4.3 Personal Hygiene, Linens, Work Surfaces, Products & Single-Use Items
Key Takeaways
Clean your hands, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, before and after each consumer service (K.A.R. 28-24-2).
After each service, used linens go in a closed, labeled container or enclosed storage area. They are not reused until washed in a washing machine with detergent and hot water and dried completely, and clean linens are stored closed and labeled (K.A.R. 28-24-4).
Surfaces that touch consumers must be disinfected at least daily, and each treatment table is covered with clean paper or linen before each consumer (K.A.R. 28-24-5). NTN's sample answer cleans work surfaces before every client.
Products stay in labeled, closed containers. Remove only what you need without contaminating the rest, and discard any unused removed portion immediately in a covered waste receptacle (K.A.R. 28-24-6).
Single-use items are stored in a clean, labeled, covered container or the original packaging and discarded in a covered receptacle immediately after use. Sharp items go in a sharps container (K.A.R. 28-24-8).
Quick Answer: The Kansas sanitation rules for the practitioner come down to five habits. Clean hands before and after every service (28-24-2). Contain and launder linens in a washing machine with detergent and hot water, and store clean ones closed and labeled (28-24-4). Disinfect surfaces that touch consumers and put a clean cover on the table for each client (28-24-5). Keep products labeled and closed, and never contaminate the unused portion (28-24-6). Keep single-use items in a clean, labeled, covered container and throw them away right after use (28-24-8).
Personal Hygiene and Hand Cleaning
K.A.R. 28-24-2: each practitioner shall clean that individual's hands or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer before and after each consumer service.
Good practice also calls for these habits:
- Clean hands again after touching your face, hair, phone, trash or a dropped item, and before handling clean implements.
- Keep your own nails clean and short enough to work safely. Cover any cut on your hands. The Board's blood procedure has you glove an injured hand before continuing.
- Wear clean clothing each day. Tie back long hair. Don't eat, drink or smoke in the service area (smoking and food preparation there are prohibited under 28-24-14).
- Have clients clean their hands, or use an antiseptic cleanser on their hands or feet, before the service begins.
The NTN practical references teach the same order: clean hands before you touch clean implements or the client.
Linens and Capes (K.A.R. 28-24-4)
- After each service, place all used linens, including towels, robes and sheets, in a closed and labeled container or an enclosed storage area, such as a closet or cabinet.
- Do not use them again until each item has been cleaned in a washing machine with detergent and hot water.
- After washing, dry until no moisture remains in the fabric.
- Clean or disinfect each cape after each service.
- Store clean linens and capes in a closed and labeled container or an enclosed storage area.
The Board's FAQ adds that the washing machine does not need to be inside the establishment. The laundering standard still applies. NTN's sample practical question asks where towels go after washing, and the answer is a clean, closed container.
Surfaces and Treatment Tables (K.A.R. 28-24-5)
- (a) Each practitioner shall daily disinfect any surface that came into contact with a consumer during services. The rule lists chairs, headrests and treatment tables. For nail technicians this means manicure tables, arm rests, pedicure chairs and footrests.
- (b) Each treatment table shall be covered with a clean sheet of examination paper, paper towels or linen before providing services to each consumer.
Daily disinfection is the legal minimum. NTN's sample Theory question asks how often work surfaces such as counters, tables and sinks are cleaned, and its answer is before beginning a service on a client. On the exam and in practice, clean the table before every client, disinfect it per the label (keeping it wet for the full contact time), then lay down a fresh towel or paper. Any surface contacted by blood is cleaned and disinfected immediately (section 5.1).
Products and Containers (K.A.R. 28-24-6)
- (a) All products shall be kept in labeled and closed containers. Keep each container clean so the label is legible, and close it when not in use.
- (b) When only part of a product is used on a consumer, remove it from its container in a way that does not contaminate the unused portion. Discard any portion that was removed but not used during that service in a covered waste receptacle immediately after use.
How this applies to nail services:
| Product | Sanitary method |
|---|---|
| Lotions, creams, scrubs, paraffin | Pump dispenser, or remove with a clean spatula into a single-service dish. Never dip fingers or used tools into the jar |
| Cuticle oil and removers | Dropper or pump. Do not touch the applicator tip to the client's skin and then return it to the bottle |
| Monomer liquid and primer | Pour a small amount into a dappen dish. Never pour used liquid back into the original bottle |
| Polymer or dip powder | Take out one client's portion, or pour it over the nail. Never dip client fingers into a shared jar |
| Unused product left in the dish | Discard it in a covered receptacle at the end of that service |
NTN's sample practical question asks what you do first with a new product. The answer is read the label thoroughly, which tells you how to use, store and dispose of it safely.
Single-Use Items (K.A.R. 28-24-8)
A single-use item is porous and cannot be disinfected, regardless of manufacturer designation (K.A.R. 28-24-1(r)).
- (a) Storage: store single-use items separately in a clean, labeled and covered container or in the manufacturer's original packaging.
- (b) Disposal: dispose of every used single-use item in a covered waste receptacle immediately after use. Put razors and other sharp items in a sharps container after the service.
- (c) Sanding bands on an electric file are single-use and are discarded immediately after use.
The Board's consumer FAQ lists these single-use items for manicures and pedicures: orange sticks, files, buffers, chamois bits, sanding bands, arbor bands, pumice stones, foot files with sandpaper strips, pedicure liners, foam toe separators and flip flops.
Consumers are told to look for evidence of prior use. Used files show white lines or nail dust, used pumice stones show dead skin or product residue, and used flip flops show a foot impression or dirt. The fine schedule charges $100 per item (up to $500) for a first failure to dispose of single-use items.
Waste Handling
- Every waste receptacle must be covered (K.A.R. 28-24-14(a)(6)). A lidded, lined can at each station is standard.
- Don't let trash overflow. Owners may not let excessive waste accumulate (K.A.R. 28-24-14(c)).
- Blood-contaminated items are double-bagged (section 5.1). Chemical waste has its own handling (section 5.2).
After laundering towels in a washing machine with detergent and hot water and drying them completely, where must a Kansas nail technician store them?
On an open shelf at the manicure station for quick access
In the same closed container as used towels, to save space
In a closed and labeled container or an enclosed storage area for clean linens
Draped over the pedicure chair so they stay warm
A technician needs lotion from a large jar for a hand massage. Which method follows K.A.R. 28-24-6?
Scoop lotion with her fingers, since her hands were sanitized before the service
Dip the orangewood stick used on the client's cuticles into the jar
Remove the needed amount with a clean spatula into a dish, then discard any unused lotion from the dish in a covered receptacle after the service
Return unused lotion from the dish to the jar so product is not wasted
Which item must be discarded after one use under Kansas single-use rules?
A stainless steel cuticle pusher
A glass nail file that can be fully immersed in disinfectant
A metal pedicure rasp
A foam toe separator
When must a practitioner clean their hands or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer under K.A.R. 28-24-2?
Before and after each consumer service
Only at the start and end of each workday
Only after services involving blood exposure
Only when hands are visibly soiled
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.