The New York esthetics written exam

What the license covers

An esthetician in New York works on the face, neck, arms, legs and shoulders. General Business Law section 400 lists the methods: makeup, eyelashes, depilatories, tonics, lotions, waxes, sanding and tweezing, by hand, machine, chemical or electrical means. It also draws one clear line. Esthetics does not include electrology.

How the written test works

The Department of State runs a multiple-choice written exam based on the pre-licensing curriculum, with a 2½-hour limit. You learn only whether you passed. The state publishes no question count and no passing score, so be wary of anyone quoting either as official.

The 600 hours, subject by subject

19 NYCRR 162.2 sets the course. Facial and body procedures alone take 240 hours, two fifths of the total. Make-up techniques come next at 70, then superfluous hair, meaning hair removal, at 60.

The science runs through several mid-sized subjects: anatomy and physiology (30 hours), chemistry as applied to esthetics (21), and 18 hours each for infection control, structure and functions of the skin, skin analysis, and electricity and equipment. Skin disorders and diseases has 12, and basic chemistry 3.

Business practices gets 30 hours, career skills 12 and an introduction to advanced esthetics 9. Safety and health has 8, nutrition for healthy skin and body 5, and orientation 5. That leaves 23 unassigned.

Reading the weighting sensibly

The hours tell you where the school spends its time, which is a fair guide to where a written test will spend its questions. But a short subject is not a safe one to skip. Electricity and equipment, at 18 hours, is the kind of topic that turns on precise facts a candidate either knows or does not.

Our practice exams

We wrote three esthetics practice exams of 100 questions each, a length we chose. The questions are shared out by curriculum hours, with orientation and the unassigned block left out, so facial and body procedures carry the most.

After the written exam

The law calls for a practical exam as well as a written one for esthetics.