Definitions

About 10 of every 45 questions on a Oregon Laws and Rules Exam practice exam come from this topic.

Sources checked November 14, 2026

Oregon's cosmetology rules change on January 1, 2027: a 2025 law adds a provisional certificate, and the Board of Cosmetology plans to adopt temporary rules in December 2026. These practice questions come only from parts of the law those changes don't touch, so they leave out certificate qualifications, renewal, fees and civil penalties. We'll recheck the whole bank against the new rules once they're filed.

What to know

ORS 690.005 lists five fields of practice: barbering, esthetics, hair design, nail technology and natural hair care. Barbering includes shampooing, styling, cutting, singeing and conditioning hair, beard and mustache work, and massaging the scalp, face and neck with facial and scalp treatments, but its mechanical appliances may not be galvanic or faradic. Hair design adds permanent waving, relaxing, bleaching and coloring, and covers scalp and neck massage only in conjunction with its hair or beard services. Esthetics keeps the skin healthy and attractive, not for medical diagnosis or treatment, and includes temporary hair removal (wax, thread, sugar, tweezers, dermaplaning), makeup artistry, and eyebrow and eyelash services. Nail technology reaches the arms below the elbow and the legs below the knee. Natural hair care covers braiding, locking and similar work by hands or simple devices, scissors only to trim fibers or extensions, and excludes chemical straightening, coloring and joining agents. A facility may operate on a regular or irregular basis; a freelance license allows practice outside a licensed facility; an independent contractor qualifies under ORS 670.600 and is not under a facility license holder's control; a registration lets an independent contractor hold forth as a business. Mechanical or electrical apparatus includes galvanic current, high-frequency microcurrents, light-emitting diode therapy and microdermabrasion that does not penetrate beyond the epidermis except through natural physiological effects, and excludes lasers and intense pulsed light. Under OAR 817-005-0005, disinfect means destroying harmful organisms; a high-level disinfectant is EPA-registered and tuberculocidal, a low-level one bactericidal, germicidal, fungicidal and limited virucidal. A dispensing area has nonporous surfaces and a hot and cold water sink; a fire-retardant container is airtight metal; soiled means used and not yet cleaned or disinfected. A superficial peel stops at the stratum basale, a very superficial peel at the stratum spinosum.

Where it comes from

• ORS 690.005
• OAR 817-005-0005
• OAR 331-010-0000

Try a practice question

Ready for a full run? The Oregon Cosmetology Laws and Rules Exam Practice Test is 45 questions in 45 minutes, scored at 75%. For the official exam's details, see Oregon Cosmetology Laws and Rules Exam Requirements.