Georgia Cosmetology License Exam — All Questions

An emulsion, such as a typical hair conditioner or hand cream, is best defined as:

• a.A mixture of two or more immiscible liquids (such as oil and water) united with the help of an emulsifier✓
• b.A pure element that cannot be broken down
• c.A single liquid dissolved completely into a gas
• d.A metal dissolved in another metal

An emulsion is a physical mixture of two or more immiscible (unblendable) substances, typically oil and water, held together by an emulsifier (surfactant) that keeps the droplets suspended. Common salon products are oil-in-water (O/W) or water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions. This is a physical mixture, not a pure element or a true solution of a solid dissolving completely; understanding emulsions helps explain how creams, lotions, and conditioners are formulated and behave.

In facial and scalp treatments that use electrotherapy, galvanic current differs from faradic current in that galvanic current is:

• a.A rapidly alternating current used mainly to produce heat
• b.A high-frequency current used to sanitize the skin with sparks
• c.A constant, direct current used to produce chemical (and ionic) reactions such as iontophoresis✓
• d.The same as household outlet current with no modification

Galvanic current is a constant, direct current (flowing in one direction) used to create chemical changes in the skin and to drive water-soluble products into or out of the skin (iontophoresis: desincrustation and iontophoresis). Faradic current is an alternating, interrupted current used to cause muscle contractions (for toning). High-frequency (Tesla) current is a separate modality. Modalities in electrotherapy must be understood and used safely and only where permitted.

In the pH scale used throughout cosmetology chemistry, a change from pH 6 to pH 4 represents:

• a.The solution becoming more alkaline
• b.The solution becoming 100 times more acidic, because the scale is logarithmic✓
• c.Only a small, insignificant change of two units
• d.No change in acidity at all

The pH scale is logarithmic, so each whole-number step is a tenfold change in acidity or alkalinity. Moving from pH 6 to pH 4 is a drop of two units, which means the solution becomes 10 x 10 = 100 times more acidic. Lower numbers are more acidic and higher numbers are more alkaline. This logarithmic nature is why small pH numbers on product labels represent large real differences in how a product affects the hair and skin.