CA Barber cheat sheet

California requires 1,500 clock hours of approved barber training plus passing a written and a practical examination before a barber license is issued.

Minimum eligibility for a California barber license: at least 17 years of age and completion of the 10th grade or its equivalent.

A barber license must be posted at the workstation, and the shop must hold a current establishment license that is also posted for public view.

Licenses expire and must be renewed on the schedule set by the state board; working on an expired license is a violation subject to citation and fine.

Only services within the legal scope of barbering may be performed for compensation; services outside that scope require a different license.

State board inspectors may enter a shop during business hours to inspect sanitation, tools, and licenses; violations can result in fines, suspension, or revocation.

Barbers may not treat or service a client with a known contagious or inflamed skin or scalp condition, and must refer the client to a physician.

Tools and linens must meet the board's sanitation standards; single-use items such as neck strips and razor blades cannot be reused between clients.

Failure to follow board advertising, record-keeping, or sanitation rules is grounds for disciplinary action even if the service itself was performed correctly.

Disinfectants must be EPA-registered hospital-grade products labeled bactericidal, virucidal, and fungicidal, and must be mixed at the dilution stated on the label.

Nonporous implements must be cleaned of debris, then completely immersed in disinfectant for the contact time on the label, generally at least 10 minutes.

Blood or body-fluid spill procedure: stop the service, don gloves, clean the area with soap and water, apply an EPA-registered hospital disinfectant, and seal contaminated waste in a bag.

Do not provide service when pediculosis (head lice), tinea (ringworm), impetigo, or weeping lesions are present; disinfect all tools and refer the client for medical care.

Disinfection destroys most pathogenic organisms but not bacterial spores; sterilization (autoclave) destroys all microorganisms including spores.

Wash hands with soap and warm water before and after every client, and between glove changes; hand sanitizer is not a substitute when hands are visibly soiled.

Linens and capes are single-use or laundered after each client, and a disposable neck strip must keep the cape off the client's skin.

Keep clean and soiled implements in separate, labeled containers; never place tools on the floor or carry combs in pockets.

Safety Data Sheets (SDS) for every chemical in the shop must be on file and accessible to employees.

Elevation (projection) controls shape: 0 degrees produces a blunt one-length line, 45 degrees graduation, 90 degrees uniform layers, and 180 degrees long layers.

Cutting lines: horizontal lines build weight and a solid perimeter, vertical lines create graduation and blending, diagonal lines combine both effects.

Tension rule: the more tension applied to a section, the shorter the finished length; uneven tension produces an uneven cut.

A blunt cut holds maximum weight at the perimeter; graduated cuts build weight at the perimeter with shorter interior lengths; layered cuts remove interior weight.

Texturizing methods (point cutting, notching, slicing, slithering, razor cutting) remove bulk at the ends without changing the overall outline.

Shear-over-comb and clipper-over-comb create short tapers and fades; guard numbers rise with the length of hair left, so a #1 cuts closer than a #4.

Wet hair can stretch up to about 50 percent of its length, so wet cutting and dry cutting of the same hair can produce different finished lengths.

Growth patterns such as a cowlick, whorl, or widow's peak determine natural parting placement and where the finished style will fall.

The first section cut (the guide) sets the reference length that every remaining section is measured against.

Beard hair must be softened with a warm towel and lather for about 5 to 7 minutes so the hair hydrates, swells, and cuts more easily.

Shave in the direction of hair growth (with the grain) with the razor held at roughly a 30-degree angle, keeping the skin stretched taut.

Straight razor parts include the blade, tang, shank, scales, and point; honing sharpens the edge on a stone while stropping realigns it on leather.

A fresh blade or a properly stropped razor is required for each client; razors and blades are never shared without disinfection or replacement.

Freehand strokes are used to outline and shape mustache and beard lines, while the neckline is finished below the jaw with the client upright.

Pseudofolliculitis barbae (razor bumps) occurs when tightly curled hair re-enters the skin; shaving with the grain or using clippers reduces irritation.

Styptic powder stops minor nick bleeding by contracting tissue; a cold towel or astringent closes pores and removes lather residue after the shave.

