Tennessee Cosmetology License Exam — All Questions

Under Tennessee sanitation rules, how must multi-use metal tools such as shears, clippers, and combs be treated between clients?

• a.Wiped with a dry paper towel and returned to the drawer
• b.Cleaned to remove debris, then fully immersed in an EPA-registered, hospital-level disinfectant used per the product label✓
• c.Rinsed under warm tap water only
• d.Sprayed with rubbing alcohol and used immediately while still wet

Reusable implements that touch the skin must first be cleaned of hair, product, and debris, then disinfected by immersion in an EPA-registered disinfectant with demonstrated bactericidal, virucidal, and fungicidal claims, mixed and contacted for the time stated on the label. Cleaning alone or a quick alcohol wipe does not meet the Tennessee Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners (Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance)'s disinfection standard.

A nail file, buffer, or wooden orangewood stick has been used on one client. What do Tennessee rules require next?

• a.Disinfect it and reuse it on the next client
• b.Wash it with soap and water and keep using it
• c.Discard it — porous, single-use items cannot be disinfected and must not be reused✓
• d.Store it in a UV drawer to sterilize it for reuse

Porous and disposable items — nail files, buffers, orangewood/cuticle sticks, disposable wax applicators, and similar — absorb moisture and cannot be reliably disinfected. Tennessee rules require these to be used on one client and then thrown away. Only non-porous, cleanable implements may be disinfected and reused.

During a service a client is nicked and bleeds. What is the correct exposure-incident response expected by the Tennessee Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners (Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance)?

• a.Stop, put on gloves and give basic first aid, then clean and disinfect any surfaces and tools that contacted blood and discard contaminated single-use items in a lined container✓
• b.Continue the service and clean up afterward
• c.Reuse the tool on the next client since the blood was minor
• d.Rinse the tool under water and place it back in service immediately

Blood or body-fluid exposure triggers a defined procedure: stop the service, protect yourself with gloves, apply first aid, then clean and disinfect the workstation and any contaminated implements, and dispose of single-use contaminated materials properly. This limits transmission of bloodborne pathogens and is a core public-health duty enforced by the Tennessee Board of Cosmetology and Barber Examiners (Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance).

Why do Tennessee sanitation standards prohibit re-dipping a used wax applicator back into the wax pot ('double-dipping')?

• a.It cools the wax too quickly
• b.It wastes product and slows the service
• c.It changes the color of the wax
• d.The applicator carries skin cells and microorganisms into the pot, contaminating the wax for every later client✓

Once a stick touches a client's skin it picks up bacteria and cells; returning it to the pot contaminates all remaining wax. A fresh applicator must be used for each withdrawal of wax. This single-use discipline is why double-dipping is treated as a sanitation violation.