Florida Cosmetology: Chemical Makeup study guide

Domain 4 tests the chemistry behind products and services: pH, hair composition and bonds, developer mathematics, and how relaxers, waves, and color actually change the fiber. Items reward knowing why a product works, not brand names.

pH and matter

Matter is made of atoms; elements combine into compounds and mixtures. Cosmetology products are usually solutions, suspensions, or emulsions.
The pH scale runs 0–14 and is logarithmic: pH 4 is ten times more acidic than pH 5.
Hair and skin sit at about pH 4.5–5.5 (acid-balanced). Alkaline products swell the cuticle; acids tighten it.

Hair composition and bonds

Keratin is a protein: roughly 51 percent carbon, 21 percent oxygen, 17 percent nitrogen, 6 percent hydrogen, 5 percent sulfur.
Side bonds: disulfide (strongest), hydrogen, and salt. Water and pH shifts break hydrogen and salt bonds; thio and hydroxide chemicals break disulfide bonds.

Shampoos and conditioners

Surfactants do the cleaning: anionic (strongest), nonionic (mild), amphoteric (mild, pH-adjusting).
Conditioners use cationic quaternary ammonium compounds, fatty alcohols, silicones, and hydrolyzed proteins; they are attracted to negatively charged, damaged hair.

Color and developer

Permanent color uses aniline derivatives plus hydrogen peroxide developer.
Volume strengths: 10 volume = 3 percent, 20 = 6 percent, 30 = 9 percent, 40 = 12 percent peroxide. 20 volume typically lifts 1–2 levels; 40 volume is not "40 percent."

Relaxers and waves

Sodium hydroxide (lye) relaxers run about pH 11–14; no-lye systems use calcium hydroxide with guanidine.
Alkaline waves use ammonium thioglycolate; acid waves use glyceryl monothioglycolate and require heat.
The neutralizer (acidic, often peroxide-based) stops reduction and rebuilds disulfide bonds.

Worked example

A stylist has 20 volume and 40 volume developer on the shelf and wants 30 volume. Reasoning: mixing equal parts of 6 percent and 12 percent peroxide gives approximately 9 percent, which is 30 volume. Mixing unequal parts skews the result, and mixing different brands can void label directions - measure equal parts only if the products are compatible.

Traps

Treating pH as linear.
Calling 40 volume "40 percent peroxide."
Believing neutralizer is just a shampoo - it is an acidic product that stops the chemical action.

Environmental Issues

Domain 5 tests how a salon handles the waste and emissions it creates. Florida items focus on what may never go down the drain or into the trash, how blood-contaminated waste differs, and how ventilation and product choices reduce exposure.

Who regulates what

The EPA governs chemical and hazardous waste at the federal level; Florida DEP and county hazardous-waste programs handle disposal locally.
OSHA governs worker exposure indoors (ventilation, labels, training) - see Domain 6.
Florida biomedical waste rules apply to items saturated with blood or body fluids.

Waste streams in a salon

Leftover color, developer, relaxer, monomer/acrylic liquid, acetone, polish, and aerosol cans are chemical waste; fluorescent tubes contain mercury; batteries are separate.
Never pour chemicals down a drain or place liquid waste in the trash. Absorb liquids with an appropriate absorbent, seal in a labeled container, and take them to a household hazardous waste collection site; follow the product label.
Aerosol cans are pressurized - do not crush or put them in the regular trash unless the label and local rules allow it.
Blood- or body-fluid-saturated items go into a labeled, sealed container handled as biomedical waste, separate from general trash and from recyclables.
Mixed waste is the most common violation: acetone poured into a bucket of color waste, or solvent towels bagged with paper.

Air, water, and energy

Ammonia, formaldehyde from smoothing treatments, methacrylate monomer, and acetone are all inhalation irritants. Use local exhaust, keep containers closed, and never eat or drink at the station.
Low-flow fixtures and auto-shutoff faucets cut water use; LED lighting and correct bulb disposal cut mercury risk.
"Green" and "nontoxic" claims must be substantiated - biodegradability depends on the label's stated conditions.

Worked example

At closing, a colorist has four ounces of mixed color and used developer left in the bowl. Reasoning: mixed color is a reacted chemical product, not rinse water. Correct action is to add absorbent, seal it in a labeled container, and route it to the county hazardous waste program - not to the sink, and not loose in the trash bag with paper towels.

