Safety, Sanitation, and Infection Control
This domain tests the infection-control chain and safe practice in a New Hampshire esthetics setting: what must be cleaned, what must be disinfected, and when a tool or client must be refused. The exam favors practical judgments over definitions alone.
Core rules
- Cleaning removes visible soil; sanitation reduces microbes; disinfection destroys most pathogens on nonporous surfaces; sterilization destroys all microbial life and is not a routine esthetics step.
- Use an EPA-registered hospital-grade disinfectant at the label dilution and contact time. A quick wipe is not disinfection.
- Nonporous implements such as metal extractors, scissors, and tweezers must be cleaned, disinfected, dried, and stored covered. Porous items such as wood, foam, and porous-handled brushes cannot be reliably disinfected; use single-use items or discard them.
- Wash hands before and after each client; wear gloves for blood, body fluids, and broken skin. Single-use items are never reused; no double-dipping into products.
- Blood exposure: stop, put on gloves, clean, disinfect, and dispose of contaminated waste per OSHA bloodborne pathogen rules; report and document.
Worked example
An extractor falls on the floor. Do not wipe it on a towel and continue. Remove it from service, clean visible debris, immerse it in hospital-grade disinfectant for the full label contact time, dry it, and store it covered. If it contacted blood, treat it as contaminated and follow exposure protocol.
Traps
Calling a sanitizer a disinfectant; storing tools in dirty disinfectant; skipping contact time; reusing disposable applicators; wearing gloves instead of washing hands; using porous tools on multiple clients.