Maine Esthetician Practice Test

All 73 answers rest on Maine's own text, 51 of them on Chapter 26 of the licensing program's rules.

Which hand-washing supply is prohibited in the restroom of a Maine establishment?

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Maine Barbering and Cosmetology Licensing Program or the NIC. Bank checked October 15, 2026.

Next step Esthetician tests for other statesThe whole NIC outline: Washington esthetics test

All 73 questions

Scientific concepts: infection control 27

  • A client arrives for a brow wax with an open sore in the area to be serviced. What do Maine's rules say? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.142
  • A Maine aesthetician mixes a disinfectant into a bottle that is not the maker's own. What must its label show? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.149
  • A pair of tweezers has just been used on a client in Maine. Where does it go until it is cleansed and disinfected? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.040
  • A steam or dry heat sterilizer used in a Maine establishment must be registered and listed with which agency? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.110
  • A tool cannot be immersed in disinfectant. How often do Maine's rules have it cleansed and disinfected? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.103
  • Applicators and sponges that touched the client cannot be disinfected. What does section 26.104 of Maine's rules set for such items? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.104
  • At what strengths do Maine's rules count isopropyl and ethyl alcohol as low-level disinfectants? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.033
  • Head lice are detected in a Maine establishment. One recommended step covers items that cannot be laundered. What is it? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.070
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Scientific concepts: infection control, continued

  • How often are facial chairs and beds, headrests included, cleaned and disinfected in Maine? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.204
  • How often must a chlorine bleach solution used to disinfect implements be mixed in a Maine establishment? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.032
  • Maine has tools disinfected by complete immersion in an EPA-registered disinfectant that is effective against which two viruses? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.101
  • Maine's rules define cleansing as washing with liquid soap and water, detergent or antiseptics to remove visible debris. What do they add about it? 02-041 Chapter 20, definition 4
  • Maine's rules give a recipe for low level bleach disinfection, 100 to 200 parts per million. How much household bleach goes into one gallon of water? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.032
  • Section 26.032 of Maine's rules keeps chlorine bleach from being placed or stored near one thing. What? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.032
  • Section 26.148 says where clean linens are stored and allows one exception for the day's work. Which answer gives both? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.148
  • Toner is poured into a substitute container in Maine and the new container is labeled. What must be done with the original bottle? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.149
  • Under Maine's universal precautions, which condition of a licensee's own skin means refraining from direct contact client services? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.040
  • What are universal precautions meant to prevent, in Maine's definition? 02-041 Chapter 20, definition 39
  • What do Maine's rules require of the disinfectant in which implements sit? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.034
  • What must a Maine facial chair or bed be made of or covered in? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.204
  • What separates a high-level from a low-level disinfectant in Maine's definitions? 02-041 Chapter 20, definition 19
  • Which description fits a single-use item in Maine's definitions? 02-041 Chapter 20, definition 34
  • Which hand-washing supply is prohibited in the restroom of a Maine establishment? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.023
  • Which mix and soak does Maine give for high level bleach disinfection, 1,000 parts per million? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.032
  • Which of these may not be kept with clean and disinfected tools in a Maine establishment? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.102
  • Which sink does not qualify as a water source for sanitizing tools and implements in a Maine establishment? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.022
  • Which three implements do Maine's rules single out to be cleaned and then sterilized before use upon a client? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.110

Scientific concepts: safety, blood exposure and chemicals 14

  • A brow razor leaves a tiny bleed. Which product do Maine's sections 26.051 and 26.157 allow to contract the skin? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.051
  • A chemical splashes into a client's eye. How do Maine's rules describe the flow of water in first aid use of the eye wash? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.045
  • A prohibited product is found, unopened, at a Maine licensee's station. How do the rules treat possession on licensed premises? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.150
  • Blood drips onto the floor during a service in Maine. When must all visible blood be cleaned up with disinfectant? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.052
  • How long must the written record that describes a blood exposure event be kept in Maine? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.060
  • The licensee herself is the one cut. Under Maine's blood exposure procedure, how may she continue to practice? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.060
  • Maine lists ten steps for an injury that draws blood. Which comes first? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.060
  • Under section 26.090, who answers for having Safety Data Sheets on hand in a Maine skin care business? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.090
  • What do Maine's rules say about an establishment's first aid kit? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.080
  • What is the last listed step of Maine's blood exposure procedure? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.060
  • Where may food or beverages not be prepared in a Maine licensed establishment? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.133
  • Which animals are not permitted in a Maine licensed establishment at any time? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.159
  • Which document must a Maine establishment keep, in hardcopy or electronic form, for employees or clients who ask? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.141
  • Which of these is acceptable as an eye washing unit under Maine's rules? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.013

