South Carolina Esthetician Practice Test

All 69 answers rest on South Carolina's own text, 50 of them on the Board's sanitary and safety regulation.

How does South Carolina's regulation class a microdermabrasion wand?

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the South Carolina Board of Cosmetology or the NIC. Bank checked October 16, 2026.

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

All 69 questions

Scientific concepts: infection control 29

  • A disinfected electrical facial brush is kept in a station drawer between uses. What does South Carolina ask of that drawer? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(J)(2)
  • A facial is over and the extractor has been used. Where does it wait in a South Carolina salon until it can be disinfected? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(I)(4)
  • A Myrtle Beach spa owner buys an ultraviolet cabinet sold as a 'sterilizer'. What is the one use Regulation 35-20(P)(8) leaves for it? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(P)(8)
  • A South Carolina esthetician has cleaned her tweezers with soap and water and rinsed them. What comes next, before the disinfectant? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(I)(1)(a)
  • A South Carolina salon does not want to reprocess its microdermabrasion wands. What does the regulation allow instead of high-level disinfection? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(J)(4)(b)(vii)
  • A South Carolina spa launders its own towels on the premises. What does the regulation ask of that process? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(M)(2)
  • A South Carolina spa uses hot steam towels in its facials. How must those towels be washed and dried? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(J)(3)(a)
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Scientific concepts: infection control, continued

  • A student in a South Carolina esthetics school has a known communicable disease that can be passed on during a facial. What does the regulation tell licensees? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(F)(1)
  • After foreign matter is off a galvanic roller, in which three ways may the EPA-registered product be applied under Regulation 35-20(J)(1)(b)? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(J)(1)(b)
  • After the enzyme detergent and a rinse, what scrubs a South Carolina salon's microdermabrasion wand inside and out? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(J)(4)(b)(vii)
  • An esthetician in Charleston swabs her comedone extractor with 70 percent alcohol and calls it disinfected. How does Regulation 35-20 treat alcohol? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(I)(1)(b)
  • At 2 p.m. the solution in a South Carolina spa's immersion jar has turned cloudy. It was mixed that morning. What does the regulation require? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(I)(3)(b)
  • Before each patron, a South Carolina esthetician must clean her hands. What does the regulation accept besides soap and water? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(G)
  • Besides total immersion, how may the disinfectant reach a non-electrical implement in a South Carolina skin care room? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(I)(1)(b)
  • Cotton pads have touched a South Carolina patron's face and cannot be disinfected. What is done with them? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(H)
  • Fresh facial towels have come back from the laundry to a Spartanburg spa. What storage does Regulation 35-20(M) call for? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(M)(3)
  • High-level disinfection of a reusable microdermabrasion wand in South Carolina starts in an enzyme detergent. For at least how long? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(J)(4)(b)(vii)
  • How does South Carolina's regulation class a microdermabrasion wand? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(J)(4)(b)(vii)
  • How much of a pair of facial tweezers must a South Carolina salon's disinfectant container be able to take? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(I)(3)(c)
  • How often does Regulation 35-20(J) call for the disinfection of a high frequency handpiece or any other electrical implement? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(J)(1)
  • It is closing time in a Greenville spa and six steamed towels were never used. What does the regulation require? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(J)(3)(c)
  • The laboratory that checks a Summerville spa's autoclave reports that spores survived the cycle. What follows under Regulation 35-20(P)(9)? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(P)(9)
  • The last step for a scrubbed microdermabrasion wand is immersion in an EPA registered disinfectant. For at least how long, under Regulation 35-20? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(J)(4)(b)(vii)
  • Regulation 35-20 tells South Carolina licensees to follow the disinfectant maker's instructions. Which two points of the label does it name? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(I)(1)(b)
  • Regulation 35-20(P) names substances and tools that an esthetician may not even keep where she works. Which of these is among them? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(P)(4)
  • What covers the treatment table for each patron in a South Carolina skin care room? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(L)(3)
  • What does South Carolina's regulation say about the lid of the immersion container between uses? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(I)(3)(a)
  • What protects the headrest of a facial chair for each South Carolina patron? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(L)(1)
  • When is the treatment table itself disinfected in a South Carolina salon? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(L)(3)

