PA Cosmetology study guide
PA Cosmetology · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Pennsylvania State Board of Cosmetology, part of the Department of State's Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, regulates the practice of cosmetology, esthetics, and nail technology in the Commonwealth through licensure, registration, certification, and discipline. Its authority covers cosmetologists, estheticians, and nail technicians; the teachers of each of those practices; cosmetology, esthetician, and nail technology salons; and cosmetology schools, as well as the unlicensed practice of the profession. The PA Cosmetology study guide has 4 sections and about 2,017 words.
01Hair Care and Hair Services
A hair strand has three layers: the cuticle (overlapping scales that protect the strand and must be lifted for chemicals to penetrate), the cortex (the bulk of the fiber, holding melanin, disulfide bonds, and almost all color and texture change), and the medulla (a central core that may be thin or absent, especially in fine hair). Questions frequently swap cuticle and cortex - if the stem asks where bonds break or where color is deposited, the answer is the cortex.
371 words, about 2 min02Skin Care and Esthetics
The epidermis is the outer, avascular layer; its deepest part (stratum basale) is where new cells form, and the surface (stratum corneum) is dead keratinized cells. Beneath it sit the dermis - collagen, elastin, blood vessels, nerves, glands - and subcutaneous tissue.
324 words, about 2 min03Nail Technology
The nail plate is the visible hard keratin; it rests on the nail bed . The matrix extends beneath the proximal fold and produces the plate - permanent ridges, thinning, or distortion follow matrix damage, which is why questions about irreversible nail injury point to the matrix, not the plate.
330 words, about 2 min04Salon Safety, Sanitation, and Pennsylvania Laws and Regulations
Sanitation is about stopping the spread of organisms; safety is about preventing physical harm - burns, shocks, falls, strains, and chemical injury. Questions often blur the two, so read the stem for the kind of harm described.
992 words, about 5 min