Did you just learn that you need a cosmetology license to be a hairstylist in Florida? The best way to prepare for this license exam is to attend a vocational school’s cosmetology program. In less than a year, you will get a well-rounded cosmetology education on all things cosmetology, like hair, skin care, makeup and nails. It is important to know about more than just hair cutting and hair styling as you will be tested on all of these topics for the cosmetology license. In the diploma program, not only will you gain knowledge about cosmetology, but you will get real world experience in student run salons and during externships in real hair salons. You will be ready to start working as a hairstylist after you graduate and get your Florida cosmetology license.
So, why go through all this hassle? The demand for licensed cosmetologists in Florida isn’t slowing down any time soon. Florida’s warm weather, sunshine, and miles of beaches offer a great place to become a cosmetologist and work in one of the United States’ best areas. Enrolling in a cosmetology diploma program affords you the foundation required to prepare for a Florida Cosmetology license and pursue a career in the field of beauty. Working in the beauty industry offers strong earning potential, but it takes stamina, hard work, and the right Florida college.
Florida Cosmetology Curriculum Areas
Earning your cosmetology diploma from an accredited program is the first step toward a Florida cosmetology license. In a cosmetology program, you’ll learn the basics in several key areas, from hairstyling and skincare to the business of running a salon to proper sanitation practice, in preparation for a cosmetology license in Florida. Areas of study when attending cosmetology school in Florida include:
- Related history of the beauty culture
- Cutting and styling hair
- Application of chemical perms to hair including relaxers, curls, waves.
- Bleaching, coloring, and highlighting hair
- Nail care, nail diseases, and nail grooming
- Skincare and skin issues
- Makeup application
- Related anatomy, physiology, and chemistry
- Hair removal methods including waxing and depilation.
- Bacteriology and infection control
- Salon sanitation, implement sterilization, cleaning practices, and personal hygiene.
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines
- CPR & First Aid
- Business prep including record keeping, appointment setting, ordering supplies and financial responsibilities.
What to Expect When Taking the Exam
A third-party provider of assessment services supplies the cosmetology license exam at various locations around Florida. Your exams, administered on an electronic testing system, eliminates the use of paper, pencil, and answer sheets. Exam candidates answer multiple-choice (A, B, C, D) questions. Before beginning the exam, there is an opportunity to read through a tutorial on the computer. The test is simple to maneuver through with clear navigational arrows that allow you to go backward and forward, mark questions for review, and skip around. An easily accessible summary screen shows your questions answered, questions unanswered or skipped, and time left.
What the License Exam Covers
The Cosmetology license exam is two separate examinations: I. Written Theory and II. Written Clinical. The Written Theory Examination is a one-and-a-half-hour exam containing sixty-five multiple-choice questions. The Written Clinical Examination is a one-and-a-half-hour exam consisting of sixty-five multiple-choice questions. Questions for both parts are from the subject areas listed below.
General Safety and Sanitation Procedures
The general safety and sanitation procedures section of the Florida cosmetology license exam focuses on wet and dry procedure implement sanitization, proper work area cleaning and sanitization, personal hygiene practices, storing and disposing of equipment, supplies, and chemicals, and maintaining a proper working environment to ensure the safe operation of implements and equipment. Many of these standards and guidelines are supplied by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). It is up to you to know these procedures to keep yourself and your clients safe.
Client Services
As a licensed cosmetologist, you must learn about client services. This section of the license exam focuses on how to determine desired services by establishing proper communication. Also, important general safety is protecting clients with the necessary covering and draping. You are tested on the basic knowledge of the bone and muscle systems of the head, hands, and feet. This anatomy review focuses on analyzing skin, hair structure, scalp, nails and recognize their disorders and diseases.
This exam also tests you on how to advise a client of recommended services, referring a client for medical treatment, maintaining a client’s record of previous services and notes, and client at-home maintenance advice. Part of your services is educating clients on proper hygiene and hair care in between hair appointments.
