5.1 Facials, Skin Care & Hair Removal

5.1 Facials, Skin Care & Hair Removal

The Texas operator written exam (PSI: 100 scored items, 70% to pass, 130 minutes total) reliably draws skin-care questions from anatomy, contraindications, and waxing safety. Master the structures and the rules below.

Skin Structure

The skin (the body's largest organ) has three layers. The epidermis is the thin, outermost layer with no blood vessels. The dermis (derma/corium) is the deep, living layer holding nerves, blood vessels, sweat (sudoriferous) and oil (sebaceous) glands, and hair follicles. Beneath it lies the subcutaneous (adipose) tissue, a fatty layer that gives smoothness and contour.

Know the five epidermal sub-layers from deep to surface:

Skin Types and the Fitzpatrick Scale

Classify skin by sebum (oil) activity: normal (balanced), oily (large pores, shine, prone to comedones), dry (lacks oil, may flake), and combination (oily T-zone, dry cheeks). Do not confuse oily skin with dehydrated skin — dehydration is a lack of water, not oil.

The Fitzpatrick scale rates how skin reacts to ultraviolet (UV) light:

• Type I — always burns, never tans (very fair)
• Type II — usually burns, tans minimally
• Type III — sometimes burns, tans gradually
• Type IV — rarely burns, tans easily
• Type V — very rarely burns (brown skin)
• Type VI — never burns (deeply pigmented)

Lower Fitzpatrick numbers signal higher photosensitivity and a need for stronger SPF guidance.

Steps of a Basic Facial

Memorize the order; the exam frequently asks "what comes next."

1. Cleanse — remove makeup and surface debris.
2. Analyze the skin (often under a magnifying lamp) and steam to soften.
3. Exfoliate to lift dead corneum cells.
4. Extract comedones gently (blackheads/whiteheads).
5. Massage using effleurage (light gliding), petrissage (kneading), and tapotement (tapping).
6. Mask matched to skin type (clay for oily, gel/cream for dry).
7. Moisturize and apply SPF to finish.

A worked scenario: a client with shiny, large-pored skin and visible blackheads is oily skin. You would steam, exfoliate, extract, then apply a clay/kaolin mask to absorb sebum — not a heavy cream mask, which would worsen congestion.

Contraindications — When to Refer

Texas TDLR limits cosmetology operators to non-invasive, surface skin care. You may not perform any service that penetrates living skin or removes tissue below the stratum corneum, and you must refer suspicious conditions to a physician. Stop and do not service if the client has:

• Open lesions, cuts, or active acne pustules in the work area
• Sunburn or windburn
• Active herpes simplex (cold sores) or any contagious condition
• Recent Accutane (isotretinoin) use — wax and aggressive exfoliation can tear fragile skin
• Current use of Retin-A, alpha/beta hydroxy acids, or recent chemical peel on the area
• Uncontrolled diabetes or circulatory disease (especially for waxing)

These same conditions are the core contraindications for waxing.

Hair Removal — Temporary (Waxing)

Waxing is a temporary, depilatory-by-removal method that pulls hair from the follicle (epilation). Always perform a patch test for product allergy and a temperature test on your inner wrist so wax is warm, never hot.

Golden rule: apply soft wax in the direction of hair growth and remove the strip against the direction of growth, holding the skin taut so you snap the strip parallel to the skin, not straight up. Pulling upward causes bruising and lifts skin. Never double-dip an applicator into the wax pot — this re-introduces bacteria from the client's skin into shared product and is a sanitation violation. Use a fresh spatula each pass, or one client per pot.

Other temporary methods you should be able to distinguish on the exam: shaving cuts hair at the surface; tweezing and threading remove hair by the root over small areas; and chemical depilatories dissolve hair at the skin surface using a thioglycolate that breaks the disulfide bonds in keratin — these require a patch test because they can burn. Permanent methods — electrolysis (an electric current destroying the papilla) and laser/IPL — are outside the cosmetology operator scope in Texas; refer those clients to the appropriate licensed professional.

Quick Safety Recap

• Always patch-test new products and temperature-test wax on your wrist.
• Stop for any contraindication and refer rather than risk injury.
• Operators perform surface skin care only — never invasive procedures, lancing, or tissue removal below the stratum corneum.
• Document and clean your station, change linens between clients, and wash hands before and after every service.