13.3 Skin-Care Tools, Infection Control & Ergonomics

13.3 Skin-Care Tools, Infection Control & Ergonomics

Quick Answer: Treat every skin-care implement as either multi-use (clean + disinfect + covered storage) or single-use (trash after one client). Steamers and other electrical housings are sprayed or wiped per OAC 175:10-7-5, not dunked in the wet sanitizer. Creams come out with a spatula (OAC 175:10-7-11). Wash hands with running water and soap before services (OAC 175:10-7-18). Set table height, wrists, and steamer distance so you are not injuring yourself while you protect the client.

NIC Domain 3.C items on implements only score if you can also apply Oklahoma Subchapter 7. A tweezer that looks clean is still a theory miss if it skipped contact time or went back into an uncovered drawer.

The skin-care tool kit — what each item is for

OAC 175:10-7-29(b) lists Board-approved esthetic devices that cosmetologists and facialists/estheticians may use for cosmetic skin care, including mechanical brushes, steamers, and metal extractor tools. The table below is the everyday kit you will actually carry for facials, makeup, and temporary hair removal.

Single-use by nature: wooden wax sticks, fabric or paper wax strips, cotton, tissues, disposable mascara wands, and any porous item that cannot be disinfected (OAC 175:10-7-18(e)).

Disinfection versus single-use — do not split the difference

Cleaning removes visible debris with soap/water or a cleaning agent. Disinfection then kills pathogens on a non-porous item using an EPA-registered product for the full contact time on the label. Sterilization (autoclave) is a higher kill of microbial life, including spores, and is not a substitute for skipping cleaning.

Decision rule:

1. If the item cannot be cleaned and disinfected, it is single-use. Trash it.
2. If it can, clean visible debris first. Disinfectant does not work through wax, cream, or blood film.
3. Then immerse, spray, or wipe according to the item and OAC 175:10-7-5.
4. Store disinfected multi-use items in a dry, closed cabinet, drawer, or covered container (OAC 175:10-7-5(j); OAC 175:10-7-6(n) also requires a container marked clean or disinfected).

UV light boxes for sanitation purposes are prohibited (OAC 175:10-7-6(j)). A steamer does not disinfect itself by running empty. A wax pot's heat does not sterilize the pot.

OAC 175:10-7-5 — spray and wipe for electrical tools

175:10-7-24 (electrical appliances) is revoked. The living disinfection methods are in 175:10-7-5 and the electrical-item paragraph in 175:10-7-6(l).

OAC 175:10-7-5 requires every precaution to prevent infection by disinfecting tools, then spells out three wet methods after cleaning and rinsing as applicable:

• Immersion in a wet sanitizer with EPA-approved disinfectant for full manufacturer contact time.
• Spray: place the clean item on a clean surface and spray until thoroughly saturated. All surfaces must stay visibly moist for the full contact time listed for the pathogens on the label.
• EPA-registered wipes: wipe all surfaces and keep them visibly moist for the full label contact time.

Steamers, wax-pot housings, electric lash dryers, and similar electrical tools cannot take a full immersion bath. Spray and wipe are the methods that fit a housing. OAC 175:10-7-6(l) adds the electrical-item sequence used for plastic/metal guards and removable parts: remove visible debris, use EPA-registered spray or wipe for full contact time, allow to air dry, disinfect the tool housing, and store on a clean stand, hook, or towel covered by a clean towel. Mix and label secondary spray bottles (OAC 175:10-7-6(h)).

OAC 175:10-7-11 — spatula for creams

OAC 175:10-7-11(e): creams and other semi-solid preparations shall be removed from containers with a spatula. OAC 175:10-7-28 repeats the idea for multi-use tubs and tubes: remaining product must not be contaminated; pomades, waxes, and gels come out with a single-use spatula discarded after one use or a disinfected multi-use spatula; fingers may not remove product. Lotions, powder, or water dispense from a shaker or bottle (175:10-7-11(d)).

A double-dipped cream jar is the same infection story as a double-dipped wax pot, without the HPV/HSV sentence written on the wax rule. Use a fresh or disinfected spatula every time you enter the jar.

OAC 175:10-7-18 — handwashing and bleeding control

Before and after a patron service, wash the hands and examine skin integrity. If there is an abrasion, cut, scratch, open lesion, or infection on the licensee's hands, wear protective or disposable gloves (OAC 175:10-7-18(a)).

OAC 175:10-7-18(b) is the sentence examiners love:

• Wash hands prior to any service, and after eating, smoking, or using the restroom.
• Wash with running water and soap, then dry with a disposable towel.
• Antibacterial soap is not recommended.

Styptic pencils and lump alum are prohibited. Use liquid or powdered astringent on separate, clean, sterile gauze or cotton that is disposed of immediately (OAC 175:10-7-18(c)). If you can reasonably anticipate contact with blood or other potentially infectious material, use universal precautions and disposable gloves that are never reused (OAC 175:10-7-18(d)). Never place a tool that will contact the patron in your mouth (OAC 175:10-7-18(f)).

Handwashing still applies at the start of waxing, makeup, extraction, and lash work. Extension services additionally require soap-and-water washing and a forehead barrier under OAC 175:10-7-33.1.

Ergonomics — the injury you cannot disinfect away

Infection control protects the client. Ergonomics protects the licensee who will repeat the same motion for a career:

• Set table and chair height so shoulders are down, not hiked toward the ears, during brow wax, extraction, and eyeliner.
• Keep the wrist neutral when tweezing or using an extractor; do not crank the hand into ulnar deviation for an entire lip wax.
• Recline the client and use a stool that lets you sit close rather than hunching over a wax pot from a standing twist.
• Place the steamer so the arm does not dump steam on the client's eye and so you are not reaching across a hot housing. Check water level before you light it; a dry steamer is a burn and equipment hazard.
• Alternate tasks and stretch between clients. A numb thumb after twelve brow waxes is a technique problem, not a badge of hard work.
• Wear gloves when the service warrants them, but remember gloves do not replace handwashing and they reduce tactility — slow down on extractions rather than pressing harder.

OSBCB practical facial supplies (cleansing cream, astringent, spatulas, headband/cap/turban, moist cotton eye pledgets) are the same hygiene logic as the theory rules: barriers on, product on a spatula, one client per towel. Combine that with the wax kit in Section 13.1 and you have the Board's skin-service station in one picture: clean hands, covered pot or no live pot, wooden sticks that never go back, electrical tools sprayed or wiped for full contact time.