Facials, Make-up and Hair Removal
When it comes to facials, make-up and hair removal, you must be familiar with the skin sensitivity test, the different ways to remove superfluous hair through tweezing, waxing, and depilatories, how to lighten superfluous hair, proper facial massage techniques and make-up application.
Manicuring and Pedicuring
Part of your curriculum in a cosmetology program, that you will be tested on during this license exam, will include manicuring and pedicuring. The exam covers repairing damaged nails, filing nails into the desired shapes, giving plain or oil manicures and pedicures, applying nail tip extensions, and applying acrylics or porcelain to sculpture nails and nail wraps. Although you may not perform nail technician services as a cosmetologist, it is important for you to understand the process because in the future, you may decide to perform manicures and pedicures.
Professional/Legal and Ethical/Laws and Rules
It is important for you to understand about and abide by legal and ethical laws and rules. There are many responsibilities that come along with a cosmetology license and knowing how to keep your clients safe is important. You will need to know how to maintain proper licensure status, actions and grounds for discipline and penalties, requirements for a facility’s licensure, and board of Cosmetology duties.
Hair Coloring and Lightening
Hair coloring and lightening involves chemicals that can harm a client. The license exam confirms your proficiency in hair coloring and lightening. You will be tested on how to select and apply temporary color rinses, performing skin sensitivity patch test and strand test methods, semipermanent, permanent, color, toner, lightener, frosting, streaking, painting, tipping applications, and performing corrective color, one-step color, and retouch.
Part of the hair coloring section of the exam will include color matching eyelash, eyebrow, beard, and mustache tinting. You will also be responsible for coloring or lightening wigs and hairpieces as a cosmetologist.
Permanent Waving and Chemical Relaxing
Permanent waving and chemical relaxing also use chemicals that can be harmful to clients. Proper procedure is important, and this exam confirms your knowledge about how to properly implement the waving and relaxing equipment, and proper section selection. The exam also tests you on how to perform a test curl, permanent wave solution selection and application, proper use of acid wave and exothermic wave solutions, using relaxers/straighteners including thiol, acid, no lye, and sodium hydroxide, applying a base at hairline, scalp, and ears, chemical blowouts, and performing re-formation curl, reconstruction perm, curl rearranging, and re-curling.
Scalp and Hair Care
This section of the Florida cosmetology licensing exam focuses on shampooing hair, including manipulations, massage, cleansing, and rinsing. You will also prove your knowledge in shampoo hair chemistry, pH levels of hair, pH levels of shampoos and rinses, identifying hair and scalp conditions and proper product application.
Hair Cutting/Shaping
The main part of your job as a cosmetologist is hair cutting and shaping. In this section of the exam, you must prove your knowledge about proper selection of haircutting implements and methods including angles, and sections, cutting and shaping hair using clippers/guard, cutting and shaping hair including thinning, layering, shingle, and blunt cutting, texturizing using thinning shears and channel shears, cutting or shaping wigs and hairpieces, and trimming beard and mustache using clippers and scissors.
Hair Styling
Hair styling is a major portion of your job as a cosmetologist, and rightfully so also on the Florida cosmetology license exam. You will prove your knowledge about finger waves, pin curls, molding hair using wrapping, setting hair using rollers and clips, styling hair after the set, styling hair using thermal irons, marcel irons, hot rollers, electric hot combs, hairdryers, pressing combs, and heat lamps, and styling hair using freehand techniques including braiding, platting, roping, and chignon.
Final Thoughts
Graduating from a cosmetology diploma program prepares you to take the Florida cosmetology license exam. And you need the license to practice as a hairstylist in Florida. So, take the first step and learn more about a cosmetology diploma program. After you invest time into your career, you will look back on it as the best investment you have ever made.
Do you need to complete the cosmetology diploma program to prepare you for the cosmetology license exam? Earning your diploma in Cosmetology may be the next step in your career. Meridian College offers a Cosmetology training program in Florida that prepares you to deliver high–quality beauty and hair services to both men and women. Meridian College offers a hands–on Cosmetology training program giving you the skills you need to start an exciting career and become a leader in the beauty industry.
Contact Meridian College today to learn more about becoming a cosmetologist.