100 questions · 90 min · 75% to pass
Question 1
What does wet hair that snaps without stretching indicate?
Answer: Poor elasticity, cortex damage
Question 2
How does an exothermic perm generate heat during processing?
Answer: Chemical reaction in the lotion
Question 3
Why does temporary hair color wash out after a single shampoo while permanent color remains until new growth appears?
Answer: Temporary color molecules are too large to enter the cuticle and only coat the outside of the hair shaft, so they rinse off easily; permanent color uses developer to penetrate the cortex where it is locked in.
Question 4
A client arrives for a relaxer retouch and admits she used a no-lye home relaxer six weeks ago. Why must you identify which relaxer system was used previously?
Answer: Mixing lye and no-lye relaxer systems can cause a chemical reaction that leads to extreme breakage and scalp burns; identifying prior chemical use ensures compatible products are selected.
Question 5
During a relaxer service, a small abrasion on the client's scalp begins bleeding. What is the correct protocol?
Answer: The stylist must stop the service immediately, put on gloves, apply pressure to the wound, discard all single-use items, and follow the salon's OSHA bloodborne pathogen exposure control plan.
Question 6
What is the pH range of a thio (ammonium thioglycolate) relaxer?
Answer: pH 9–10
Question 7
When should a cosmetologist use 10-volume developer instead of 20-volume developer during a color service?
Answer: 10-volume developer is used for deposit-only services such as darkening or toning, as it provides no lift; 20-volume is used when 1–2 levels of lift are needed, such as for gray coverage.
Question 8
Why is an acid perm the preferred choice for color-treated or fragile hair compared to an alkaline perm?
Answer: Acid perms use glyceryl monothioglycolate at pH 4.5–7.0, which is much gentler on the cuticle than alkaline perms, reducing further damage to hair that is already chemically compromised.
Question 9
What does the neutralizer do in a permanent wave service?
Answer: Re-forms disulfide bonds
Question 10
What chemical is the primary active ingredient in an alkaline cold wave perm, and at what pH does it process?
Answer: Alkaline cold wave perms use ammonium thioglycolate as the active ingredient, processing at a pH of 9.0–9.6 at room temperature to break and reform disulfide bonds into a new curl pattern.