Cosmetology Licensing Examination: Hair Care

1.Before a shampoo, the client says the neck was injured last week and cannot tip back. What should you do?

2.You are about to wet the hair. How do you check the water before it touches the client?

3.Shampoo runs into the client's eye. What do you do?

4.A fine-haired client gets oily at the scalp by the next day. Where should a heavy conditioner go?

5.Wet hair is tangled after the shampoo. Where do you start detangling?

6.Which word means the number of hairs in a given area of scalp?

7.In hair analysis, fine, medium, and coarse describe which property?

8.You slide your fingers from the ends toward the scalp and the hair feels rough. What does that roughness suggest?

9.A wet strand stretches and snaps instead of returning. The client wants a perm. What do you do?

10.A client describes a cowlick at the front hairline and wants that section cut to stubble so it will lie flat. What is the better planning point?

11.What is the apex of the head, as used when sectioning a haircut?

12.Which landmark is the widest area of the head, above the ears, where the head starts to curve inward?

13.You can feel a bump at the back of the skull below the crown. What is that reference point?

14.In a one-length blunt haircut, how is the hair held relative to the head?

15.A graduated haircut uses moderate lift, about 45 degrees, from the subsection. What does that elevation do?

16.Uniform layers are cut with the hair held at 90 degrees from the curve of the head. Where does the weight sit?

17.What does overdirection do in a haircut?

18.A stationary guideline is used for a blunt perimeter. What does stationary mean?

19.How do you cross-check a finished haircut?

20.Curly hair is stretched straight and cut to the final dry length the client wants. What is likely when it dries?

21.Where should thinning shears be used if you need to remove bulk?

22.A razor haircut is planned. Which condition is acceptable for that tool?

23.You are combing and still holding the shears. What is the safe hand position?

24.Clippers nick the neck and a drop of blood appears. What happens next?

25.A level system numbers haircolor from 1 to 10. What does a higher number mean?

26.Level describes depth. What does tone describe?

27.Which three colors are the primary colors on the color wheel used for haircolor?

28.Orange, green, and violet are which kind of colors?

29.A strand has been lightened and looks brassy orange. Which color family neutralizes orange?

30.Unwanted yellow in a blonde needs which neutralizing tone?

31.A red cast remains in the hair. Which tone is its complement?

32.As natural hair is lightened, what should the stylist expect from the remaining pigment?

33.What is the job of a toner applied after lightening?

34.A deposit-only color is chosen. What can that color not do?

35.An oxidative permanent color uses a developer. What is the developer in that service?

36.Higher-volume developer is being considered for a lightener. Which statement is the safe one?

37.An aniline-derivative color is planned. The predisposition test is performed as the product requires. The test spot is red and swollen. What do you do?

38.Why is a strand test done before a corrective color on previously treated hair?

39.A retouch lightener is due. The ends were lightened six weeks ago and feel porous. Where does the fresh lightener go?

40.A virgin lightener is applied to hair that has never been colored. Why are the mid-lengths and ends often processed before the scalp area?

41.The client wants pale brows and offers a bowl of scalp-hair lightener. What do you do?

42.The client has used a gradual color restorer and now wants a peroxide lightener. What is the risk and the decision?

43.The client once had a severe reaction to a black henna temporary tattoo and now wants oxidative color. What should you do?

44.During a color service the client's scalp starts to burn and the face swells. What is the first response?

45.Lightener from a foil puddles on the scalp. What do you do?

46.Porous ends grab color faster than the resistant new growth. What should you expect if the same formula is applied to both at the same moment?

47.A client wants both a lightener and a perm on the same day. The wet strand snaps. What do you do?

48.Hair was relaxed with a hydroxide relaxer last month. The client now wants a thio perm. What is the compatibility rule?

49.A cold-wave neutralizer is being explained to a student. What is its role, without a mixing recipe?

50.The manufacturer says not to cover a perm with a plastic cap. The client feels cool and asks for the cap anyway. What do you do?

51.Rods are being wrapped. Which wrapping choice makes an even curl?

52.Two rod sizes are on the tray. Which size gives the tighter curl when the wrap is correct?

53.A hydroxide relaxer is on the schedule. The client washed the hair that morning and the scalp is freshly scrubbed. What is the traditional safety concern?

54.You are smoothing a relaxer and the strand becomes gummy and almost pulls apart. What does that mean?

55.Previously relaxed hair is getting a retouch. Where is the new relaxer applied?

56.How is a hydroxide relaxer neutralized, as a concept rather than a recipe?

57.The relaxer stings, and the client says the scalp is burning. What do you do?

58.The client has several fresh scratches on the scalp from a home comb-out. A relaxer is booked. What is the decision?

