7.2 Hair Analysis Instruments and Equipment
Key Takeaways
- Water is classified as soft or hard; hard water contains dissolved calcium and magnesium salts that reduce lather and leave mineral deposits on the hair.
- A magnifying lamp or hand magnifier allows close inspection of the scalp without touching it with bare hands.
- Shampoo bowls, sprays and traps must be cleaned and disinfected between clients under 19 NYCRR § 160.22(e).
- Combs and brushes used for analysis are reprocessed by the § 160.17(c)(1) sequence: clean, rinse, dry, immerse 10 minutes, rinse, dry, store covered.
- Water temperature at the shampoo bowl is tested on the practitioner's inner wrist before it touches the client.
Hair Analysis Instruments and Equipment
Exam Focus: Two clusters of testable content: the hard-versus-soft water distinction and its practical consequences, and the disinfection status of every item at the shampoo area. Remember that the bowl, spray and trap are environmental surfaces requiring cleaning and disinfection between clients, and that porous items such as wooden implements are single-use.
1. The Shampoo Area
The shampoo area is where most cross-contamination risk in a hair salon sits, because it is wet, warm and shared.
| Item | Standard |
|---|---|
| Shampoo bowl | Cleaned and disinfected between each client under § 160.22(e), which requires styling stations, working stations and manicure tables to be sanitised and cleaned between each client service |
| Neck rest | Wiped and disinfected between clients; a clean towel placed over it |
| Spray nozzle and hose | Cleaned; mineral scale removed regularly, since deposits harbour organisms |
| Drain trap | Cleared of hair after each client and cleaned regularly; a hair-clogged trap is a reservoir |
| Chair and headrest | Disinfected between clients; § 160.20(b) requires clean paper or a clean unused towel before a client reclines |
| Towels | One client, one towel, then straight into the covered receptacle (§ 160.24) |
| Capes | Never against skin — neck strip first (§ 160.20(d)); laundered regularly |
2. Analysis Instruments
| Instrument | Use | Reprocessing |
|---|---|---|
| Wide-tooth comb | Detangling; assessing density by parting | § 160.17(c)(1): clean, rinse, dry, immerse ≥10 min, rinse, dry, store covered |
| Tail comb | Precise partings for scalp inspection | Same |
| Magnifying lamp or hand magnifier | Close scalp inspection without touching with bare hands | Wiped and disinfected between clients |
| Good task lighting | Required by § 160.16(b)(3) — illumination for the safe provision of services | — |
| Disposable gloves | Any inspection where a lesion, discharge or possible infestation is suspected | Single use |
| Client record card | The written analysis record | Kept confidential |
| Hand mirror | Showing the client what you have found and what you propose | Wiped between clients |
| pH test strips | Checking product pH; confirming a normalising rinse has done its job | Single use |
| Steamer / hooded dryer / heat cap | Opening the cuticle to assist penetration of a conditioning treatment | Exterior wiped; caps single-use or disinfected |
A note on porous items: wooden implements, orangewood sticks, emery boards and cotton are single-use. They cannot be disinfected, and § 160.18(a)(6) prohibits using an emery board on more than one person.
3. Water: The Most-Used Product in the Salon
Water quality changes results, and the exam tests the distinction.
| Soft water | Hard water | |
|---|---|---|
| Composition | Rain water or chemically softened; few dissolved minerals | Contains dissolved calcium and magnesium salts |
| Lather | Lathers freely | Resists lather; more shampoo needed |
| Effect on hair | Rinses clean | Leaves mineral deposits that dull the hair, cause build-up and can interfere with chemical services |
| Effect on colour | Predictable | Can shift tone, especially on blondes; may cause brassiness or, with high iron, discoloration |
| Remedy | — | Chelating or clarifying shampoo before chemical services; a water softener or filter |
Two practical consequences:
- Suspect the water when a chemical service behaves unexpectedly on a client with no unusual history — hard-water mineral build-up is a common invisible cause of a lightener that will not lift or a toner that grabs unevenly.
- A chelating shampoo before a colour or lightening service removes mineral build-up. It is not the same as a clarifying shampoo, which removes product build-up, though many products do both.
4. Water Temperature and Pressure
- Test the water temperature on your own inner wrist before it touches the client. The scalp is more heat-sensitive than the hand, and a client under a cape cannot easily move away.
- Warm, not hot. Hot water strips sebum, irritates the scalp and, after a chemical service, opens the cuticle further.
- After a chemical service, use tepid to cool water to help close the cuticle and to avoid stimulating a scalp already stressed by an alkaline product.
- Control the spray with a hand shielding the hairline and the ears; direct the flow away from the face.
- Ask the client about temperature at the start and again once the water is running. Client comfort is not a courtesy — it is how you find out that a scalp is more sensitive than the analysis suggested.
§ 160.16(b)(1) requires hot and cold running water in every appearance enhancement business, which is why a salon with a failed water heater cannot lawfully operate.
A client's colour service produces a dull, uneven result and the salon is in an area with hard water. What is the most likely cause and the correct pre-service remedy?
Which shampoo-area item may NOT be disinfected and must be discarded after a single client?