to fix it.
But now this work needs a formal home: a structure, a mandate, a task force.

This is not just an invitation to participate. It is an invitation to act.

If you are 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 convening a national task force, The Skin Well is ready to move forward.