MN Cosmetology cheat sheet

Minn. Stat. ch. 155A is the Cosmetology Act; the Board of Cosmetologist Examiners adopts rules under it, issues licenses, inspects establishments, and imposes discipline.

Minnesota license categories include cosmetologist, esthetician, advanced practice esthetician, nail technician, instructor, and salon; each carries a defined scope of practice.

Services are limited to the license held: a nail technician may not perform hair color, and an esthetician may not perform nail enhancements or haircutting.

Pre-licensure training minimums are set per license type, including roughly 1,550 clock hours for cosmetologist and 600 for esthetician, with fewer required for nail technician.

A current individual license and a current salon license must be maintained and available for inspection at the licensed establishment; practicing on a lapsed license is a violation.

Protected titles such as cosmetologist, esthetician, and nail technician may be used only by licensed persons, and advertising may not be false or misleading.

The Board may enter and inspect a salon during business hours; findings can lead to correction orders, fines, suspension, or revocation.

Client service records must be documented and retained consistent with board rules and produced on request during an inspection.

Cleaning removes visible soil; sanitizing reduces bacteria to a safe public-health level; disinfecting destroys most pathogens; sterilizing destroys all microbial life including spores.

Implements are cleaned with soap and water, dried, then fully immersed in an EPA-registered hospital-grade disinfectant for the contact time printed on the label.

Porous items that cannot be disinfected - files, buffers, wooden sticks, cotton, sponges - are single-use and discarded after each client.

Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before and after every client, after removing gloves, and after any contact with blood or body fluids.

Blood or body-fluid spill: don gloves, absorb with a disposable towel, clean with soap and water, disinfect with a tuberculocidal hospital-grade product, then double-bag the waste.

Soiled linens go into a closed container and are laundered after each use; clean and dirty implements are stored separately and never carried loose in a pocket.

Safety Data Sheets for every chemical in the salon must be on hand, and storing chemicals in unlabeled containers is prohibited.

Electrical safety: keep cords and appliances away from water, use GFCI outlets near sinks, and unplug tools before cleaning.

Foot spas and whirlpool basins are drained, cleaned, and disinfected according to the manufacturer's instructions after every client.

Elevation controls weight: 0 degrees produces a blunt one-length line; 45 degrees a graduated shape; 90 degrees uniform layers; 180 degrees long layers with maximum movement.

A stationary guide stays fixed while hair is cut to it and builds a solid shape; a traveling guide moves so the shape can expand or narrow along the head.

Overdirection combs hair away from natural fall, shifting weight toward the opposite side and adding length where directed.

Blunt cutting is done at the perimeter line with no elevation; texturizing is performed only after the overall form is complete.

Subsection size and tension must stay consistent, because uneven tension produces uneven lines, especially on wavy or curly hair.

Razor cutting yields softer, more tapered ends than shears, while shear-point, notching, and slithering reduce bulk without shortening the perimeter.

Wet hair stretches about 50 percent of its length, so wet cutting on tightly curly hair can shorten the dry result; dry cutting refines curl shape.

Blow-dry styling directs airflow from roots to ends to smooth the cuticle; lifting at 90 degrees builds volume and overdirecting creates movement.

Developer volumes: 10 volume equals 3 percent hydrogen peroxide, 20 volume 6 percent, 30 volume 9 percent, and 40 volume 12 percent; lift rises with volume as does scalp irritation risk.

Hair's natural pH is about 4.5 to 5.5; permanent color and lighteners are alkaline, so an acidic finishing product closes the cuticle afterward.

A patch test is applied 24 to 48 hours before a color service and read before application; a positive reaction cancels the service.

The level system runs from 1 (black) to 10 (lightest blonde); underlying pigment must be replaced when lifting more than two to three levels.

A strand test establishes processing time and predicted outcome before product is applied to the entire head.

Hydroxide relaxers have a pH of roughly 12 to 14 and are never combined with thio relaxers or with each other's neutralizing chemistry.

Relaxer retouch: apply only to new growth, protect the scalp with base, follow the manufacturer's processing time, then neutralize to pH 4.5 to 5.5.

Permanent waving softens disulfide bonds with a thio or acid solution so hair reshapes around the rod; the neutralizer rebuilds the bonds in the new position.

Clients should not shampoo, scratch, or irritate the scalp for about 48 hours before a relaxer service.

Hair shaft layers: cuticle (protective overlapping scales), cortex (about 80 percent of bulk, holding melanin and chemical bonds), and medulla (central core, sometimes absent).

Wet hair stretches about 50 percent of its length and dry hair about 20 percent before breaking; elasticity indicates protein and moisture balance.

Low-porosity hair resists moisture and needs heat or alkalinity to raise the cuticle; high-porosity hair absorbs and loses moisture rapidly.

Scalp massage manipulations: effleurage (gliding), petrissage (kneading), tapotement (percussion), and friction (small circular pressure).

