Women going to salons for a bikini wax will be told about the importance of ...

Women who go to salons for a bikini wax are to be told about the importance of cervical screening by their beauty therapist. 

Treatwell, an online platform to book hair and beauty appointments, is working with Public Health England (PHE) to encourage more women to have life-saving smear tests. 

The 'Life Saving Wax' campaign aims to target the 1.2million women aged 25-to-34 who have their intimate areas waxed at salons. 

This same age group are the most likely to ignore a life-saving screening invite, statistics show.

Those behind the initiative hope the 'position of trust' a beauty therapist holds will 'empower women' to attend their screening.

Cervical screening attendance is at an all-time low — just 71 per cent of those invited go for their smear, NHS figures show.

Almost a third of women aged 25 to 49 have missed their latest smear test and in some surgeries three quarters have not had it.

Experts say the number of women having routine smear tests has declined over misplaced fears the procedure is painful or embarrassing. 

However, just 'one conversation with a beauty therapist could help stop cancer before it starts', the new campaign states.

More than 500 Treatwell partner salons across the country will take part in the initiative, which will also involve them displaying information about cervical screening through posters and leaflets.

Professor Anne Mackie, director of Screening Programmes at PHE, said: 'Two lives are lost every day to cervical cancer but this needn't be the case. 

'Cervical screening can stop cancer before it starts as the test identifies potentially harmful cells before they become cancerous and ensures women get the right treatment as soon as possible. 

'The decline in numbers getting screened, particularly those aged between 25-to-34, is a major concern as it means millions of women are missing out on a potentially life-saving test. 

'We are thrilled Treatwell want to start more conversations about screening with women. We hope more will feel informed, confident and choose to attend.' 

Treatwell's beauty director Liz Hambleton added: 'Just by talking about cervical screening with one person, it's amazing the knock-on effect it can have. 

'Our beauticians are not health experts, but they are human, and they speak to women all day every day about many personal topics. 

'Using this position of trust, they are uniquely placed to be able to empower women on the subject of cervical screening and provide them with the information needed to make an informed choice. 

'Just one conversation is all it could take to remind or encourage someone to go for their screening when invited. That one conversation could help stop cancer before it starts – it could save a life.' 

This comes after a poll by Treatwell of 1,000 women aged between 25 and 35 found nearly half (47 per cent) would be comfortable discussing 'personal topics' with their beauty therapist. 

And three in five (59 per cent) said they see their beautician as a 'trusted person'.

Nearly three quarters (74 per cent) said they would listen to the advice of their beauty therapist, and find they are 'sensitive and understanding of their needs' (75 per cent).  

Beautician Tanja Westendorff, who works at the salon Sugaring in London, which is trialing the initiative, said: 'Women come to us to look after themselves from the outside so anything we can do to ensure women look after themselves from the inside is really important.