1.3 Michigan Practice Rules: Establishments, Health & Safety Rules, Prohibitions & Discipline
Key Takeaways
Michigan manicuring services must be performed in a licensed establishment or school, except at special events, nursing homes, homes for the aged, adult foster care facilities and hospitals (MCL 339.1217).
R 338.2179g bans methyl methacrylate monomer, blades such as credo blades and callus shavers, nail white pencils, lump alum and styptic pencils in Michigan.
Michigan licensees must apply antiseptic to their hands before any cosmetology service (R 338.2171b).
Michigan establishments must display the establishment license and each licensee's license where the public can see them (MCL 339.1204).
Article 6 of Michigan's Occupational Code allows administrative fines of up to $10,000 plus suspension, revocation, probation and restitution.
Where you may work
Under MCL 339.1217(b), performing cosmetology services on the public outside a licensed cosmetology establishment or school is a violation. The statute allows services at five other places:
- a special event where the service is for an on-site participant
- a nursing home, for a patient or resident
- a home for the aged, for a patient or resident
- an adult foster care facility, for a patient or resident
- a hospital, for a patient
A mobile salon counts as an establishment. It may be a self-contained vehicle or equipment carried to a temporary location such as a client's home (MCL 339.1201(o)). It needs its own establishment license. MCL 339.1217(a) also makes it a violation to keep practicing while you know you have an infectious or contagious disease.
Establishment licensing
An establishment needs a LARA license before it opens for business (MCL 339.1204 and R 338.2126a):
- Application: submit it with a drawing that shows the work areas, such as manicure stations and pedicure basins.
- Inspection: pass a LARA inspection before opening. LARA's establishment guide lists $75 for the application and 2-year license.
- Separation: the premises must be completely separated from a dwelling or a school by full partitions and doors.
- Display: the establishment license and the license of each licensee who works there must be displayed where the public can always see them. The owner may post a licensee's license at that person's work station.
- Limited license: an owner offering only some services, such as manicuring, can hold a limited establishment license.
- Changes: a sale, a transfer of ownership or a move voids the license. LARA must be told in writing within 30 calendar days before the change (R 338.2127). A mobile salon's license is not voided by a change of location.
What every establishment must have: R 338.2171
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Water | An adequate supply of running hot and cold water |
| Ventilation | Adequate to prevent concentrations of chemical vapors and strong odors |
| Used linens | Covered containers for used towels, capes and neck strips |
| Disinfection supplies | Enough cleaning, disinfecting and sterilizing equipment and supplies, plus the manufacturer-labeled container of each disinfectant and sterilant in use |
| Waste | Covered waste containers big enough for 1 day's waste, disinfected every 24 hours unless lined with a bag that is thrown away each time |
| First aid | A kit labeled as meeting ANSI/ISEA Z308.1 |
| Stations | Chairs, tables and headrests made of, or covered in, non-porous material that can be disinfected |
| Single-use items | Thrown away after use on a patron |
| Clean tools | Stored in covered containers, separate from used tools |
| Pedicures | An establishment that offers pedicures must have a pedicuring basin |
| Fire extinguisher | Required only where hair is fused with an open flame (class A, B and C extinguisher within 20 feet) |
Patron protection: R 338.2171b
Every licensee, student and apprentice must:
- keep attire and hands sanitary
- apply antiseptic to their hands before any cosmetology service
- clean tools that are not disposed of after each use, following R 338.2171a (section 2.3)
- store clean tools in covered containers, separate from used ones
- use only clean tools on patrons
- throw away single-use items after each patron
What Michigan prohibits: R 338.2179g
A student, apprentice or licensee may not do any of the following, and may not allow anyone else to:
| Prohibited | Why it matters for nail services |
|---|---|
| Use or possess methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomers | The banned acrylic liquid (section 3.3) |
| File the nail plate so the nail bed is exposed or deep trenches or ridges form | Over-filing injury |
| Use a nail white pencil | Cannot be cleaned between clients |
| Use lump alum or a styptic pencil to stop bleeding | Cross-contamination with blood |
| Carry tools or supplies in a uniform pocket | Clean tools touching a contaminated surface |
| Use the same powder puffs, makeup brushes or cosmetic pencils on more than 1 patron | Cross-contamination |
| Use a UV electrical sanitizer to disinfect or sterilize | Storage of already-disinfected items in one is allowed |
| Use or possess a blade in manicuring or pedicuring | Includes razors, callus shavers, graters and credo blades |
| Perform services limited to a licensed health profession | Unless lawfully delegated under the Public Health Code |
| Refuse to show picture ID to an inspector who asks | Identity check against the posted license |
| Let the public drink from a water source used for mixing chemicals | Chemical ingestion |
The blood spill rule, R 338.2179e, is covered in section 2.5. Its key points are to suspend the service, sterilize anything that touched blood, throw away porous items, and not resume until bleeding has stopped and the wound is covered.
Inspections and discipline
Under MCL 339.1218, LARA regularly inspects establishments and schools. Its representatives may enter during regular business hours and may require workers to show ID matching a posted license. LARA's inspection FAQ (updated 2016) lists three kinds of inspection: before initial licensure, routine, and complaint-related. A violation found at an inspection leads to a citation in the mail. That FAQ lists a $100 fine per violation and 30 days to accept and pay or to request further proceedings. Serious violations go to investigation.
The Occupational Code's Article 6 supplies the penalties:
- Grounds for discipline (MCL 339.604): fraud in getting or using a license, gross negligence, incompetence, violating a rule of conduct, aiding unlicensed practice, and failing to answer a citation or obey a final order.
- Penalties (MCL 339.602): a limitation, suspension, denial or revocation of the license; an administrative fine of up to $10,000; censure; probation; and restitution.
- Unlicensed practice (MCL 339.601): a misdemeanor punishable by up to $500 or 90 days in jail for a first offense, and up to $1,000 or 1 year for a second or later offense.
Important
The PSI theory test is national and does not cite these Michigan rule numbers. But it does test prohibited materials, blood exposure procedure and disinfection, and these Michigan rules are the legal version of those topics where you will work.
Which practice is prohibited for a Michigan manicurist under R 338.2179g?
Storing tools that were already disinfected in an ultraviolet cabinet
Stopping a client's minor bleeding with a styptic pencil
Using a disposable liner in a pedicure basin
Dispensing powder from a shaker that prevents skin contact
A licensed Michigan manicurist is asked to give manicures at several locations. Which one is lawful under MCL 339.1217 without a licensed establishment on the premises?
A client's office break room on her lunch hour
A table at a weekend flea market selling services to passers-by
The manicurist's own kitchen
A resident of a licensed nursing home
What is the maximum administrative fine listed in MCL 339.602 for a licensee who violates the Occupational Code or its rules?
$10,000
$500
$1,000
$25,000
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.