3.1 Illinois Sanitary Standards (68 Ill. Adm. Code 1175.115)

Illinois does not grade sanitation on whether the room “looks clean.” 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1175.115 is the sanitary standard for every licensee under the Barber, Cosmetology, Esthetics, Hair Braiding, and Nail Technology Act of 1985 (“the Act”), used as appropriate to that person’s practice. The opening sentence of the rule is the exam’s enforcement hook: failure to follow these standards shall be considered unprofessional conduct and may be a violation of Section 4-7 of the Act. On the Illinois esthetician exam, that means you answer with the Illinois definition, the Illinois sequence, and the Illinois prohibition — not a generic textbook ladder of sanitation, disinfection, and sterilization.

The Four Definitions You Must Not Mix Up

1175.115(a) gives four terms. Memorize them as written. The exam will swap one word and expect you to notice.

Clean is physical removal. Wiping visible wax, rinsing a bowl, or laundering a towel can make an item clean; it does not, by itself, disinfect. Disinfect is the chemical step that follows cleaning on a nonporous surface. A product is not “hospital grade” in Illinois merely because it smells strong, is labeled “antibacterial,” or is used in a medical office next door. It must be EPA-registered as hospital-level and must claim all three functions: bactericide, virucide, and fungicide. Illinois does not write a one-size-fits-all contact time into 1175.115 for ordinary implements. Strength must be adequate to keep the agent effective, the solution must stay free of residue, and manufacturer directions control how the product is mixed and how long it stays in contact with the surface.

Equipment Strength and the Per-Client Tool Rule

1175.115(b)(1)–(3) are the backbone of an esthetics room. The salon must keep adequate disinfecting or sterilizing equipment for the number of licensees, the way tools are used, and the volume of business. A single tiny jar for six facial stations is not “adequate.” Disinfecting agents must be kept at adequate strength, remain free of residue, and be available for immediate use whenever the salon is open. You cannot mix a fresh batch “when you get a chance” after the first client of the day.

The per-client rule is absolute: all tools, implements, and items that come in direct contact with a client shall be cleaned and disinfected or disposed of after use on each client. There is no “it only touched the cheek” exception, and there is no “I’ll disinfect at lunch” exception. New and/or cleaned-and-disinfected tools are stored separately from everything else. Storage drawers for clean tools must themselves be clean, free of hair, and used only for clean tools and implements. A mixed drawer of “clean-ish tweezers and yesterday’s extractors” is a rule violation, not a storage preference.

Single-use items that cannot be rescued

1175.115(b)(5) and (b)(11) close the porous-item loophole. Items designed to be disposed of after a single use shall be disposed of after each use. The rule’s list includes cotton, gauze, tissues, sponges, wooden applicators and spatulas, emery boards or porous nail files, buffer blocks, pumice stones, sanding bands or sleeves, disposable nail bits, orangewood sticks, neck strips, nail wipes, and paper towels. Any article that contacts the client’s skin and cannot be cleaned or disinfected is disposed of immediately after use. Illinois is not asking whether you “sanitized the wood stick in alcohol.” Wood, fabric, foam, and porous files do not become multi-use because the room is busy.

Facial Chairs, Headrests, Sheets, and Towels

Estheticians live in subsection (b)(7), (8), (12), (13), (17), (18), and (23). Manicure tables, work stations, and facial chairs shall be cleaned and disinfected with a hospital-grade disinfectant before and after serving each client. The before-and-after pair is Illinois-specific. Wiping the chair after the client leaves is only half the duty; the next client is entitled to a chair that was also disinfected before that service began.

Headrests of any chair must be protected with a disposable cover changed after each use, or a clean washable towel may be used instead. Clean towels are kept in a closed or covered space and a clean towel is used for each client. Clean or disposable esthetics sheets, gowns, and head coverings are kept in a closed or covered space and used for each client. Soiled towels go into a covered container large and sturdy enough to hold them. Leaving used linens on the facial chair, the steamer tray, or an open hamper is not compliance.