Traps

Assuming small salon quantities are exempt from disposal rules.
Rinsing developer down the drain because it is "mostly water."
Storing chemicals in unlabeled drink bottles or food containers.

OSHA

Domain 6 tests the federal workplace-safety duties that apply in a salon. The key insight is that cosmetologists have occupational exposure to blood, so the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard applies to them - not just to hospitals.

Coverage and general duties

OSHA covers private-sector employers; a sole proprietor with no employees is not covered, but the moment there are employees the standards apply.
The General Duty Clause requires a workplace free of recognized serious hazards even when no specific standard exists - ergonomics and ventilation complaints often land here.

Bloodborne Pathogens Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1030

Requires a written exposure control plan, reviewed and updated.
Hepatitis B vaccination offered free to employees with occupational exposure within 10 working days of assignment; if declined, a signed declination form is kept. The vaccine is offered, never forced.
PPE - gloves, eye protection, masks - provided at no cost by the employer.
Training at initial assignment and at least annually, during working hours, at no cost.
Labeled containers for regulated waste; post-exposure evaluation and follow-up after an exposure incident.

Hazard Communication, 29 CFR 1910.1200

Every hazardous chemical needs a Safety Data Sheet available to workers, a proper label, and training on the specific hazards - not memorization of the whole SDS.

Other standards you may see

Formaldehyde (1910.1048): hair-smoothing products; permissible exposure limit 0.75 ppm as an 8-hour time-weighted average, with an action level of 0.5 ppm.
PPE (1910.132) and electrical safety near water: GFCI protection, undamaged cords.
Recordkeeping: sharps injuries and certain illnesses go on the OSHA 300 log; fatalities must be reported within 8 hours, hospitalizations and amputations within 24.

Worked example

A nail salon hires a new technician. Reasoning: her duties involve potential contact with blood, so on day one the employer must provide BBP training, gloves, and an offer of the hepatitis B vaccine within 10 working days. If she declines, the signed declination goes in her file; the training repeats annually.

Traps

Believing the vaccine is mandatory or that the employee pays for PPE.
One-time training - the standard requires annual refreshers.
Thinking OSHA applies only to factories and labs.

Workers' Compensation and HIV/AIDS

Domain 7 pairs two workplace topics: Florida's workers' compensation system (Chapter 440, Florida Statutes) and the bloodborne pathogen realities of HIV and hepatitis. Items test coverage thresholds, reporting deadlines, and correct precautions and confidentiality.

Workers' compensation basics

Florida requires non-construction employers with four or more employees, full- or part-time, to carry workers' compensation; construction employers need coverage with one employee.
Corporate officers may file for exemption; independent contractors such as properly structured booth renters are generally not employees and should carry their own coverage.
Benefits include medical care, wage replacement (indemnity), disability, and death benefits.
The injured worker must report the injury to the employer within 30 days; the employer then reports to the carrier, generally within 7 days. Late reporting can jeopardize the claim.
Workers' compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against the employer for a work injury.
Occupational diseases count: contact dermatitis from color or monomer, respiratory irritation from vapors, carpal tunnel, and back strain from shampooing.

HIV/AIDS in the salon

HIV is a fragile virus; it is inactivated by EPA-registered hospital disinfectants and by bleach solutions, and it does not survive long outside the body.
Transmission routes: unprotected sexual contact, sharing needles, blood-to-blood exposure, and mother to child. It is not transmitted by casual contact, sweat, tears, mosquitoes, toilet seats, or shared combs and brushes.
Hepatitis B is far more transmissible and more stable on surfaces than HIV - which is why every blood exposure is treated as infectious.
Universal precautions: treat all blood and body fluids as potentially infectious; glove for any service where blood may appear.
Florida law protects HIV test results and status. A client is not required to disclose HIV status, and a licensee may not refuse service solely because a client is HIV-positive.

Worked example

A barber nicks a client's neck and sees blood. Reasoning: stop, glove, absorb with a disposable towel, clean with soap and water, then apply a tuberculocidal hospital disinfectant; bag the waste as biomedical waste, disinfect tools and surfaces, wash hands, and do not disclose or speculate about the client's health status to anyone.

Traps

Assuming a booth renter is automatically covered by the salon's policy.
Missing the 30-day reporting window.
Believing a client must disclose HIV status, or that HIV spreads by sharing tools.
Discussing a client's health information with coworkers.