NH Esthetics Study Guide

All 71 answers rest on New Hampshire's own text: 59 on the Board's rules and 12 on RSA 313-A.

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What kind of disinfectant does the New Hampshire Board's definition of disinfect call for?

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the New Hampshire Board of Barbering, Cosmetology, and Esthetics or the NIC. Bank checked October 16, 2026.

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

All 71 questions with answers

Scientific concepts: infection control 21

  • A client's skin is punctured during an extraction in New Hampshire. What does the rule have the licensee apply at once? Answer: Antiseptic and a sterilized bandage. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(f)(1)
  • A comedone extractor slips to the floor during a facial in New Hampshire. Where does an implement that is used or soiled in any manner go? Answer: Into a closed container. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(c)(3)
  • A facial bed's surface touches each client's skin. What does New Hampshire's rule require after each service? Answer: The surface is sanitized. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(m)
  • A New Hampshire esthetician has sanitized and disinfected her tweezers after a client. Where are non-electrical implements then kept? Answer: In a dry container or drawer. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(c)(1)
  • A New Hampshire esthetician lifts a cream from its jar with a clean spatula. What must the spatula not do? Answer: Come in contact with the patron. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(c)(7)
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Scientific concepts: infection control, continued

  • A sponge used to take off a mask cannot be disinfected. What does New Hampshire's rule have done with it? Answer: It is disposed of after the use, in a closed container. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(c)(5)
  • A towel has been used on a client in a New Hampshire shop. What may be done with it? Answer: It goes into a container and is not used until laundered. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(c)(6)
  • After a skin puncture in a New Hampshire shop, what must happen to the implement that was in use before the service proceeds? Answer: It is sanitized and disinfected. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(f)(3)
  • An electrical implement comes into direct contact with each client in a New Hampshire shop. When does the rule have it disinfected? Answer: Before each use. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(c)(4)
  • By the New Hampshire Board's definition, what does sterilizing instruments take? Answer: An autoclave, or pre-sterilized disposable instruments. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 101.51
  • Each New Hampshire patron is covered with a cape. When may the cape touch the patron's neck directly? Answer: Only if the cape is laundered after each use. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(e)
  • How are containers of cream, powder and other toilet preparations kept in a New Hampshire shop when no one is using them? Answer: Covered. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(c)(7)
  • How often is the water in a vaporizer machine emptied in a New Hampshire shop? Answer: Daily, and the unit is disinfected. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.05(v)
  • In the New Hampshire Board's definition, with what is cleaning done? Answer: Soap or detergent. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 101.10
  • What does New Hampshire's licensee rule require of the disinfection container during the working day? Answer: It remains covered at all times. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(c)(2)
  • What does New Hampshire's licensee rule say of a make-up brush? Answer: If one is used, it is disinfected after each use. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(c)(8)
  • What kind of disinfectant does the New Hampshire Board's definition of disinfect call for? Answer: An EPA-registered one. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 101.16
  • What must every New Hampshire shop have, at the least, for implements that have been disinfected? Answer: One covered container. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.05(f)
  • When does New Hampshire's licensee rule have an esthetician wash her hands? Answer: Immediately before attending to a patron. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(a)
  • Which term do New Hampshire's rules give a material that lets fluids, gases or debris be absorbed or pass through? Answer: Porous. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 101.38
  • Which word do New Hampshire's Board rules define as reducing the number of bacteria on objects and surfaces using chemicals? Answer: Sanitize. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 101.41

Scientific concepts: safety, chemicals and blood 14

  • A client's skin is raised and swollen where a wax strip would go. What does New Hampshire's licensee rule tell the esthetician? Answer: Not to perform the service. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(g)(7)
  • A New Hampshire licensee wants to use a product for something other than the use it is intended for. What does the licensee rule say? Answer: A licensee shall not use it other than as intended. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(g)(2)
  • A toner is poured from its bottle into a spray bottle in a New Hampshire shop. What must the spray bottle show? Answer: The product name. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.05(ah)
  • Above what strength may carbolic acid, also known as phenol, not be used by a New Hampshire licensee? Answer: 2 percent. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(g)(9)
  • Besides a plumbed-in unit, what counts as the required eyewash in a New Hampshire shop? Answer: An unexpired, FDA-compliant portable eyewash kit. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.05(ak)
  • By New Hampshire's ethical conduct standards, how does a licensee use professional products made for the licensed profession? Answer: According to the manufacturer's instructions. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 501.02(j)
  • Lancets are used in a New Hampshire shop. Whose standard governs how they are disposed of? Answer: OSHA's, at 29 CFR 1910.1030. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.05(x)
  • New Hampshire requires mechanical ventilation, by supply air and return or exhaust air, in every shop. What is the minimum exchange rate? Answer: 35 cubic feet per minute. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.05(e)
  • What does New Hampshire's licensee rule say about a blade for removing corns, callouses or skin? Answer: It may not be used, nor may blades be available in the facility. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(g)(4)
  • What must a New Hampshire shop have on hand for the products it uses, as OSHA requires under 29 CFR 1910.1200(g)? Answer: Safety data sheets. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.05(m)
  • When may a New Hampshire licensee treat a medical condition? Answer: Only when referred by a physician. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(g)(5)
  • Which safety station must every New Hampshire shop have, immediately accessible to everyone? Answer: An emergency eyewash station. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.05(ai)
  • Which service would break New Hampshire's licensee rule whoever performs it? Answer: One in which fish perform the service. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(g)(11)
  • Whose labeling information must a container of chemicals carry in a New Hampshire shop? Answer: OSHA's, as specified in 29 CFR 1910.1200(f)(6). Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.05(ag)