Scientific concepts: safety, products and the salon 11

  • A bottle in a South Carolina salon holds a potentially hazardous substance. What does the regulation add to the ordinary label of contents? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(N)
  • A home-based skin care studio in Aiken has one bathroom, which the family also uses. What does the rule on residential salons call for? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(C)(4)
  • A South Carolina salon turns a Board inspector away at the door. How does Regulation 35-20 treat that? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(A)(3)
  • An esthetician opens a salon in her South Carolina home. A door once led from that room into her living room. What must be done with it? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(C)(1)
  • Besides the licenses, what must a South Carolina salon show in full public view under Regulation 35-20(A)(4)? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(A)(4)
  • Boxes of retail stock are stacked in the restroom of a Florence day spa. Which line of Regulation 35-20(D)(3) does that break? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(D)(3)
  • How may face powder be kept at a South Carolina makeup station? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(K)(1)
  • Regulation 35-20(B)(4) closes off one way of using the rooms of a skin care studio. Which? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(B)(4)
  • Under S.C. Code 40-13-110, which use of a product can cost a South Carolina licensee the license? S.C. Code Ann. 40-13-110(A)(8)
  • Which two safety items are on the list of things every South Carolina salon must have direct access to? S.C. Code Regs. 35-16(B)
  • Who answers for the sanitary rules that apply to a South Carolina esthetician's own work? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(A)(1)

Skin care and services: exfoliation, devices, wax and makeup 13

  • A brow pencil has just shaped one client's arches. Under Regulation 35-20(K)(2), what happens to the pencil and to its sharpener? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(K)(2)
  • A device meant to pierce or puncture the superficial surface of the skin may go no deeper than what depth in South Carolina? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(P)(6)
  • A Hilton Head spa stocks roll on wax cartridges. What does Regulation 35-20(P)(7) make of them? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(P)(7)
  • A South Carolina esthetician may use an FDA cleared, over-the-counter electric device that does not alter living tissue. For what purpose alone? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(P)(6)
  • A South Carolina salon's wax pot has been double dipped. What must be done with the pot? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(K)(4)(b)
  • An esthetician in Beaufort is planning an exfoliating facial. Which cells is the treatment allowed to take off? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(P)(6)
  • An esthetician in Columbia dips a spatula in the wax pot, spreads the wax, then flips the spatula to dip its clean end. How does Regulation 35-20 treat the second dip? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(K)(4)(a)
  • To which kinds of exfoliation does South Carolina's limit on how deep a treatment may go apply? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(P)(6)
  • What does S.C. Code 40-13-20 give as the sole purpose of the skin care an esthetician is licensed to practice? S.C. Code Ann. 40-13-20(5)
  • What is the lowest pH a peel or chemical exfoliant may have in a South Carolina salon, alone or in combination? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(P)(6)
  • Where must the paperwork on an electric device's FDA clearance and classification be kept in South Carolina? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(P)(6)
  • Which kind of product, device or procedure does South Carolina's Regulation 35-20(P)(6) strictly prohibit? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(P)(6)
  • Which products may a South Carolina esthetician use to beautify the surface of the skin, under Regulation 35-20(P)(6)? S.C. Code Regs. 35-20(P)(6)

