Infection Control, Sanitation, and Safety
Domain 1 - Infection Control, Sanitation, and Safety
Infection-control questions on the New Jersey esthetician exam are rarely simple definitions. They ask you to choose the correct process for a specific item and to sequence a service so that clean hands, clean tools and clean surfaces never meet contaminated ones.
Three levels, three jobs
- Cleaning - soap, water and friction. Removes visible debris and reduces bioburden; it does not kill organisms, and it is always the first step because disinfectant cannot penetrate soil.
- Disinfection - an EPA-registered hospital-grade disinfectant labeled bactericidal, virucidal and fungicidal, used for the full label contact time (commonly 10 minutes). Kills most pathogens, not bacterial spores.
- Sterilization - autoclave (moist heat under pressure), dry-heat oven, or a chemical sterilant with a long immersion time. The only process that destroys spores, and the required process for anything that contacted blood or broken skin.
Single-use and the double-dip rule
Porous or wooden items, cotton, gloves, wax strips, spatulas and lancets cannot be disinfected - they are discarded. Product comes out of a jar on a clean spatula; a spatula that touched skin never goes back in.
Practical safety
Keep the safety data sheet for every chemical, label secondary bottles, keep a sharps container for lancets and blades, and never leave hot wax or a hot towel unattended.
Worked example
An extractor causes a pinpoint of blood during a facial. Dropping it into the disinfectant jar is wrong. Because it contacted blood, it must be cleaned and then sterilized before reuse.
Traps
'Disinfectant sterilizes' is false. UV cabinets and soaking jars do not kill spores. Quarantine soiled implements in a closed container; do not leave them in the wash basin.