OR Nail Technician study guide
OR Nail Technician · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Oregon Nail Technology credential is issued through the Oregon Health Authority's Health Licensing Office (HLO), the state agency that regulates nail technology practitioners, salons and related businesses in Oregon. To be licensed, candidates must meet the HLO's training and application requirements and pass the nail technology written examination. The exam is designed for people who have completed an approved nail technology program - or otherwise satisfied Oregon's training requirements - and who intend to work in a salon, spa, or booth-rental setting, or eventually to own a licensed nail salon. Testing content is organized around four practical areas: infection control, sanitation and safety; nail care services and procedures; anatomy, physiology and nail disorders; and Oregon laws, rules and salon business practices. The OR Nail Technician study guide has 4 sections and about 1,633 words.
01Infection Control, Sanitation and Safety
Every rule you will be tested on breaks one link in the chain: infectious agent, reservoir, exit route, transmission, entry, susceptible host. Nail service risk is mostly contact transmission - contaminated implements, files, bowls, brushes, and technician hands.
660 words, about 3 min02Nail Care Services and Procedures
Consultation → hand washing → set out disinfected implements → prepare the nail → perform the service → massage if included → client checkout → clean and disinfect the station → record. Questions love the order.
322 words, about 2 min03Anatomy, Physiology and Nail Disorders
Nail plate (keratin, no nerves or blood vessels), nail bed, matrix (where growth is produced - injury here shows as a lasting groove), lunula (visible portion of the matrix), eponychium and cuticle (the seal at the base), hyponychium (seal at the free edge), nail folds and grooves, free edge. Beneath the plate, the bed's dermis carries blood vessels and nerves.
307 words, about 2 min04Oregon Laws, Rules and Salon Business Practices
Oregon cosmetology is governed by ORS 690 and the administrative rules in OAR chapter 817, administered by the Oregon Health Licensing Office with the Board of Cosmetology. Know the difference: statutes are the law, rules are the operating detail.
344 words, about 2 min