GA Master Barber cheat sheet

The Georgia State Board of Barbering is administratively attached to the Georgia Secretary of State's Professional Licensing Boards Division; the Board writes rules, and the Division handles licensing and inspections.

Barber licensing in Georgia requires completion of a board-approved program (commonly 1,500 clock hours at a licensed barber school), passage of the written and practical examinations, and a fee; a master barber credential additionally requires documented experience beyond the initial barber license.

A shop must hold a current shop license displayed in public view; a shop may not operate unless a licensed barber is on duty, and the license is not transferable to a new owner or address without board approval.

Georgia requires a licensed barber shop to have a designated sanitation area with hot and cold running water, a covered waste receptacle, and a wet-sterilizer or equivalent approved disinfection method for implements.

Licenses are renewed on a biennial cycle; Georgia barbers must complete continuing education hours per renewal period as set by Board rule, and late renewal after expiration may require a reinstatement fee or reexamination.

Display rules: individual barber licenses and shop licenses must be posted conspicuously at the work station or shop entrance; a licensee must show the license on request of a Board inspector or consumer.

Prohibited conduct includes practicing on an unlicensed premises, allowing an unlicensed person to perform barbering services, using a name other than the licensed name, and advertising services the licensee is not licensed to provide.

Disciplinary authority: the Board may reprimand, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a license and may impose civil fines for sanitation violations, unlicensed practice, or fraud in obtaining a license; unlicensed practice is a separate violation subject to penalty.

Recordkeeping: shops must keep client records and chemical service records as required by Board rule, and must report changes of ownership, location, or employment to the Board within the timeframe set by rule.

Two-tier rule: single-use porous items (neck strips, cotton, wooden sticks, sponges) are discarded after one client; nonporous implements (shears, clippers, combs, metal guards) are cleaned of hair and debris, washed with soap and water, then disinfected with an EPA-registered hospital-grade disinfectant at label dilution and contact time.

Sterilization destroys all microbial life including spores and is achieved with an autoclave (steam under pressure, typically 250°F/121°C for the labeled cycle) or a dry-heat sterilizer; disinfection alone does not sterilize.

Blood and body-fluid exposure: stop the service, wash the area with soap and water, apply an EPA-registered disinfectant, cover the wound, discard contaminated single-use items in a closed container, and disinfect all contacted tools before reuse.

Hand hygiene: wash hands with soap and warm water before and after each client and after removing gloves; hand sanitizer is a supplement, not a substitute, when hands are visibly soiled.

Implements that contact skin must be disinfected between clients; electrical clippers require an FDA-cleared or EPA-registered clipper disinfectant spray or wipe, and blades should be cleaned of hair before disinfection.

Wet disinfection: immerse pre-cleaned implements fully in an EPA-registered disinfectant at the labeled concentration and for the full labeled contact time; solutions must be changed at the interval stated on the label or when visibly soiled.

Towels and linens must be laundered with detergent and hot water or a disinfectant, stored in a closed cabinet, and never reused on a second client without laundering.

Sharps and razors: single-use straight razor blades are discarded in a sharps container immediately after use; a razor must never be reused on another client, and a blood-contaminated blade is handled with gloves.

Safety: keep disinfectant Safety Data Sheets on file, label secondary containers, ventilate chemical areas, and store chemicals away from food, towels, and client areas.

Hair structure: the follicle is the pocket in the dermis; the bulb at its base holds the matrix where cells divide; the papilla supplies blood and nutrients; the sebaceous gland secretes sebum into the follicle.

Three layers of the hair shaft: cuticle (outer overlapping scales, protects and controls texture), cortex (bulk of the fiber, holds melanin and moisture, site of chemical change), and medulla (inner core, absent in fine hair).

Growth cycle: anagen (active growth, roughly 2-6 years), catagen (transition, weeks), telogen (resting, about 3 months), then shedding; most scalp hair is in anagen at any time.

Hair types: lanugo (fine prenatal hair), vellus (short, fine, unpigmented, on most of the body), and terminal (long, coarse, pigmented, on the scalp, beard, and after puberty in other areas).

Scalp conditions: pityriasis (dry or oily flaking, treated with medicated shampoo), seborrheic dermatitis (red, greasy scaling), tinea capitis (fungal ringworm, contagious, refer to a physician), and pediculosis (lice, contagious, refer out).

Contraindications to chemical or heat services: open lesions, burns, sunburn, contagious scalp conditions, recent chemical burn, and known allergy to the product; barbers may not treat disease, only refer.

Alopecia types: androgenic (pattern, hereditary and hormonal), alopecia areata (patchy, autoimmune), postpartum and telogen effluvium (diffuse shedding after stress, illness, or childbirth), and traction alopecia (from tight styles).

Hair texture and porosity: porosity governs how quickly hair absorbs and holds moisture; low porosity resists absorption and needs heat or longer processing, high porosity absorbs fast and can overprocess, so test before chemical service.

Beard and facial hair anatomy: terminal beard hair grows from follicles with sebaceous glands; ingrown hairs (pseudofolliculitis) are common after close shaves and are managed by shaving with the grain and exfoliating, not by cutting the lesion.

Cutting tools: shears and thinning shears cut with a scissor-over-comb or freehand technique; clippers with guards cut bulk and fade; a straight razor is used for close shaves with the blade at a shallow angle and the skin held taut.

Clipper guard numbers translate to cut length: a #1 guard leaves about 1/8 inch, #2 about 1/4 inch, #3 about 3/8 inch, #4 about 1/2 inch; a fade blends guards from short at the nape to longer at the crown.

Shave sequence: prepare with warm towel and lather, shave with the grain first, re-lather and shave across or against the grain only if the skin tolerates it, then apply a cool towel and aftershave balm; never shave over a raised mole or broken skin.

Haircolor: temporary color coats the cuticle, semipermanent deposits without lifting and fades over washes, and permanent color lifts and deposits through the cortex; patch test 24-48 hours before any color service.

Developer (hydrogen peroxide) volumes: 10 volume (3%) deposits with little lift, 20 volume (6%) lifts 1-2 levels, 30 volume (9%) lifts 2-3 levels, 40 volume (12%) lifts 3-4 levels; higher volume increases scalp irritation and damage risk.

Relaxers and texturizers: sodium hydroxide (lye) and guanidine hydroxide (no-lye) are strong alkalis that break disulfide bonds; do not apply over a scalp with abrasions, do not shampoo immediately before, and follow the manufacturer's timing exactly.

Perms: an alkaline or acid wave softens and reshapes disulfide bonds, then a neutralizer rebuilds them; do not perm over bleached, relaxed, or damaged hair, and test a strand first.

Tools and maintenance: shears are honed and never dropped or used on wet hair unless designed for it; clippers are oiled and blades aligned; combs and brushes are cleaned of hair and disinfected between clients.

Chemical safety: mix color and relaxer only in a ventilated area, never store mixed product, keep products labeled, and follow the manufacturer's instructions over any general rule when they conflict.