59.A base relaxer requires a protective base on the scalp. The salon is out of the base cream. What should you do?

60.A client card lists the last chemical service. Why is that card required before a new color or relaxer?

61.The hair has obvious split ends. What actually removes them?

62.A client in a chemical service offers to sign a release if the hair breaks. The strand already snaps. What do you do?

63.An iron is used on fine, previously lightened hair. How should the heat be chosen?

64.A pressing comb is heated for a thermal press. How do you test the heat?

65.The hair was hydroxide-relaxed and now feels fragile. The client wants a hard press the same week. What is the safer choice?

66.You are blow-drying smooth. Which airflow direction helps the cuticle lie flatter?

67.Braids feel tight, the client reports pain, and small bumps appear along the hairline. What should you do?

68.An extension adhesive will touch skin near a fresh scalp abrasion. What is the decision?

69.A synthetic hairpiece starts to curl and shine oddly under a hot iron. What is happening?

70.Round smooth patches of sudden hair loss are visible, and the scalp in one patch looks inflamed. The client asks you to diagnose it and apply a growth chemical. What do you do?

71.A client with ordinary hereditary thinning wants a shampoo that will regrow the hair. What may you honestly say?

72.Thick silvery scales cover parts of the scalp, and the client asks you to pick them off before a relaxer. What do you do?

73.On-base, half-off-base, and off-base roller placement differ. Which placement gives the most volume at the scalp?

74.A finger wave is shaped in wet hair and dried. Which bonds are being reset?

75.A no-stem pin curl is placed. What mobility does that curl have compared with a full-stem curl?

76.Color is rinsed after processing. Which rinse is the usual safe choice unless the instructions say otherwise?

77.Why are gloves worn during a color or lightener application?

78.A chemical cape and towels are soaked with relaxer at the end of the service. What happens before the next client?

79.A client's hair ignites from a nearby flame while hairspray is in the air. What do you do?

80.Where should aerosol hairspray be kept relative to a hot iron or an open flame?

81.A smoothing treatment has a strong chemical odor, and the client starts coughing. What should you do?

82.The client is undergoing medical treatment, the scalp is tender, and several areas are open. A lightener is requested. What do you do?

83.A comb fell on the floor during the haircut and is about to be used again. What is required?

84.A cushion brush cannot be disinfected according to its material. What is the stricter practice between clients?

85.Low elevation is chosen on a section. What is the usual design result?

86.The client wants weight removed through the interior without changing the perimeter length much. Which approach fits?

87.Point cutting is used on the ends of a blunt line. What is the usual purpose?

88.A fringe is soaking wet, pulled straight down, and cut exactly at the eyebrow. The hair is curly. What should you expect when it dries?

89.Which parting direction is horizontal?

90.The client shows a photo of straight fine hair and has dense coily hair. The photo is a bob that would require removing the curl. What is an honest consultation?

91.End papers are being used on a perm wrap. What is their job?

92.A test curl during a perm shows the wave pattern the client wants, and the hair still feels strong. What is the next step according to a normal service?

93.Gray hair is resistant, and the client wants full coverage. The product instructions include a specific method for resistant gray. What should you follow?

94.Previously lightened hair is being returned to a darker shade and looks flat and greenish in the bowl. What concept explains the missing warmth?

95.A chemical service is draped. Product runs onto the forehead. What do you do?

96.You finished a haircut and the shears contacted no blood. They will be used on the next client. What is required?

97.A hot iron touches skin and the area reddens but does not blister. What is the immediate care?

98.The occipital section is being cut with a traveling guide. How does a traveling guide behave?

99.A client asks which chemical was used last year and the card says hydroxide. They now want the hair curled with a thio wave. Besides refusing the thio, what can you offer?

100.A partial relaxer, sometimes called a texturizer, is requested on previously relaxed hair. Which safety rule still applies?

101.Foils are placed for highlights. One foil is leaking product onto the scalp in a puddle, separate from the earlier lightener question about a single drip. The client says to leave it so the part will be brighter. What do you do?

102.The manufacturer requires a clarifying shampoo before a color service, and the scalp is intact with no sores. What is the right use of that step?

103.A client swims often and asks why the color-treated hair looks dry and faded. What is a sound cosmetic explanation?

104.A whorl at the crown makes the hair stand up when it is cut too short. What design choice respects that growth?

105.You need to record a color service. What belongs on the client card?

106.Color-treated hair is being shampooed at home between salon visits. Which everyday product choice is gentler on the color?

107.Semipermanent color is described to a client who wants a change that fades and who does not want to lighten. Which description is fair?

108.A weave highlight and a slice highlight are both on the menu. What do both techniques still require?