1.2 South Carolina Salon & Spa Sanitation Regulations

1.2 South Carolina Salon & Spa Sanitation Regulations

Sanitary vigilance is the operational core of professional esthetics, and in South Carolina it is also the most heavily codified part of practice. Regulation 35-20, "Sanitary and Safety Rules for Salons and Schools," is the rule that inspectors carry. Salon licensure requirements sit in Regulation 35-15 and minimum equipment in Regulation 35-16. Learn these three numbers; jurisprudence items cite them directly.

---

Enforcement and Individual Liability (Regulation 35-20(A))

South Carolina spreads liability deliberately. The salon or school license holder and the person in charge are liable for implementing and maintaining the sanitary rules "individually and jointly with all persons in or employed by or working in or on the premises." Separately, all licensed cosmetologists, instructors, nail technicians, and estheticians are held individually liable for the sanitary rules applicable to them. You cannot deflect a sanitation citation onto your employer.

• A Board-designated representative has access to the premises at any time instruction or practice is being conducted. Refusal to permit, or interference with, an inspection is itself cause for disciplinary action.
• Failure to observe the sanitation rules is cause for disciplinary action up to revocation.
• Failure to display, in full public view, all applicable licenses, the sanitary rules and regulations, and the sanitary rating given to the salon or school, is by itself "sufficient cause for revocation of licenses."
• A failed inspection is cause for discipline up to revocation if not corrected by the next inspection; thirty days after that the Board may schedule a show cause hearing.

---

Physical Facility Standards (Regulation 35-20(B), (D))

Every salon and school must occupy a separate building, or part of a building, suitable to render adequate sanitary services. Salons and schools must be separated from each other by a solid wall from floor to ceiling and have separate entrances. Facilities must comply with all state and local building, plumbing, and electrical codes and with all relevant current federal and state workplace safety laws. Using a salon or school as living, dining, or sleeping quarters is prohibited.

Regulation 35-20(D) sets the physical minimums:

• Cleanliness and Repair: Floors, walls, woodwork, ceilings, furniture, furnishings, and fixtures must be kept clean and in good repair.
• Water Supply: A supply of hot and cold running water.
• Toilet Facilities: At least one commode and one lavatory in good working order, with hot and cold running water, soap, and disposable towels. Restrooms may not be used for storage.
• Drinking Water: Potable drinking water must be supplied.

Two further rules from the same regulation are frequently tested. Animals (Regulation 35-20(E)): no animal may be brought into or remain in a salon or school, other than a service animal for the disabled. Infectious disease (Regulation 35-20(F)): a licensee must not permit anyone with a known parasitic infestation or a known infectious or communicable disease transmissible during services to work or train in the facility, and no salon or school may require or permit a licensee or student to perform services on a patron known to have such a condition or infestation.

Residential Salons (Regulation 35-20(C))

Operating inside a residence is permitted, but under four strict conditions. Note that this rule lives in 35-20(C) — there is no Regulation 35-22.

1. Separate client entrance that does not open from the living, dining, or sleeping quarters, and all doors previously opening into those quarters must be permanently sealed.
2. No portion of the salon may be used as a portion of a private residence.
3. Entrances must permit patrons to enter the salon directly without passing through any portion of the residence.
4. Separate toilet facilities for patrons, apart from the living quarters.

---

Required Salon Equipment (Regulation 35-16)

Regulation 35-16(A) sets a short but absolute minimum equipment list for salons offering services in all phases of cosmetology:

1. One wet disinfectant container, large enough to totally immerse implements, holding an EPA-registered hospital-level disinfectant with demonstrated bactericidal, fungicidal, pseudomonacidal, and virucidal activity, used according to the manufacturer's instructions.
2. A sharps container for disposal of used or contaminated implements, disposed of according to local bio-hazard disposal requirements.

Regulation 35-16(B) additionally requires all salons to have direct access to hot and cold running water and rest room facilities.

---

The Disinfection Standard (Regulation 35-20(I))

South Carolina draws a sharp line between cleaning and disinfecting, and the regulation prescribes a strict order of operations.

• Cleaning is the physical removal of dirt, cosmetic debris, sebum, and organic matter with soap or detergent and water. It is a mandatory prerequisite but does not kill pathogens.
• Disinfection is the chemical destruction of pathogens on nonporous surfaces.

The four-part efficacy standard

Every disinfectant used must be EPA-registered with demonstrated bactericidal, fungicidal, pseudomonacidal, and virucidal activity. Candidates routinely drop pseudomonacidal from that list — it is there because Pseudomonas aeruginosa is unusually resistant and is the classic salon water-borne pathogen. Two hard limits accompany the standard:

• "Alcohol is not an acceptable disinfecting agent." This is the literal text of Regulation 35-20(I)(1)(b). Wiping an implement with 70% isopropyl alcohol never satisfies the rule.
• Bleach products must carry an EPA registration for hospital-level disinfection. Household bleach without that registration does not qualify.

The required sequence

Before use on a patron, all non-electrical, nonporous implements, instruments, and accessories must be:

1. Cleaned with soap (or detergent) and water or a chemical cleaner, rinsed, and dried completely; then
2. Either totally immersed in, or sprayed or wiped with, the registered disinfectant, used per the manufacturer's instructions including concentration and contact time.

Note the "or" in step 2 — spraying or wiping with a registered product is an accepted method for implements under Regulation 35-20(I)(1)(b). What is never acceptable is skipping step 1, or substituting alcohol for a registered disinfectant.