Product Dispensing, Contamination, and Paraffin

1175.115(b)(9) bans the re-dip. Creams, cosmetics, astringents, lotions, removers, waxes, moisturizers, masks, and oils used in the field of practice shall be dispensed from containers to prevent contamination of the unused portion. You do not double-dip a spatula into a multi-use jar, you do not pour unused product back, and you do not use the client’s fingers as an applicator from the bulk container. Any product that becomes contaminated shall be discarded after use on that particular client.

Paraffin has its own sentence at (b)(10). It must be used in a manner that prevents contamination of wax remaining in the bath or container — for example, application with a single-use or sanitized spatula or applicator, or disposal of any used wax. Paraffin must be covered when not in use and maintained at the temperature specified by the manufacturer. “Warm enough that it feels good” is not the Illinois standard.

Methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer in nail products is prohibited: licensees may not use or distribute nail products containing MMA. Even an esthetician who never offers a manicure can be tested on that prohibition because it sits in the same sanitary section that applies to all licensees as appropriate to practice.

Hand Washing, Water, and the Restroom-Sink Trap

Licensees shall observe thorough hand washing with soap and water or any equally effective cleansing solution or waterless hand sanitizer before and after serving each client. Both moments count. Washing only after a facial, or only after a blood-exposure incident, does not satisfy 1175.115(b)(14).

The water rule is a home-studio and suite-salon trap. All salons and shops shall provide a safe and adequate supply of continuous hot and cold running water from an approved source under the Illinois Plumbing Code (77 Ill. Adm. Code 890). Sinks located in the restroom do not qualify as a water source. Licensees must have immediate access to hot and cold running water. A restroom down the hall, a bathroom sink in a home salon, or a “we fill basins from the toilet-room faucet” setup does not meet 1175.115(b)(31)–(32).

Housekeeping, Ventilation, Pets, and Skin You May Not Touch

Floor surfaces shall be kept clean, orderly, and in good repair. Walls, doors, windows, and ceilings shall be clean and free of excessive spots, mildew, condensation, or peeling paint. Equipment, mirrors, lights, furnishings, and fixtures stay clean and in good repair. Waste-container exteriors stay clean. Salons and shops shall provide adequate ventilation as required by the city, county, or municipality to keep them free of excessive heat, steam, condensation, vapors, obnoxious odors, smoke, and fumes.

Pets or other animals shall not be permitted in a salon or shop at any time, except an animal assistant for the physically impaired. A shop dog, a “spa cat,” or a client’s pet in a carrier is still a pet under this rule.

Two disease rules work together. No owner or manager shall knowingly permit any person suffering from a serious communicable disease, as defined in 77 Ill. Adm. Code 690, to work on the premises. No licensee shall be required or permitted to work upon a person suffering from a serious communicable disease under that same Part 690. Separately, no licensee shall be required or permitted to massage any surface of the skin or scalp where the skin is inflamed or where a skin infection or eruption is present. An active cold sore, weeping dermatitis, or an inflamed extraction site is a refuse-and-refer moment, not a “work around it” moment.

Devices, Other Codes, and Why This Is Discipline

1175.115(d) governs machines. Manual or mechanical devices used in esthetics must meet product registration requirements and product safety requirements imposed by any federal, State, county, or local authority. If a device is classified by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the licensee must verify, maintain, or be able to access related documentation. A licensee may not use a device unless the use is part of services within the licensee’s scope of practice, is consistent with the manufacturer’s intended use, and is consistent with client health and safety. A facial steamer used as directed is in bounds; a device marketed to affect living layers of skin, or used off-label contrary to the manufacturer, is not saved by “everyone at the spa does it.”

Owners, managers, and licensees also remain subject to Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) rules and to city, county, and State public-health, building, fire, plumbing, and electrical regulations (1175.115(e)). Pedicure-equipment cleaning logs in 1175.115(c) are written for whirlpool spas, foot basins, sinks, and pedicure bowls; if your room uses a foot soak, you still follow that procedure and keep the weekly disinfection record for 90 days. The sanitary section is one rule. Breaking it is not a housekeeping note — it is unprofessional conduct that IDFPR may treat as a Section 4-7 violation, including civil penalties and license discipline.