Practical Skills and Workshop Practice
Practical questions test whether you can run a safe, timed, client-centred service in a workshop setting. Marks come from preparation, hygiene, technique, client care, aftercare and cleanup, not only from the finished look.
What examiners look for
- Station setup: clean trolley, only the products needed, labelled containers, waste bin, PPE and disinfected implements.
- Client care: consultation and record card, patch test where needed, draping, jewellery removed, comfort checked, consent given.
- Sequence and timing: a logical order with no wasted movement; announce each step; never leave a client alone with steam or hot tools.
- Hygiene between clients: hands washed, tools disinfected, single-use items discarded, linen changed.
- Aftercare: home advice, next appointment, record updated, station reset.
Worked example
A 60-minute facial practical can be timed as 5 minutes consultation and setup, 5 cleanse, 5 skin analysis, 8 exfoliation, 5 steam and extraction, 15 massage, 10 mask, 5 moisturiser and SPF, and 2 aftercare and record. Reasoning: the timings protect the treatment room schedule and ensure no step, especially analysis and SPF, is skipped for the sake of the massage.
Traps
Skipping hand hygiene between clients; reusing a file; not checking contraindications before starting; leaving the client during steam; forgetting to record products used; cleaning up after the client has left rather than as you go.