Do not shave over moles, raised lesions, inflamed skin, or a contagious condition; refer the client to a physician.

Normal hair pH is about 4.5 to 5.5; permanent waves and relaxers are alkaline and raise pH to swell the cuticle and reach the cortex.

Ammonium thioglycolate waving solution has a pH of about 9.0 to 9.6 and breaks roughly half of the disulfide bonds during processing.

The neutralizer (hydrogen peroxide or sodium bromate, pH about 4.5 to 7) rebuilds disulfide bonds in the new shape and stops the waving action.

Rod or tool diameter determines curl size: a small rod produces a tight curl, a large rod produces a loose wave; base placement controls volume.

Sodium hydroxide relaxers (lye) are strongly alkaline, about pH 12 to 14; no-lye relaxers using guanidine or calcium hydroxide are lower, about pH 9 to 11.

Retouch application places relaxer only on new growth; product is never pulled through previously relaxed hair because overlap causes overprocessing and breakage.

Neutralizing shampoo lowers pH, removes chemical residue, and halts relaxer processing; lather until it stays white and confirm with a pH test.

Patch test 24 to 48 hours before a chemical service, and strand test to determine processing time and predicted result.

Hydrogen peroxide developer volumes: 10 volume deposits color, 20 volume lifts about one level, 30 volume lifts two to three levels, and 40 volume lifts three to four levels.

Color levels run from 1 (black) to 10 (lightest blonde); the law of color states primaries are blue, red, and yellow, secondaries are green, orange, and violet, and complementary pairs neutralize each other.

Never perm hair that has been relaxed or relax hair that has been permed; metallic salts and incompatible products can cause breakage or a chemical reaction.

Elasticity test: a wet strand that stretches and returns is normal, one that breaks immediately is overprocessed and cannot safely take another chemical service.

Skin layers: epidermis (outer, no blood vessels), dermis (nerves, glands, follicles, blood vessels), and subcutaneous tissue (fat and larger vessels).

Hair structure: cuticle (outer overlapping scales), cortex (bulk of the hair, containing pigment and disulfide bonds), medulla (central core, absent in fine hair).

Growth cycle: anagen (active growth, 2 to 6 years), catagen (transition, a few weeks), telogen (resting and shedding, about 3 months).

Skull bones: frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital; facial bones include the zygomatic, maxilla, and mandible.

Muscles: frontalis raises the eyebrows, temporalis and masseter are chewing muscles, and the platysma covers the front of the neck.

Nerves: the fifth cranial (trigeminal) nerve is the chief sensory nerve of the face and motor nerve of chewing; the seventh cranial (facial) nerve controls facial expression.

pH scale runs 0 to 14; 7 is neutral, below 7 is acidic, above 7 is alkaline, and each whole number represents a tenfold change in concentration.

Bacteria shapes: cocci are round, bacilli are rod-shaped, spirilla are spiral; pathogens cause disease while nonpathogens do not.

Bacterial spores are the most resistant form of bacteria and survive many disinfectants; only sterilization reliably destroys them.

Skin types are normal, dry (alipidic), oily, and combination; classification depends on pore size, oil production, and moisture level.

The Fitzpatrick scale rates skin from type I to type VI by response to sun exposure; higher types have more melanin and burn less easily.

Manual facial massage movements: effleurage (light gliding strokes), petrissage (kneading), tapotement (rapid tapping), and friction (circular pressure).

Contraindications to facial massage and treatment include active acne, open lesions, sunburn, recent chemical peel or waxing, and any contagious skin infection.

Comedones are open (blackheads, darkened by oxidation) or closed (whiteheads); extractions are done only after steam softens the follicles.

Dandruff (pityriasis) is treated with medicated shampoo; seborrheic dermatitis is a more severe inflammatory scalp condition that may need medical referral.

Alopecia types include areata (patchy, autoimmune), androgenetic (inherited pattern), and traumatic (from tension or chemicals); a barber refers rather than treats.

Hair analysis for chemical services includes texture, density, porosity, and elasticity, each of which changes how hair responds to product.