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

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.Store it in a UV drawer to sterilize it for reuse
• 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.Disinfect it and reuse it on the next client

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.Continue the service and clean up afterward
• b.Reuse the tool on the next client since the blood was minor
• c.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✓
• 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 changes the color of the wax
• b.It cools the wax too quickly
• c.The applicator carries skin cells and microorganisms into the pot, contaminating the wax for every later client✓
• d.It wastes product and slows the service

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.