Skin care and services: exfoliation, devices, hair removal, scope 16

  • Before a chemical exfoliation in New Hampshire, the esthetician takes a client history of related conditions. In what form? Answer: Written. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(s)
  • Before a New Hampshire esthetician uses a microdermabrasion machine, what does the licensee rule require of her? Answer: Additional technical, hands-on training for that equipment. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(n)
  • By the New Hampshire Board's definition, a faradic current is capable of producing what? Answer: A mechanical reaction without a chemical effect. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 101.23
  • How do New Hampshire's Board rules define non-invasive? Answer: Confined to the cells of the epidermis. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 101.34
  • New Hampshire's client history for exfoliation and device services asks about a predisposition to which virus? Answer: Herpes simplex. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(s)
  • New Hampshire's rules list four methods under superfluous hair removal. Which method does the definition leave out by name? Answer: Electrolysis. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 101.53
  • New Hampshire's statute lets an esthetician beautify, with cosmetic preparations, which parts of the body by name? Answer: The face, neck, arms and shoulders. Source: RSA 313-A:1, VIII
  • RSA 313-A:1 lists what esthetics covers in New Hampshire. What does the list say about eyelashes? Answer: Applying eyelashes to any person. Source: RSA 313-A:1, VIII
  • What does threading use, by the New Hampshire Board's definition? Answer: A single strand of thread and an astringent. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 101.54
  • Where may a New Hampshire esthetician get the hands-on training the rule asks for before using a light therapy device? Answer: Anywhere, if specific and adequate for the service. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(o)
  • Which device may a New Hampshire licensee neither use nor keep available for use in the facility? Answer: A dermaroller. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(g)(12)
  • Which FDA device classes are on New Hampshire's list of equipment that takes added hands-on training for an esthetician? Answer: Class I and II. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(n)(7)
  • Which machine do New Hampshire's rules define as introducing water soluble product into the skin with the use of electric current? Answer: An iontophoresis unit. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 101.29
  • Which nail work does New Hampshire's statutory definition of esthetics include? Answer: Pedicure and manicure services, including polishing the nails. Source: RSA 313-A:1, VIII
  • Which scale must a New Hampshire esthetician understand well enough to settle on a peel protocol? Answer: The Fitzpatrick Scale. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(q)
  • Within what scope must a New Hampshire esthetician use an ultrasonic or microcurrent device? Answer: Its approved scope of use under its FDA 510k filing. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(p)