Skin care and services: products, exfoliation, wax and scope 21

  • A client asks a Maine aesthetician to take off a skin tag. How do the rules class that? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.156
  • A multi-use spatula of washable, nonabsorbent material takes cream from a jar. What do Maine's rules require between each use? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.123
  • A scoop of mask taken from its jar is left over after a Maine facial. What do the rules say? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.122
  • An applicator has touched the client's skin during a Maine waxing service. What do the rules say about it? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.242
  • Before which of these services must a Maine licensee obtain the client's consent to service under section 26.230? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.230
  • Health information a client supplies on a Maine consent form may be used or disclosed only with what? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.230
  • How are wax and paraffin baths kept when not in use in a Maine establishment? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.241
  • How deep may a cosmetic exfoliating substance or device work in the hands of a Maine licensee? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.202
  • How do Maine's rules define a depilatory? 02-041 Chapter 20, definition 9
  • How must liquids, creams, powders and cosmetics be kept in a Maine establishment? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.121
  • In Maine's definitions, microdermabrasion is a form of what? 02-041 Chapter 20, definition 24
  • Maine's definition lists Jessner's solutions among cosmetic resurfacing exfoliating substances. What does it say they are made of? 02-041 Chapter 20, definition 8
  • Title 32, section 14202 draws a line around the practice of aesthetics. What falls outside it? 32 M.R.S. section 14202(7)
  • What do Maine's rules say about using wax a second time? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.242
  • What limits does Maine's definition put on cosmetic-use alpha hydroxy acid preparations? 02-041 Chapter 20, definition 8
  • What must a Maine licensee retain for each device used for skin services? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.221
  • Which lash and brow work does Maine's statute put inside the practice of aesthetics? 32 M.R.S. section 14202(7)
  • Which of these activities needs no license under Maine's chapter 126? 32 M.R.S. section 14203(1-A)
  • Which peeling agents does Maine's definition of cosmetic resurfacing exfoliating substances exclude? 02-041 Chapter 20, definition 8
  • Which strength of preparation may be used for chemical exfoliation in Maine? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.203
  • Whose signatures does Maine's consent to a chemical exfoliation carry? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.230

Maine license law (extra) 11

  • A Maine applicant passes the written examination but not the practical. What follows if both are not passed within one year of the first sitting? 02-041 Chapter 21, section 1
  • A Maine school course in aesthetics must run how many hours, in not less than how many months, under section 14228? 32 M.R.S. section 14228(3)
  • After notice of passing, how long does a Maine applicant have to pay the fee for an initial license before the full examination must be retaken? 32 M.R.S. section 14229-A
  • An aesthetician's Maine license ran out last month. Within what time of the expiration date does section 14235 still allow renewal, with a late fee added? 32 M.R.S. section 14235
  • An aesthetics applicant leaves her Maine paperwork unfinished. Under Chapter 21, how long may an application stay incomplete before it is null and void? 02-041 Chapter 21, section 7
  • An applicant who qualifies for examination may get a Maine temporary license to work under a qualified supervisor. When does it end? 32 M.R.S. section 14230
  • At an inspection a person practicing in a Maine establishment may be asked for valid photo identification. Which of these does section 26.002 list? 02-041 Chapter 26, section 26.002
  • Maine also licenses aestheticians who learned as trainees in an establishment. How much experience does the statute ask? 32 M.R.S. section 14228(3)
  • Maine lets a licensed aesthetician practice outside a licensed establishment in listed places. Which of these is on the list? 32 M.R.S. section 14203(2)
  • Section 14224 of Title 32 says where an aesthetician's license hangs. Where? 32 M.R.S. section 14224
  • What does Maine's rule say about practice during the late renewal period? 02-041 Chapter 21, section 8