Storage and solution maintenance

• Disinfected implements must be stored in a clean, dry, covered container, such as a clean drawer or cabinet.
• Non-disinfected implements (used on a patron or soiled in any manner) must be placed in a closed receptacle labeled "soiled" or "items to be disinfected" until they can be properly disinfected.
• Disinfectant solutions shall remain covered at all times, shall be changed daily or sooner if visible debris is present or the solution becomes cloudy, and shall be of sufficient size to accommodate all implements including handles.

Electrical implements and semi-critical items (Regulation 35-20(J))

Electrical implements are disinfected before each use by first removing all foreign matter, then disinfecting with the registered product per label contact time; sprays, wipes, or immersion are all accepted here. Towel warmers must be disinfected daily, towels must be washed with detergent and bleach and dried on "hot," and wet towels used in services must be prepared fresh each day.

Semi-critical implements such as microdermabrasion wands get a heightened standard under Regulation 35-20(J)(4)(vii): they should either be disposable, or be treated with high-level disinfection by immersing in an enzyme detergent for a minimum of fifteen (15) minutes, rinsing, scrubbing internally and externally with a wire bristle brush, and then immersing in an EPA-registered disinfectant for a minimum of 10 minutes. This matters directly to South Carolina candidates because Particle Microdermabrasion is one of the sections tested on the SC practical examination.

---

Porous Single-Use Items (Regulation 35-20(H))

Regulation 35-20(H) is short and absolute: licensees and students must dispose of all porous supplies or materials that come in direct contact with a patron and cannot be disinfected — the regulation names cotton pads, nail abrasives/buffers, and neck strips — in a covered waste receptacle immediately after use or when the service is completed.

                              ┌───────────────────────────┐
                              │ Esthetics Implement Types │
                              └─────────────┬─────────────┘
                                            │
             ┌──────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────┐
             ▼                                                             ▼
┌────────────────────────────┐                             ┌────────────────────────────┐
│   Multi-Use (Nonporous)    │                             │    Single-Use (Porous)     │
├────────────────────────────┤                             ├────────────────────────────┤
│ • Stainless steel tweezers │                             │ • Wooden wax spatulas      │
│ • Comedone extractors      │                             │ • Cotton pads & gauze      │
│ • Glass product bowls      │                             │ • Extraction lancets       │
│ • Metal spatula tools      │                             │ • Neck strips              │
│                            │                             │                            │
│ Reg. 35-20(I) protocol:    │                             │ Reg. 35-20(H) protocol:    │
│ Clean -> rinse -> dry      │                             │ Discard into a COVERED     │
│ fully -> immerse OR        │                             │ waste receptacle           │
│ spray/wipe with registered │                             │ immediately after use      │
│ disinfectant -> store in a │                             │                            │
│ clean, dry, covered        │                             │                            │
│ container                  │                             │                            │
└────────────────────────────┘                             └────────────────────────────┘

Wax, paraffin, and cosmetic preparations (Regulation 35-20(K))

• All liquids, creams, and other cosmetic preparations must be kept in clean, closed, and properly labeled containers; powders may be kept in a clean shaker.
• When only a portion of a preparation is used, it must be removed with a disposable or single-use spatula so the remainder is not contaminated. Cosmetic pencils must be sharpened after each use, and the sharpener disinfected after each use.
• Paraffin removed for single use may not be returned to the paraffin warmer.
• Wax for hair removal must be kept clean of debris. Wax must be removed to a single-use container or with a single-use spatula that may not be re-dipped — including using the other end — into the wax pot. If the pot is contaminated by double dipping or debris, it must be completely emptied and disinfected.
• Separately, under Regulation 35-20(P)(7), roll-on wax must be single-use only and disposed of after each use.

Linens and treatment surfaces (Regulation 35-20(L), (M), (O))

• Headrests must be covered with a clean towel or disposable paper sheet for each patron.
• Treatment tables must be covered with a clean sheet of disposable examination paper or clean linens for each patron, and disinfected between services before covering.
• After a cloth towel has been used once it must be deposited in a closed, vented receptacle labeled "soiled linens" and not reused until laundered. Laundering means commercial laundering, or washing on "hot" and drying until all moisture is gone and the towels are hot to the touch. All clean towels must be stored in a clean, closed cabinet or container.
• Bottles and containers must be clearly, distinctly, and properly labeled in English to disclose contents, with poisonous or potentially hazardous substances additionally and distinctly marked.

---

Prohibited Implements, Products, and Procedures (Regulation 35-20(P))

This is the highest-yield list in South Carolina jurisprudence. Licensees may not use any of the following:

Possession is a violation. Regulation 35-20(P)(11) provides that possession on licensed premises, or by a licensee, of any item listed in the section is itself a violation — the tool does not have to be in use.

The two numeric limits inside 35-20(P)(6)

Regulation 35-20(P)(6) contains the two most quotable numbers in South Carolina esthetics law:

• Depth limit — 1.4 mm. Products, preparations, devices, machines, or implements used to beautify the surface of the skin must be over-the-counter, non-prescriptive, and externally applied to the epidermis; devices intended to pierce or puncture the superficial surface of the skin must not penetrate to a depth greater than 1.4 mm.
• pH floor — 2.5. Exfoliation treatments, whether manual, mechanical, or chemical, should only remove non-living surface epidermal cells and must not remove cells beyond the basal layer of the epidermis (the stratum germinativum). In addition, peels or chemical exfoliants must not have a pH level, either individually or in combination, of less than 2.5.

The regulation also permits licensees to use FDA-cleared or FDA-approved non-prescriptive, over-the-counter electric medical devices that do not cut, destroy, or alter living tissue, only if the device is approved for general use and used solely for esthetic purposes. Documentation of FDA clearance or approval and FDA classification must be maintained on the licensed premises and made available to Board inspectors or investigators.

---

Handling and Storage Reference Table