Shampoo procedure: wet hair thoroughly, apply product, massage with fingertips rather than nails, and rinse until the water runs clear at moderate temperature.

Conditioner types: instant surface conditioner (1 to 3 minutes), deep treatment (penetrating, heat or extended time), and leave-in (light film plus styling protection).

Do not service an inflamed, broken, or infected scalp; suspected contagious conditions such as ringworm or impetigo require referral to a physician.

Common hair loss patterns: androgenetic (patterned), alopecia areata (patchy autoimmune), telogen effluvium (shedding after stress or illness), and postpartum shedding.

Nail structures: plate, bed, matrix, lunula, eponychium (cuticle), hyponychium, lateral nail folds, and free edge.

Fingernails replace in about 3 to 6 months and toenails in 9 to 12 months; average growth is roughly 1/8 inch (about 3 mm) per month.

Metal implements are cleaned, dried, then disinfected in an EPA-registered hospital-grade product for the labeled contact time; files and buffers are single-use.

Living tissue is never cut or torn; nippers are used only on non-living tissue and hangnails, never on the eponychium or lateral folds.

Contraindications to nail services include paronychia, onychomycosis, inflamed or swollen tissue, and open lesions; refer the client to a physician.

Methyl methacrylate (MMA) liquid monomer is not used for nail enhancements; ethyl methacrylate (EMA) products are the accepted substitute.

Electric file safety: use low speed, keep the bit moving, avoid pressure on the sidewalls and matrix, and stop if the client reports heat.

Standard nail shapes are square, squoval, oval, round, and pointed, chosen to follow the natural free edge and finger type.

Skin layers: epidermis (stratum corneum, granulosum, spinosum, basale), dermis (collagen, elastin, nerves, vessels), and subcutaneous layer (fat).

Fitzpatrick types I through VI estimate ultraviolet sensitivity; type I burns easily and never tans while type VI rarely burns, and the rating guides light and peel services.

Basic facial sequence: consultation and skin analysis, cleansing, exfoliation, extractions where appropriate, massage, mask, moisturizer, and sun protection.

Facial massage manipulations are effleurage, petrissage, tapotement, and vibration, worked upward and outward along the direction of the muscle fibers.

Waxing: hair should be about 1/4 inch long; apply wax in the direction of growth, remove against it, hold skin taut, and apply pressure afterward.

Waxing contraindications include isotretinoin use, recent chemical peel or laser, topical retinoids, varicose veins, moles, inflamed or broken skin, and sunburn.

Hair removal methods: soft and hard waxing, sugaring, threading, tweezing, chemical depilatories, electrolysis, and laser or photoepilation.

Facial sanitation: wash hands, use single-use applicators and spatulas, never double-dip, and disinfect implements and surfaces between clients.

Levels of organization run from cell to tissue to organ to system to organism; the human body has 11 major systems.

Cranial bones: frontal, parietal (2), temporal (2), occipital, ethmoid, and sphenoid; facial bones include mandible, maxillae, zygomatic, nasal, and lacrimal.

Facial muscles include frontalis, temporalis, masseter, orbicularis oculi, procerus, zygomaticus, buccinator, and mentalis; neck muscles include platysma and sternocleidomastoid.

The fifth cranial (trigeminal) nerve is sensory to the face and motor to the muscles of mastication; the seventh cranial (facial) nerve is motor to the muscles of expression.

The common carotid artery divides into internal and external carotid; external branches include the superficial temporal, facial, occipital, and posterior auricular arteries.

The pH scale runs 0 to 14 with 7 neutral; each whole number represents a tenfold change in hydrogen ion concentration, with acids below 7 and alkalis above 7.

Direct current flows in one direction (galvanic is the constant form used in electrolysis); alternating current cycles and is used in high-frequency and sinusoidal devices.

Cosmetic chemistry forms: solutions, suspensions, emulsions (oil-in-water and water-in-oil), and surfactants that allow oil and water to mix.

Consultation sequence: review history and prior chemical services, analyze hair, skin, or nails, identify contraindications, agree on the outcome, then document.

Open-ended questions plus reflective listening yield more accurate information than yes-or-no questions.

Contraindications requiring modification or referral include open lesions, active infection, allergy history, pregnancy considerations, recent isotretinoin, and metal implants for electrical services.

Client records note products, formulations, processing times, patch and strand test results, and outcomes, and are kept confidential.

Informed consent documents that benefits, risks, and alternatives were explained and that the client agreed before the service began.

Pricing must cover product cost, service time, overhead, and profit; a price set below the cost per service loses money on every client.

Booth renters typically pay fixed rent, supply their own tools, and are treated as self-employed for tax purposes, unlike commission employees.

Ethical practice means no false or comparative advertising, no diagnosing of disease, no guaranteeing results, and no service outside the license held.