South Carolina license law (extra) 16

  • A South Carolina esthetician is in her first licensing period. How much continuing education does Regulation 35-23 ask of her? S.C. Code Regs. 35-23(B)
  • A South Carolina esthetician puts her license on inactive status. What may she not receive during that time? S.C. Code Ann. 40-13-250(D)
  • A South Carolina licensee receives an administrative citation. Within how many calendar days of receipt may the penalty be appealed to the Board? S.C. Code Regs. 35-6(D)
  • An applicant for the esthetician license must show classes in skin care at an approved school. How many hours does S.C. Code 40-13-230(B) set as the least? S.C. Code Ann. 40-13-230(B)(2)
  • The Board may audit continuing education records. For what period must an esthetician be able to produce hers, under Regulation 35-24(B)? S.C. Code Regs. 35-24(B)
  • How does S.C. Code 40-13-20 define an independent contractor? S.C. Code Ann. 40-13-20(6)
  • On examination day a Lexington candidate oversleeps and never arrives. What becomes of the fee she paid, under Regulation 35-5(B)? S.C. Code Regs. 35-5(B)
  • Once an applicant is found eligible, how long before the examination must the South Carolina Board give notice? S.C. Code Regs. 35-5(A)
  • S.C. Code 40-13-10 reserves seats on the seven-member Board of Cosmetology by profession. How many seats are for an esthetician? S.C. Code Ann. 40-13-10(A)
  • What is the most the South Carolina Board may assess in administrative penalties per offense under Regulation 35-6? S.C. Code Regs. 35-6(B)
  • What must go with every South Carolina application for licensure, renewal and reinstatement included, under Regulation 35-5.1? S.C. Code Regs. 35-5.1
  • What schooling must an applicant for a South Carolina esthetician license have, besides being at least sixteen? S.C. Code Ann. 40-13-230(B)(1)
  • When may a South Carolina licensee serve a person somewhere other than a licensed salon, under S.C. Code 40-13-110? S.C. Code Ann. 40-13-110(A)(6)
  • Which subjects may the continuing education for a South Carolina esthetician's renewal cover? S.C. Code Regs. 35-23(A)
  • Who is excused from continuing education under S.C. Code 40-13-250(A)? S.C. Code Ann. 40-13-250(A)
  • Who may show a skin care product on a person in South Carolina without a license, under S.C. Code 40-13-360? S.C. Code Ann. 40-13-360(1)

How this list was compiled: Examination: the South Carolina Board of Cosmetology's Examination page (https://llr.sc.gov/cosmo/examins.aspx) asks an esthetician to pass the NIC written and practical exams with a passing score of 75 percent, after 450 hours of classes in skin care; Regulation 35-5 sets a minimum passing score of 75 on each part. The test administrator's page for the Board (https://provexam.com/test-information/south-carolina-board-of-cosmetology) lists Esthetics 2025 at 110 questions, 10 of them unscored pilot questions, 90 minutes, passing score 75, and a practical examination. Outline of the theory 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): Scientific Concepts 55 percent, Skin Care and Services 45 percent. Facts: S.C. Code of Regulations Chapter 35, the Board's regulations (https://www.scstatehouse.gov/coderegs/Chapter%2035.pdf; Regulation 35-20 as amended effective May 23, 2025), and S.C. Code of Laws Title 40, Chapter 13 (https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t40c013.php), both linked from the Board's own page. Each question names its 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 South Carolina esthetician practice test asks what the Board's regulations and the cosmetology statute say. Not affiliated with the South Carolina Board of Cosmetology, the National-Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology (NIC) or its test administrator.

Read the full guide

Who writes the theory exam

NIC writes the theory examination South Carolina uses. Its bulletin, effective September 1, 2025, gives Scientific Concepts 55 percent of the scored items and Skin Care and Services 45 percent.

How the 69 questions divide

Regulation 35-20, the sanitary and safety rules, supplies the 29 infection control questions and most of the 11 on safety, products and the salon. Thirteen are on exfoliation limits, devices, wax and makeup. The other 16 are license law.

  • Alcohol is not an acceptable disinfecting agent in South Carolina (Regulation 35-20(I)(1)(b)).
  • A peel or chemical exfoliant may not have a pH below 2.5 (Regulation 35-20(P)(6)).
  • A device meant to pierce the surface of the skin may go no deeper than 1.4 mm (Regulation 35-20(P)(6)).

Questions and answers

How many questions are on the South Carolina esthetician exam?

The test administrator's page for the Board lists the theory test, Esthetics 2025, at 110 questions in 90 minutes, 10 of them unscored pilot questions. Regulation 35-5 asks a minimum passing score of 75 on the theory part and again on the practical part.

Is there a South Carolina state law exam for estheticians?

Only for comity applicants: Regulation 35-5(G) has a person licensed elsewhere pass a state law exam the Board designates. School graduates take the NIC written and practical exams, so the license law group on this page is extra.

Are these the actual South Carolina esthetician exam questions?

No. Every question was written for this site from Chapter 35 of the State's Code of Regulations or Title 40, Chapter 13 of its Code of Laws. Skin science is not asked, since neither text states it; the Washington page has it.

How many hours is esthetician school in South Carolina?

At least 450 hours of classes in skin care at a school the Board approves, or comparable training it approves. The applicant is at least sixteen, with a tenth grade education or its equivalent (S.C. Code 40-13-230(B)).

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