New Hampshire license law (extra) 20

  • A New Hampshire applicant fails the examination and is granted a second temporary permit. When does that permit expire in all circumstances? Answer: 60 days from its issuance. Source: RSA 313-A:18
  • A New Hampshire esthetician wants to do makeup at a charity event held outside a licensed shop. What does the licensee rule ask of her first? Answer: A written request to the board. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(u)
  • A New Hampshire shop chooses to have a cat on the premises. What must be displayed at the entrance? Answer: A sign indicating the type of animal. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.05(k)
  • A person cannot leave home because of a disability. What does New Hampshire's statute say of a licensee who serves that person there? Answer: The chapter is not construed to apply to that practice. Source: RSA 313-A:25
  • A person practices esthetics for pay in New Hampshire with no license. How does the statute class that for a natural person? Answer: A class A misdemeanor. Source: RSA 313-A:9
  • After a marriage, a New Hampshire esthetician's name changes. Within what time does Bar 302.07 want written notice to the board? Answer: Within 30 days. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(h)(1)
  • An applicant fails New Hampshire's practical examination for estheticians. How much of it is retaken? Answer: The entire practical examination. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 303.09(a)
  • An inspection report lists a violation at a New Hampshire shop and no waiver is requested. Within what time must it be rectified? Answer: 7 working days. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 404.01(o)
  • An inspector has finished at a New Hampshire shop. Where does the most recent inspection report go? Answer: In a conspicuous and unobstructed place in the shop. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 404.01(n)
  • For how many hours must a New Hampshire esthetics applicant have trained in an approved school, under RSA 313-A:13? Answer: At least 600. Source: RSA 313-A:13
  • How far ahead must New Hampshire applicants be told the place, date and time of an examination? Answer: At least 10 days. Source: RSA 313-A:15
  • The New Hampshire board weighs a request to work at an unlicensed location. Which finding leads it to deny the request? Answer: The event is to benefit the licensee. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(x)
  • On whom does an applicant demonstrate every task of New Hampshire's practical examination? Answer: A mannequin the applicant brings as a model. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 303.06(d)
  • Under whose guidance does the holder of a New Hampshire temporary permit practice until the examination? Answer: A licensed practitioner, in a registered salon or barbershop. Source: RSA 313-A:18
  • What does a New Hampshire licensee attach to the professional license upon receiving it? Answer: A current passport photograph. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(y)
  • What does New Hampshire's rule say of the way into a shop? Answer: From outside or a common hallway, never through living quarters. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.05(c)
  • What may stand in for school training toward a New Hampshire esthetics license? Answer: An apprenticeship approved by the board. Source: RSA 313-A:13
  • What must a New Hampshire licensee make available to the inspector at any time while working in the shop? Answer: Government-issued photo identification. Source: N.H. Admin. Rules, Bar 302.07(aa)
  • Where must a New Hampshire shop license be kept? Answer: Conspicuously posted within the licensed establishment. Source: RSA 313-A:19
  • Which licensed professional may New Hampshire credit toward esthetician training hours for training the board deems equivalent? Answer: A massage therapist. Source: RSA 313-A:13

How this list was compiled: Examination: New Hampshire's rule Bar 303.03 makes the written examination the national test of the National-Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology (NIC), and Bar 303.04 and 303.06 set the passing grade at 75 percent. The examiner's page for the Board (https://provexam.com/test-information/new-hampshire-state-board-of-barb-cosm-esthetic) lists Esthetics 2025 at 110 questions, 10 of them unscored, 90 minutes, passing score 75, and Practical Esthetics at 151 minutes. Outline of the theory examination: NIC's National Esthetics Theory Examination bulletin, effective September 1, 2025, revised March 1, 2026 (https://prov-testing.github.io/nic_cib/esthetics_national_theory_english.html): Scientific Concepts 55 percent, Skin Care and Services 45 percent. Facts: the rules of the Board of Barbering, Cosmetology, and Esthetics, chapters Bar 100 to 700 (https://gc.nh.gov/rules/state_agencies/bar100-700.html), and RSA chapter 313-A (https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXX/313-A/313-A-mrg.htm). Each question names its rule or section and links to it. Read 2026-10-16. 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 NH esthetics study guide is practice on what the Board's rules and RSA 313-A say. It is not affiliated with the New Hampshire Board of Barbering, Cosmetology, and Esthetics, the National-Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology (NIC) or its test administrator.

Read the full guide

What the written exam weighs

New Hampshire's written examination is NIC's national theory test (Bar 303.03). By the bulletin effective September 1, 2025, Scientific Concepts carry 55 percent of its items and Skin Care and Services 45 percent.

How the 71 questions divide

Twenty-one are on infection control and 14 on safety, chemicals and blood, most from Bar 302.05 and 302.07. Sixteen cover exfoliation, devices, client history, hair removal and the scope of esthetics. Twenty are license law.

  • A dermaroller or any microneedling device may not be used or kept available in the facility (Bar 302.07(g)(12)).
  • Peels and device services need added hands-on training and a written client history (Bar 302.07(n) and (s)).
  • Every shop needs an emergency eyewash station that everyone can reach at once (Bar 302.05(ai)).

Questions and answers

Is there an NH esthetics study guide for the state board exam?

The official outline is NIC's candidate bulletin for the National Esthetics Theory Examination. This page is study practice on the part New Hampshire wrote itself: the Board's rules and RSA 313-A, with every question, answer and section listed on this page.

How many questions are on the NH esthetics written exam?

NIC's bulletin gives 110 items, 100 of them weighted, in 90 minutes. The examiner's page for the Board lists the same and a practical of 151 minutes. Bar 303.04 and 303.06 set the passing grade at 75 percent.

Does New Hampshire give estheticians a state law test?

No law examination is on the examiner's list for the Board, and Bar 303.03 names only the national tests. The license law questions here are extra practice on rules every licensee is inspected under.

What is left out of this study guide?

Anatomy, skin histology and disorders, chemistry, facial procedures, massage and makeup technique, because no New Hampshire text states them. The Washington esthetics test here follows the whole NIC outline. The practical examination is not covered.

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