OSHA, EPA, and SDS: The Chemical Safety Questions on the Cosmetology Exam

What the NIC outline means by government agency requirements

In the NIC National Cosmetology Theory Examination bulletin (effective July 1, 2022, revised January 1, 2026), the infection control and safety part of Scientific Concepts includes one line that names agencies: "Identify requirements of government agencies," with OSHA and EPA listed under it. Scientific Concepts is worth 35% of the exam. The chemistry lines in the same domain, about ingredients, interactions between chemicals, and reactions such as chemical burns, lean on the same documents this page covers.

If your state uses PSI's national exam instead, as California does, its current outline (PSI's California bulletin, April 2026) is even more explicit. Its Safety and Infection Control area lists Safety Data Sheets, federal safety regulations (OSHA, EPA, FDA), labeling and storage of chemicals, ventilation, and electrical safety.

Who regulates what in a salon

An agency question comes down to one decision: which body's rule or document answers this situation?

Washington's Department of Licensing gives a state example of the last row. Its cosmetology FAQ says an acceptable disinfectant must be an EPA-registered, hospital-grade product with demonstrated bactericidal, virucidal, and fungicidal properties. Agency calls like these are where explanations planned for full cosmetology prep tie the answer to EPA, OSHA, or FDA guidance.

Reading a safety data sheet section by section

OSHA's Hazard Communication standard requires every SDS to be in English (an employer may also keep copies in other languages) and to use the same numbered sections and headings in the same order. Employers must keep an SDS for each hazardous chemical and make it "readily accessible during each work shift" to employees in their work area. Electronic access is allowed if it creates no barrier to immediate access. Employees must be trained when they start and whenever a new chemical hazard is introduced into their work area.

The headings below are OSHA's. The section summaries follow the University of Maryland's environmental health and safety guidance, and the salon questions are Passy's examples.

A worked SDS lookup (fictional product). A salon stocks "Example Acrylic Liquid," an invented nail monomer used here only for practice. Four things happen in one afternoon. Match each to its section before reading on.

1. A bottle tips over and spills across the nail station.
2. A drop lands on a technician's forearm.
3. The owner wants to move the bottles to a shelf above the station's heated tools.
4. Someone asks whether it can be stored next to the salon's other chemicals.

Answers: the spill is Section 6, accidental release measures. The skin contact is Section 4, first-aid measures, read alongside the product label. The shelf question is Section 7, handling and storage, with Section 2 telling you whether the product is flammable. The FDA notes that some nail products can catch fire near a stove's pilot light, a lit cigarette, or the heating element of a curling iron. The storage-neighbor question is Section 7, which covers incompatibilities, and Section 10, which covers hazardous reactions. If an exam item asks which agency requires that document, the answer is OSHA, not EPA or FDA.

When you can sort those four without the table, check the SDS spill-cleanup question in the free cosmetology set. Its explanation covers why each of the other three places to look falls short.

Three kinds of labels in one salon

A salon shelf carries labels from three different rule systems, and exam distractors like to swap them.

• Workplace chemical labels under OSHA. Hazard Communication labels carry a product identifier, a signal word, hazard statements, pictograms, and precautionary statements. The signal word is "Danger" for more severe hazards and "Warning" for less severe ones, and OSHA designates eight pictograms.
• Disinfectant labels under EPA. OSHA's standard does not require its own labeling for pesticides that are labeled under EPA's rules, so a disinfectant's label is EPA's territory. EPA says the registration number is the only reliable way to identify a disinfectant, because the same product can be sold under different names. Its Directions for Use give the contact time, and the surface must stay visibly wet for that whole time. EPA's example: if the label says 10 minutes and the surface is no longer wet after 5, apply more product.
• Cosmetic labels under the FDA. The FDA says every cosmetic label, whether sold to consumers or to salons, must carry a warning statement when one is needed to prevent a health hazard. Products sold at retail must also list ingredients. Products sold only to salons may not have an ingredient list, so the SDS and the warnings become your main information. OSHA's standard does not add its own labels to cosmetics that carry FDA-required labeling, and it does not apply to cosmetics packaged for retail sale to consumers. Professional products used in the salon fall outside that retail exception, and the FDA notes that OSHA requires an SDS for products with hazardous chemicals.

Label and SDS facts are recall-heavy, and planned cosmetology prep pairs its questions with 540 flashcards for facts like these.

Ventilation, storage, and electrical points to know

Ventilation. Two FDA pages give clear examples. Hair smoothing products that contain formaldehyde release it as a gas when heated, and if the salon is not properly ventilated, both professionals and clients may breathe it. OSHA has a formaldehyde standard, 29 CFR 1910.1048, that limits allowable levels in the air. The FDA's nail products page tells users to make sure there is good ventilation. The FDA adds that workplace air quality falls under OSHA, and that state and local authorities may set practices such as ventilation. On an SDS, ventilation appears in Section 8 as an engineering control.

Storage. Keep each product in its labeled container and store it the way Section 7 says, away from the materials it is incompatible with. Keep flammable nail products away from flames and heating elements, per the FDA example above.

Electrical tools. The NIC theory outline lists electrical tools such as irons, blow dryers, and clippers under tools, with safe practices for each. The NIC practical shows what examiners look for: candidates are scored on testing the temperature of the curling iron and on its safe use, and the suggested supply list calls for an iron with its cord unbound and unaltered. Follow each tool's manufacturer instructions, which this page does not replace.

Where blood and disinfection rules fit

OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens standard applies to occupational exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials, meaning contact that can reasonably be anticipated from an employee's duties. Its procedures, along with disinfectant choice and contact time, get their own pages: the cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization guide and the blood exposure guide. For the chemistry behind Sections 9 and 10, including what pH tells you about a product, see the pH and basic chemistry guide. All of these sit in Scientific Concepts, which is why 298 of the 850 planned full-prep questions cover that domain.