1.3 Scope of Practice, Disciplinary Actions & License Renewal

1.3 Scope of Practice, Disciplinary Actions & License Renewal

Practicing as a licensed esthetician in South Carolina carries defined professional boundaries, a recurring compliance obligation, and exposure to a specific set of administrative sanctions. This section covers what you are licensed to do, what you must never do, when and how you renew, and what the Board can impose when you fall short.

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Statutory Scope of Practice

S.C. Code Section 40-13-20 defines an esthetician as "a person including, but not limited to, an independent contractor, who is licensed to practice skin care, make-up, or similar work." The statutory definition is deliberately broad; the operative limits come from Regulation 35-20(P)(6), which is where South Carolina actually draws the line.

Permitted Professional Services

Licensed South Carolina estheticians perform:

• Facial and body skin care: cleansing, toning, stimulating, manipulating, and moisturizing the face, neck, décolleté, and body.
• Superficial chemical exfoliation: cosmetic-grade alpha hydroxy acids (glycolic, lactic), beta hydroxy acids (salicylic), and enzyme peels — subject to the pH floor of 2.5 and the rule that exfoliation must not remove cells beyond the basal layer.
• Mechanical exfoliation: microdermabrasion and comparable procedures confined to non-living surface epidermal cells.
• Manual comedone extraction following softening by steam or desincrustation.
• Temporary hair removal: waxing (hard and soft), tweezing, depilatories, threading, and sugaring.
• Makeup and beautification: corrective cosmetics, cosmetic camouflage, artificial strip or cluster lashes, and lash and brow services.
• Body treatments: body wraps and scrubs — a 40-hour block of the required curriculum.

The Regulatory Boundary

Regulation 35-20(P)(6) states the test directly. Any product, preparation, device, or procedure that cuts, destroys, or alters living tissue is strictly prohibited. Products and devices used to beautify the surface of the skin must be over-the-counter, non-prescriptive, and externally applied to the epidermis. Devices that pierce or puncture the superficial skin must not exceed 1.4 mm in depth. Exfoliants must not fall below pH 2.5, individually or in combination, and must not remove cells beyond the stratum germinativum.

An esthetician may use FDA-cleared or FDA-approved non-prescriptive, over-the-counter electric devices that do not cut, destroy, or alter living tissue, but only if the device is approved for general use and used solely for esthetic purposes — and documentation of that FDA clearance or approval and FDA classification must be kept on the licensed premises for inspector review.

  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │        OUTSIDE THE SOUTH CAROLINA ESTHETICIAN SCOPE OF PRACTICE        │
  ├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
  │  Injectables: neurotoxins and dermal fillers                           │
  │  Medium and deep chemical peels that reach living dermal tissue        │
  │  Ablative and medical lasers                                           │
  │  Needling deeper than 1.4 mm                                           │
  │  Exfoliants below pH 2.5, or removal past the stratum germinativum     │
  │  Diagnosing disease or prescribing medication                          │
  │  Cutting or excising skin, moles, or skin tags                         │
  └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Clinical note: an esthetician may be employed in a medical spa or dermatology practice, but employment under a physician does not enlarge the license. Cosmetic injections and medical laser procedures remain outside what a South Carolina esthetician license authorizes.

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Biennial License Renewal

South Carolina esthetician licenses do not renew annually. Section 40-13-250 provides that the holder of an individual license issued by the Board biennially shall renew the license, pay the renewal fee, and furnish proof of completing Board-approved continuing education.

• Renewal deadline: LLR states that license renewal for cosmetologists, estheticians, nail technicians, and instructors is every odd year, ending on March 10th at 11:59 pm. The cycle runs March 10, 2025 → March 10, 2027 → March 10, 2029. Licenses expire in odd-numbered years.
• Renewal fee: $52 for an esthetician (LLR Board of Cosmetology fee schedule).
• Photograph requirement: Regulation 35-5.1, added effective May 23, 2025, requires all applications for licensure — initial, endorsement, renewal, and reinstatement — to be accompanied by a 2x2 photograph affixed to the issued license. Applicants may alternatively permit the Department to use the photograph on file with the S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles.
• Expiration: Under Section 40-13-250, a license not renewed before the date designated by the Board expires on that date. Practicing on an expired license is unlawful.

Reinstatement after expiration

Regulation 35-23(C) and Section 40-13-250 set a bright three-year line:

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Mandatory Continuing Education (Regulation 35-23)

Regulation 35-23(A) states the requirement in a single sentence: for license renewal, all persons licensed as cosmetologists, nail technicians, and estheticians must show satisfactory evidence of having obtained four (4) contact hours of Board-approved continuing education specific to Board laws and regulations, client safety, and/or infection control to include sanitation and disinfection during the licensing period. Hours may be completed in person or online.

Read that carefully, because two details are commonly misstated:

1. There is no mandated split among the subjects. The regulation lists Board laws and regulations, client safety, and infection control joined by "and/or." A licensee may satisfy all four hours in any approved combination of those subjects. There is no rule requiring three hours of sanitation plus one hour of law.
2. No continuing education is required in the first licensing period. Regulation 35-23(B) provides that a person "shall not be required to complete continuing education during the first licensing period. During the second licensing period and thereafter, the continuing education requirements shall apply." A newly licensed esthetician's first renewal therefore requires the fee and application but not CE hours.

Instructors are treated separately: Regulation 35-23(D) requires four contact hours geared toward teaching. The current hour count, the in-person-or-online permission, and the course-content rules took effect beginning with the 2021 license renewal period.

Statutory CE exemptions (Section 40-13-250)

The statute exempts two categories of long-tenured licensees, and the two prongs pair different year and age thresholds. Mixing them up is a classic exam trap:

A licensee qualifies by satisfying either prong in full. Fifteen years at age fifty satisfies neither.

Provider approval, verification, and records (Regulation 35-24)

• Only Board-approved programs count, and programs must meet criteria established by the Board in conjunction with the University of South Carolina, which serves as the certificating agent and issues the CEU certificates.
• Courses must be generic — no mention, promotion, or selling of products.
• Participants must present two forms of identification, one a government-issued photo ID and one a copy of the participant's Board-issued license.
• Each licensee must maintain evidence of the required hours for a period of four years. These records are subject to Board audit, and a licensee may be disciplined for failure to maintain them.
• Sponsors must submit a course outline to the Board prior to October 1 of each year for approval.

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Disciplinary Grounds, Citations, and Penalties

Grounds for discipline include obtaining or renewing a license by fraud, gross incompetence or negligence, practicing or permitting practice while affected by a communicable disease transmissible during services, aiding unlicensed practice, and failing to observe the sanitation rules — which Regulation 35-20(A)(4) makes cause for discipline up to revocation.

Regulation 35-6: Administrative Citations and Penalties

• The Board may issue administrative citations and cease and desist orders in person or by certified mail, and may assess administrative penalties against an entity or individual, including unlicensed persons.
• Separate citations and separate penalties may be assessed for each violation; however, no more than five hundred dollars ($500) in administrative penalties may be assessed against an entity or an individual per offense.
• Administrative penalties are separate from and in addition to all other civil or criminal remedies.
• A cited party may appeal to the Board within ten calendar days of receiving the citation. If an appeal is filed, the Department schedules a hearing before the Board. If no appeal is filed, the citation becomes a final order and the penalties must be paid within thirty calendar days of receipt of the citation or other written demand.

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Renewal, Continuing Education & Penalty Reference Table