For this session, use our preceding article on skincare, as well as other sources of information, to strengthen your knowledge of common skin problems. This will give you more insight and information to pass on to your customers. Do you come across skincare issues in the pharmacy that are not mentioned in the article? What are they? Do you feel confident enough to deal with them and do you know when to refer to the pharmacist or signpost customers for further help?

As well as the information in our skincare article, you can use information sources you may have in the pharmacy, such as other articles, OTC medicines guides and manufacturer literature. Magazines and newspapers often have articles about skincare. Look out for those too and think about what your customers may be reading. Do you think it's helpful or not? 

In order to make the training and discussion useful and relevant to your work, think about the following:

• What are the five most common skin conditions and what can exacerbate them?
• Think of as many tips as you can that would help a customer keep their skin healthy
• What impact can skin conditions have on a person's life?
• How could you raise the topic of problem skin with customers?
• What's the difference between an emollient and a moisturiser?