4.2 Chemical Labeling, Storage & Safety Data Sheets
Key Takeaways
- Every chemical container in a Michigan salon, including secondary mixing bowls and spray bottles, must be labeled with its contents; unlabeled mystery liquids are a scored safety failure.
- Chemical storage separates incompatible materials, such as oxidizers (developer, peroxide) from flammables (acetone, alcohol), and keeps containers closed, cool, and out of direct sunlight.
- A Safety Data Sheet (SDS) has 16 standardized sections; Michigan's Right to Know Law requires SDSs be readily accessible to employees and requires posting where they are kept.
- Michigan Rule R 338.2179g prohibits methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomers, lump alum or styptic pencils, and several other unsafe practices in a licensed establishment.
- PSI's Workplace Safety Precautions domain explicitly separates labeling and storage (item 4) from SDS and prohibited materials (item 5), and both are tested independently.
4.2 Chemical Labeling, Storage & Safety Data Sheets
Quick Answer: Two of the ten Workplace Safety Precautions items on Michigan's PSI theory exam are labeling and storage of materials and chemicals and Safety Data Sheets (SDS) and prohibited materials and substances. Every container needs an accurate label, incompatible chemicals must be stored apart, an SDS must exist and be reachable for every hazardous product in the salon, and Michigan bans specific substances such as MMA monomers outright.
Why Labeling and Storage Get Their Own Exam Item
PSI's test-taker guidance for Workplace Safety Precautions calls out chemical mixing procedures and the storage of chemicals and SDS sheets by name, and separately flags cross-contamination of chemicals and products on the workstation. Labeling and storage are the first line of defense against both problems: a correctly labeled, properly stored chemical cannot be mistaken for something else, mixed with an incompatible product by accident, or left where it degrades or becomes a fire risk.
Labeling Rules That Apply to Every Container
Original containers
- Never remove or deface the manufacturer's label, which carries hazard warnings, ingredient information, and usage directions required for safe handling.
- If a label becomes illegible or falls off, relabel the container accurately before continuing to use the product.
Secondary and working containers
This is the area most often missed in real salons and tested on the exam: any container you transfer product into must also be labeled.
| Container type | Labeling requirement |
|---|---|
| Mixing bowls with leftover tinted product | Label contents if not discarded immediately after use |
| Spray bottles (water, setting spray, diluted disinfectant) | Label contents clearly; never leave an unmarked spray bottle at a station |
| Travel-size or refillable dispensers | Label with product name; do not rely on memory or bottle shape |
| Chemical waste containers | Label as waste and follow manufacturer/SDS disposal guidance |
An unlabeled bottle of clear liquid at a station is treated as a hazard on the exam regardless of what it actually contains, because no one else in the salon can verify it safely.
Storage Rules That Prevent Chemical Incidents
Proper storage is not just organization; it prevents fires, toxic reactions, and accidental exposure.
Compatibility separation
| Store apart | Reason |
|---|---|
| Oxidizers (peroxide developer) vs. flammables (acetone, alcohol) | Oxidizers accelerate combustion if a flammable ignites nearby |
| Acidic products vs. alkaline products (bleach-type disinfectants vs. ammonia-based cleaners) | Mixing can release toxic gas |
| Chemical waste vs. general trash | Prevents uncontrolled reactions and follows disposal rules in the product's SDS |
General storage habits
- Keep containers tightly closed when not in active use to limit evaporation and vapor buildup.
- Store chemicals in a cool, dry area away from direct sunlight and open flame.
- Never store hazardous chemicals above eye level, where a fall risks facial or eye exposure.
- Keep storage areas ventilated, not sealed and airless.
- Dispose of chemical waste according to the product's SDS guidance, not by pouring into general trash or a drain unless the SDS specifically allows it.
Safety Data Sheets: Structure and Access
A Safety Data Sheet (SDS), formerly called an MSDS, is a standardized 16-section document manufacturers provide for hazardous products.
| SDS section | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| 1. Identification | Product name, manufacturer, emergency contact number |
| 2. Hazard(s) identification | Signal word (Danger or Warning), hazard pictograms and statements |
| 3. Composition/ingredients | Chemical identity of hazardous components |
| 4. First-aid measures | What to do for eye contact, skin contact, or inhalation |
| 5. Fire-fighting measures | Correct extinguishing method and fire hazards |
| 6. Accidental release measures | Spill cleanup steps and protective gear needed |
| 7. Handling and storage | Compatibility warnings, temperature limits, closed-container rules |
| 8. Exposure controls/PPE | Required gloves, eye protection, and ventilation |
| 9-11. Properties, stability, toxicology | Physical properties, reactivity, and health effects |
| 12-15. Ecological, disposal, transport, regulatory | How to dispose of and transport the product |
| 16. Other information | Revision date and additional notes |
Michigan's Right to Know Law builds on the federal Hazard Communication Standard by requiring that employees be told where SDSs are kept so they can find hazard and first-aid information during any shift. On the exam, if a question asks where to find first-aid steps for a chemical splash, the answer is the SDS, Section 4, and if it asks who must be able to access SDSs, the answer is every employee, at all times they are working, not just management or the salon owner.
Prohibited Materials and Substances in Michigan
Beyond SDS access, Michigan bans specific substances and practices outright under Rule R 338.2179g. A licensee, apprentice, or student must not use or possess, and must not allow another person to use:
- Methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomers, or products containing MMA monomers, in nail enhancement systems
- Lump alum or a styptic pencil to stop minor bleeding
- A nail white pencil
- Filing or abrading the nail plate so deeply the nail bed is exposed
- Carrying tools or supplies loose in uniform pockets
- Reusing certain single-client cosmetic items, such as powder puffs or lip/cheek color applicators, across multiple clients
Why these specific bans exist
MMA creates an extremely hard, difficult-to-remove nail enhancement that bonds aggressively to the natural nail plate, and it is associated with allergic reactions, nail bed damage, and dangerous, forceful removal. The legal alternative, ethyl methacrylate (EMA), is designed to be used and removed safely. Lump alum and reusable styptic pencils are banned because dragging a shared solid astringent across broken skin can transfer bloodborne pathogens between clients; single-use, disposable styptic applications are the safer substitute taught in Michigan programs.
Products the FDA has found unsafe or banned for cosmetic use are also treated as prohibited for salon use, regardless of whether Michigan rule text names them individually.
Exam Pattern Recognition
- 'Container of clear liquid at the station with no label' → unsafe; must be labeled
- 'Where should developer be stored relative to acetone?' → separated; oxidizer away from flammable
- 'Where do you find first-aid steps for a chemical eye splash?' → SDS, Section 4
- 'Monomer banned in Michigan nail enhancements?' → MMA
- 'Tool for stopping minor bleeding during a manicure?' → not lump alum or a styptic pencil; use an approved single-use method
Master the label-everything rule, the compatibility-storage rule, the 16-section SDS map, and Michigan's specific prohibited list, and both labeling/storage and SDS/prohibited-materials items are covered.
A stylist pours leftover mixed hair color into a small bowl to use later in the shift. What must happen to that bowl under Workplace Safety Precautions labeling rules?
Where should peroxide developer be stored relative to a flammable product like acetone?
Under Michigan Rule R 338.2179g, which of the following is a prohibited substance or practice in a licensed cosmetology establishment?