A two week study plan for the written exam

Two weeks is enough time if your fourteen days match the exam's own proportions. This plan is for the cosmetology written exam. Change the day counts to your own license's weights if you are testing for barber, esthetics or nails.

The rule behind every day: 30 percent of the exam deserves about 30 percent of your days.

Before day one, two decisions

Your state. California and Texas publish different outlines. Texas asks twenty questions on licensing and regulation that California does not ask at all. Choose, then study that one.

Your exam language. Pick it now and practice in it for the full two weeks. Switching language in the last week leaves your studied words and your exam words in different places.

Week one, the topics that carry the exam

Day 1. Infection control, part one. Cleaning, disinfection and sterilization as three separate processes. Which product for which surface. What the label's contact time means. 30 practice questions, timed.

Day 2. Infection control, part two. Single use against reusable. The blood spill procedure as a sequence. Universal precautions, bloodborne pathogens, safety data sheets, personal protective equipment. 30 questions, timed.

Day 3. Consultation and analysis. Hair porosity, elasticity and texture. Skin types and conditions. Nail structure. The diseases and disorders where you refer or refuse. 30 questions, timed.

Day 4. Chemistry. pH, developer volumes, thioglycolate against hydroxide, neutralizers, lighteners and toners. This is the topic most people avoid and it carries real weight. 30 questions, timed.

Day 5. Your state's law, or the rest of hair. Texas candidates spend this day on licensing and regulation, which is twenty questions. California candidates spend it on haircoloring and chemical texture, which is twenty two.

Day 6. First full timed practice exam. The real question count and the real time. No notes, no pausing. Score it, then write down every wrong answer with its topic.

Day 7. Only the wrong answers from day 6. Read the explanation for each, including the ones you guessed right. Rest after that.

Week two, narrow and faster

Day 8. Your weakest topic from day 6. Whatever the score sheet said, not what you feel weak at. 40 questions.

Day 9. Your second weakest topic. 40 questions, plus 10 from day 8's topic so it holds.

Day 10. The service topics, all of them, in one day. Haircutting, hairstyling, skin care, nail care, lash and brow. In the California cosmetologist exam these are about 21 questions together, so one day is the right amount.

Day 11. Second full timed practice exam. Compare the topic scores against day 6. The gap that did not move is the one to work on tomorrow.

Day 12. The topic that did not move. Slowly. Read the rule, then answer 40 questions on it, then read the explanations.

Day 13. Third full timed practice exam, then stop. If you are scoring in the eighties, you are ready. Texas publishes its passing score at 70 percent of the scored questions, and you want a margin above it. California does not publish a number, so the margin matters more.

Day 14. No new material. Confirm your appointment, check the center address and the travel time, find your identification and check the name matches your registration. Sleep.

The habits that make the fourteen days work

• Always answer under the clock. You have about 72 seconds a question in California and 78 in Texas. Untimed study builds a skill the exam does not test.
• Read the explanation for every guess. A right answer you were unsure of is a wrong answer waiting.
• Never leave a question blank. There is no penalty for a wrong answer in either state.
• Count the unscored questions as real. Ten of the 110 do not count and nobody tells you which.
• Stop at three full exams. More than that in two weeks measures you instead of teaching you.

If you only have one week

Compress week one into days 1 to 4, skip the service topics entirely, and keep both full timed exams. The service topics are about a fifth of the exam and the two big topics are half of it. If something has to go, let it be the fifth.

On exam day

Arrive at least 30 minutes early, because being late can cost the seat and the fee. Bring one valid government photo identification that has not expired. Expect a thumb print at check in and a locker for everything else.