Personal Hygiene, Safety, and Sanitation
What this domain tests
This section assesses personal grooming, hand hygiene, use of personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning, disinfection, sterilisation, waste disposal, and basic workplace safety. Questions often ask you to sequence procedures or identify a breach.
Core rules
- Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before and after each client; use alcohol-based sanitiser only when hands are visibly clean.
- Change gloves between clients and after touching contaminated items; gloves do not replace handwashing.
- Clean tools with soap and water to remove debris, then disinfect with a hospital-grade product at the correct dilution and contact time. Sterilise items that penetrate skin, such as metal extractors, in an autoclave.
- Use single-use items (files, buffing blocks, wooden sticks, razors) where possible; never share mascara or lip products.
- Segregate waste: dry, wet, and sharps/biohazard in labelled bins.
- Keep floors dry, secure electrical cords, and store chemicals away from heat and children.
Worked example
A nail technician finishes a pedicure and sees blood on a nipper. She must stop, wear gloves, clean the nipper with detergent and water, then disinfect it, and finally sterilise it in an autoclave because it contacted blood. The single-use file goes into general waste, the bloodied cotton into biohazard waste, and the foot bath is cleaned and disinfected. She washes hands and changes gloves before the next client. Reason: visible blood changes the level of reprocessing from disinfection to sterilisation.
Traps that cost marks
- Wearing gloves for several clients.
- Topping up a disinfectant solution instead of preparing fresh.
- Storing tools damp, which encourages microbial growth.
- Mixing bleach with acid cleaners, releasing toxic gas.
- Putting blood-stained cotton in the ordinary bin.
Exam tip
Use the chain: clean, disinfect, sterilise, store dry and covered.