Cosmetology II Laboratory builds on the foundational competencies of the first laboratory, with instruction centred on cosmetology principles and skill development. Students practise and refine professional techniques in a clinical setting — the transition point at which work moves from the mannequin toward paying clients in the school-operated salon.
Within the SCNS taxonomy, COS is the Cosmetology prefix, and the 0-level number identifies this as postsecondary adult vocational (PSAV) coursework — zero college credits, 240 clock hours. Daytona State requires COS0080L and offers it fall and spring with a $247.29 lab fee. It appears at approximately three Florida institutions.
The middle course of a three-part sequence is where the chemical services concentrate, and that is what makes it the most technically demanding of the three. Cutting is reversible with time; chemical services are not, and the consequences of a mistake — breakage, chemical burn, a colour result that cannot be corrected in one visit — are borne by a real person.
Florida course inventories carry these numbers as "Salon I," "Salon II," and "Salon III." Daytona State's catalog titles are "Cosmetology I Lab," "Cosmetology II Lab," and "Cosmetology III Lab." The inventory titles are not wrong — the later courses do take place in a school-operated salon serving real clients — but they understate that these are the laboratory half of a paired theory-and-practice structure.
The three labs form a sequence, each at 240 clock hours, with prerequisites running in order:
| Course | Clock hours | Prerequisite | Lab fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| COS0080L Cosmetology I Lab | 240 | none | $536.86 |
| COS0081L Cosmetology II Lab | 240 | COS0080L | $247.29 |
| COS0082L Cosmetology III Lab | 240 | COS0080L and COS0081L | $200.38 |
That is 720 clock hours across the lab sequence, which sits alongside the theory courses in the same programme — this repository carries COS0002C (100 hours), COS0003C (200 hours), and COS0009C (250 hours). Florida sets an hour requirement for cosmetology licensure, and the programme is built to meet it; the individual course hours are components of that total rather than freestanding values. Verify the current requirement with the Board — see below.
The most consequential technical discipline in this course, and the one most often skipped under time pressure.
Allergic reaction to hair colour is real and can be severe. Paraphenylenediamine and related compounds in permanent colour are recognized sensitizers, and reactions range from contact dermatitis to, rarely, anaphylaxis. Manufacturer instructions specify a predisposition (patch) test before service, typically 24 to 48 hours in advance, and the reason it exists is that a client who tolerated colour previously can become sensitized and react on a later application.
The strand test answers a different question — what the formula will actually do to this hair — and it is what prevents the result that cannot be undone. Hair that has been previously coloured, lightened, relaxed, or damaged does not behave like virgin hair, and a client's account of their own colour history is frequently incomplete or wrong. Box colour, henna, and prior lightening are the classic hidden histories, and applying a chemical service over an unknown is how breakage happens.
The professional habit: test, document, and record the formulation. A client record showing what was used, at what volume, and for how long is what makes the next visit reproducible and what protects the stylist if there is a dispute.
Most chemical service disasters are not application errors — they are consultation failures. The client asked for something the hair could not do, or described a result the stylist understood differently, and the work proceeded anyway.
The practices that prevent it: use photographs, because "blonde" and "a few highlights" mean different things to different people; state plainly what is achievable in one visit, since going several levels lighter on previously coloured hair frequently cannot be done safely in a single session; explain the maintenance the result will require, in time and money, before starting; and be willing to decline the service. A stylist who says "I can't do that today without damaging your hair, but here's what I can do" has done the professional thing, and students find that the hardest sentence to say.
The related point on textured and coily hair: chemical relaxing carries specific risks including scalp burn and breakage, and services on textured hair require training and technique that not every programme covers equally. A stylist who intends to serve a diverse clientele should seek that education deliberately — and a stylist who has not had it should say so rather than experiment on a client.
Salon work involves daily exposure to chemicals at close range, in enclosed spaces, for eight hours at a time, and the health effects are documented rather than speculative.
The controls are unglamorous and work: ventilation — including local exhaust at nail stations; gloves appropriate to the chemical, since ordinary latex gloves do not resist all salon products; reading the SDS before first use of any product; and not eating or drinking at the station. Under the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, employers must maintain Safety Data Sheets and train staff — a student should expect that and should ask about it when evaluating an employer.
Cosmetology is standing work with the arms raised, performed for eight or more hours a day, and the resulting conditions are the reason many practitioners leave the chair earlier than they planned: varicose veins, chronic lower back pain, shoulder and neck injury, and carpal tunnel syndrome are all documented at elevated rates in this occupation.
The habits worth building while they are still cheap — the same argument this repository makes for dental hygienists, sonographers, and massage therapists:
Florida cosmetology establishments are subject to inspection by DBPR, and sanitation is the most commonly cited area. Beyond compliance, the underlying risk is real: improperly disinfected implements have transmitted infection, and Florida has seen enforcement attention on nail salon practices specifically.
The practices taught here and enforced in practice: disinfect all reusable implements between clients with an EPA-registered, hospital-grade disinfectant, following the contact time on the label rather than a habit; discard single-use items — files, buffers, and orangewood sticks are not disinfectable; clean and disinfect pedicure basins after every client and perform the additional periodic disinfection the rules require, since basin systems are the documented infection route; never perform services on skin that is broken, inflamed, or infected; and hand hygiene between clients.
The professional point students should absorb: you may not use a razor-type callus shaver or perform any service that breaks the skin — that boundary is set by Florida rule and by scope, and violating it is both a licensure matter and a genuine injury risk. Verify current sanitation rules with the Board; they are amended.
The most consequential practical matter, and it cannot be fixed after the fact.
Cosmetologists in Florida are licensed by the Florida Board of Cosmetology under Chapter 477, Florida Statutes and Rule Chapter 61G5, F.A.C., within DBPR. Licensure requires completion of the required training at a school licensed by the Department of Education or a licensed cosmetology school, passage of the required examination, and application.
Three points students should verify before enrolling anywhere:
Note also that Florida requires cosmetology establishments to be licensed separately from practitioners, which matters to anyone intending to open a salon or rent a booth.
COS0081L is 240 clock hours with a $247.29 lab fee, prerequisite COS0080L, offered fall and spring. Assessment is by practical check-off against service rubrics, with written assessment on chemistry and safety.
The significant change in this course is working on members of the public in the school salon at reduced prices. Two things follow. They are clients, not practice — they have paid, they have expectations, and they will return or not based on the experience. And the school salon is where a client book starts: students who rebook their clinic clients and stay in touch frequently carry some of them into their first job, which is the single fastest way to shorten the lean first year described below.
Students deserve a clear picture of the industry's economics before committing, because it differs from most careers in ways that are not obvious.
The counterpart worth stating: the credential is portable, the work cannot be offshored or automated, schedules are flexible, and self-employment is genuinely achievable — which is more than most two-year credentials offer.
The 0-level SCNS number identifies this as postsecondary adult vocational coursework, measured in clock hours with zero college credit. PSAV coursework does not transfer into a college-credit programme the way a 1000- or 2000-level course does; what exists instead is articulation, awarded where it exists for completing a whole programme or occupational completion point rather than an individual course.
What the hours do count for is Florida licensure, which is the point of the programme. Students who may later want a college degree — in salon management, business, or education — should ask the receiving institution in writing what, if anything, it will accept, and should not assume.
The first digit of an SCNS number denotes the year of offering, not transferability. Courses at the 1000 and 2000 levels transfer transparently between Florida public institutions; the boundary that matters is 2000 to 3000. A 0-level number is outside that system entirely — it is PSAV clock-hour coursework and does not carry college credit at all.
Generated September 2, 2026 · Updated September 2, 2026