How this list was compiled: Examination: the Examinations page of Maine's Barbering and Cosmetology Licensing Program (https://www.maine.gov/pfr/professionallicensing/professions/barbering-cosmetology-licensing/examinations) names the testing company and posts its Candidate Information Bulletin (ME Cosmetology CIB 2026.02.26), which lists the NIC written and practical examinations for an aesthetician and an overall passing scaled score of 75; Chapter 21, section 1 of the Program's rules requires the NIC National Written Examination and the NIC National Practical Examination. Outline of the written examination: the National Esthetics Theory Examination bulletin of the National-Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology (NIC), effective September 1, 2025 (https://prov-testing.github.io/nic_cib/esthetics_national_theory_english_2025.html): 110 items, of which 100 are weighted, 90 minutes, Scientific Concepts 55 percent and Skin Care and Services 45 percent. Facts: the Program's rules, 02-041 Chapters 20, 21 and 26 (effective December 11, 2016), in the rules file posted on the Program's Laws and Rules page (https://www.maine.gov/pfr/professionallicensing/sites/maine.gov.pfr.professionallicensing/files/inline-files/Bc%20Rules.pdf), and Maine Revised Statutes Title 32, chapter 126, on the Maine Legislature's site (https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/32/title32ch126sec0.html). Each question names its section and links to it. Read 2026-10-15. Licence: Own work. Every question, wrong choice and explanation was written for this site from the public texts named. Nothing comes from a real examination, the sample questions in a bulletin, a practice product, a textbook or a prep course.

How it works

This unofficial Maine esthetician practice test asks what Maine's infection control rules and licensing statute say. It is not affiliated with Maine's Barbering and Cosmetology Licensing Program, the National-Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology (NIC) or its test administrator.

Read the full guide

The two domains of Maine's written exam

Maine's written examination is NIC's National Esthetics Theory Examination. Its bulletin, effective September 1, 2025, has two domains: Scientific Concepts, 55 percent of the items, and Skin Care and Services, 45 percent.

How the 73 questions are split

Infection control has 27 questions, and safety, blood exposure and chemicals have 14. Another 21 cover products, exfoliation, consent forms, wax and the scope of aesthetics, and 11 cover the aesthetician license.

  • Low level bleach is two teaspoons to a gallon of water, high level one-third cup, and the solution is mixed daily (Chapter 26, section 26.032).
  • Tweezers and comedone extractors are cleaned with detergent and water, then sterilized, before use on a client (section 26.110).
  • Consent comes before microdermabrasion, chemical exfoliation, IPL or device driven hair removal (section 26.230).

Questions and answers

What score do you need on the Maine aesthetician written exam?

An overall passing scaled score of 75, by the candidate bulletin that Maine's licensing program posts; a scaled score is not a percent. NIC's own bulletin gives the written examination 110 items, 100 of them scored, and 90 minutes.

Which exams does Maine require for an aesthetician license?

Two, and no Maine law test: Chapter 21 of the licensing program's rules names the NIC National Written Examination and the NIC National Practical Examination, to be passed within one year of the first sitting. This page practices for the written one.

Is this Maine esthetician practice test enough for the NIC written exam?

Not alone. It covers the infection control, safety, product, exfoliation and wax lines that Maine's rules state. Anatomy, skin disorders and chemistry are in the Washington esthetics test here, which follows all of NIC's outline.

Where do these Maine esthetician practice questions come from?

From Chapters 20, 21 and 26 of the licensing program's rules and Title 32, chapter 126 of the Maine Revised Statutes; each answer links to its section. They are our own questions, not items from the NIC examination.

How many hours is esthetician school in Maine?

A school course of 600 hours in not less than 3 months, or up to 1,000 hours as a trainee over at least 6 months (32 M.R.S. section 14228). Maine's texts spell the license aesthetician.

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