I85PREP
⌘ K
IN Esthetician study materials
IN Esthetician study resources

IN Esthetician: Infection Control, Sanitation, and Safety

IN Esthetician · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Infection Control, Sanitation, and Safety

What this domain tests

Indiana inspectors and the licensing board judge every treatment by one question: could this have moved microorganisms from one client to the next? Exam items ask you to classify an item (porous vs. nonporous), name the correct process, and spot the moment a routine broke down. Learn the levels: cleaning removes visible soil with soap and water; disinfection destroys most pathogens on nonporous surfaces using an EPA-registered hospital-grade disinfectant labeled bactericidal, virucidal, fungicidal, and tuberculocidal; sterilization destroys all microbial life including spores and is reserved for items that penetrate skin.

The rules that earn marks

  • Follow the label's contact time (often 10 minutes). A quick dip is not disinfection.
  • Wash and dry implements first, then immerse them fully in a covered container; keep dirty and clean storage separate.
  • Porous and single-use items - wooden sticks, cotton, sponges, paper towels, wax strips, lancets - are discarded, never disinfected.
  • Wash hands with soap before and after every client and after glove removal; gloves supplement hand washing, they do not replace it.
  • Keep an SDS for every chemical (OSHA Hazard Communication), label secondary containers, and store products away from heat and food.
  • Blood or body-fluid exposure: gloves on, service stops, waste goes into a lined closed container, surfaces are disinfected, and the incident is documented.

Worked example

An esthetician drops a metal extractor, wipes it with 70% alcohol, and keeps working. Wrong on two counts: the tool contacted a nonsterile floor, and an alcohol wipe does not satisfy the labeled contact time of a hospital-grade disinfectant. Correct action: remove it from service, wash and dry it, submerge it for the full contact time, and use a fresh implement on the client.

Traps

Calling a disinfectant a "sanitizer"; trusting UV towel cabinets; topping off cloudy disinfectant instead of replacing it; skipping contact time; re-dipping a spatula into the wax pot.