Maryland Cosmetology License Exam — All Questions

To reuse a metal comb or shears between clients under Maryland sanitation rules, a practitioner must:

• a.wipe it on a clean towel
• b.rinse it under warm tap water only
• c.clean off debris, then immerse or fully wet the tool with an EPA-registered, hospital-level disinfectant for the labeled contact time✓
• d.leave it in sunlight for a few minutes

Non-porous multi-use tools must first be cleaned of visible debris, then disinfected with an EPA-registered disinfectant (hospital/tuberculocidal level) for the full contact time on the label. Rinsing, wiping, or sunlight does not disinfect.

Under Maryland health and safety rules, single-use items such as emery boards, wooden sticks, and disposable wax applicators must be:

• a.shared only among family members
• b.disinfected and reused on the next client
• c.washed with soap and returned to stock
• d.discarded after one client and never reused✓

Porous single-use (disposable) items cannot be adequately disinfected, so they must be thrown away after one use and never reused. Only non-porous items can be cleaned and disinfected for reuse.

If a client is accidentally cut and bleeds during a service in Maryland, the correct infection-control response is to:

• a.stop, put on gloves, care for the wound, then clean and disinfect any contaminated surfaces and discard contaminated single-use items✓
• b.keep working and wipe the blood with a used towel
• c.reuse the blood-contaminated tool on the next client
• d.ignore it if the cut looks minor

Any blood exposure requires standard precautions: stop service, glove up, treat the injury, then clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces and tools and dispose of contaminated disposables. This prevents transmission of bloodborne pathogens between clients.

Which statement best reflects the difference between cleaning and disinfecting that Maryland expects practitioners to understand?

• a.Cleaning and disinfecting are the same step
• b.Cleaning removes visible dirt and debris; disinfecting then destroys most pathogens on a cleaned, non-porous surface✓
• c.Disinfecting can be skipped if a tool looks clean
• d.Disinfecting a dirty tool works just as well as cleaning it first

Cleaning physically removes soil and debris, which must happen first; disinfection then kills most pathogens on the cleaned, non-porous surface for the labeled contact time. A disinfectant cannot work properly on a visibly soiled tool, so the steps are distinct and sequential.