2.3 Tennessee Sanitary Rules II: Disinfection Standards, Towels, Combs, Products, Prohibited Substances, and Alcoholic Beverages

Why this topic matters

This section covers the second half of Domain XI, "Products," which includes prohibited hazardous substances, product use, and alcoholic beverages. It also covers the step-by-step sanitation rules in Rule 0200-03-.05, which support both Domain XI and Domain I. Questions often turn on one exact word, such as immersion, hospital grade, spatula, or separate towel.

Before every service (Rule 0200-03-.05(1))

No licensee or student may begin work on a patron before:

1. Washing hands with soap and water
2. Placing a clean cape around the patron's neck

Older wording: The 2018 rule required "a fresh neck strip or towel, so that the cape does not contact the skin." The current rule requires only a clean cape. A neck strip or towel under the cape is still standard professional practice and is still taught in the PSI reference textbooks, so use one. Section 3.6 shows the draping steps.

The two disinfection standards

Key distinctions:

• Complete immersion is required. Spraying or wiping a pair of shears does not meet the standard.
• Hospital grade and effective against HIV-1 and HBV apply when blood or body fluid is involved.
• The manufacturer's directions control mixing and contact time.
• Every wet disinfection container must be clean and filled with the proper EPA-registered disinfectant (Rule 0200-03-.08).
• Items that cannot be immersed, such as clipper bodies, are covered by the rule that all equipment and work surfaces must be disinfected after each service (Rule 0200-03-.05(11)). The residential kit rule specifically requires an aerosol spray disinfectant for clippers.

Blood exposure and first aid supplies

• A licensee must keep a supply of antiseptic and/or liquid or spray styptic for when a patron's skin is accidentally broken (Rule 0200-03-.05(4)).
• After exposure to blood or body fluids, the licensee must immediately wash hands with soap and water and then use hand sanitizer or antiseptic (Rule 0200-03-.05(10)).
• Tools that touched blood follow the hospital-grade immersion standard above.

Older wording: The 2018 rule required 70 percent alcohol for skin broken during manicuring and a 10-minute alcohol soak for manicure tools. The current rule replaced both with antiseptic or styptic and EPA-registered disinfectant immersion.

Manicuring tools and foot baths

• Before use, manicuring instruments must be cleaned with soap and water and completely immersed in an EPA-registered bactericidal, virucidal, fungicidal disinfectant (Rule 0200-03-.05(5)).
• Foot baths must be cleaned with soap and water and disinfected with an EPA-registered bactericidal, virucidal disinfectant. The filters and jets must be flushed, cleaned, and have an EPA-registered bactericidal, virucidal, fungicidal disinfectant circulated through them according to the manufacturer's directions (Rule 0200-03-.05(6)).

Towels, headrests, and combs

The towel-dipping ban matters for shaving. A steam towel must be fresh and clean for each patron, heated in a towel warmer or steamer, never a used towel re-dipped in hot water.

Powders, lotions, and creams (Rule 0200-03-.05(9))

• Powders and lotions must be applied with a clean applicator, which is disposed of immediately after use.
• Creams and other semi-solids must be removed from their container with a clean spatula (or similar device), which is disinfected or disposed of immediately after use.

This is the rule behind "no double-dipping." Fingers never go into a shared jar, and a spatula that touched skin never goes back into the product.

Prohibited hazardous substances and product use (Rule 0200-03-.06)

• No shop or school may have on the premises cosmetic products containing hazardous substances banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for cosmetic use, including liquid methyl methacrylate (MMA).
• No product may be used in a manner that is banned by the FDA.
• The Board's barber shop page repeats that no methyl methacrylate is to be used in a shop, and it notes that Tennessee neither requires nor prohibits formalin as a disinfectant.

Practical application: keep manufacturer labels on products, follow label directions, keep Safety Data Sheets available (section 3.5), and do not mix products unless the manufacturer's instructions call for it.

Facial treatments (Rule 0200-03-.16)

• Only the non-living, uppermost layers of facial skin (the epidermis) may be removed, by any method, and only for beautification.
• Only commercially available skin-removal products may be used.
• Mixing or combining skin-removal products is prohibited unless the manufacturer's instructions require it.

Section 9.3 applies this rule to exfoliation.

Alcoholic beverages

This is the one blueprint item whose law changed most recently.

• Former Board rule. Rule 0200-01-.17 said: "The sale or distribution of alcoholic beverages on the premises of any barber shop, barber school or college is prohibited during business hours." PSI's 2018 reference list includes that wording.
• Repeal. The Board repealed Rule 0200-01-.17 effective December 24, 2025.
• Current law. Alcohol in a barber shop is now governed by Tennessee's alcoholic beverage laws, administered by the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Under T.C.A. § 57-4-102, a restricted retail business includes a barber shop licensed by the Board that provides food service, has no more than 20 seats for food service, and keeps alcohol sales under 15 percent of annual gross sales. Before 2026, a restricted retail barber shop could serve alcohol only to the client receiving a service. 2026 Public Chapter 999 lets it serve any patron lawfully on the premises.

Exam approach: if a question asks what the Board's sanitary rules said about selling alcohol during business hours, the answer from the older rule is prohibited. If a question asks how a barber shop may lawfully serve alcohol today, the answer is only with the proper state alcoholic beverage license. A shop without that license may not sell or serve alcohol.

Putting it together