NIC National Barber Theory Exam — Practice Exam
Anatomy: hair: practice questions
Our NIC Barber Theory bank has 16 questions on this topic. Here are 5 of them with answers; the full mock exam draws from every topic, like the real one.
Question 1
What does hair texture describe?
- The number of hairs on the head
- The diameter (thickness) of individual strands
- The direction in which the hair grows out of the scalp
- The amount of natural oil on the hair
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B. The diameter (thickness) of individual strands — Texture is coarse, medium or fine; density is the number of hairs per square inch.
Question 2
Which side bonds in hair are broken by water or heat and re-form as hair dries or cools?
- Salt bonds only
- Peptide bonds
- Disulfide bonds
- Hydrogen bonds
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D. Hydrogen bonds — Wet sets and thermal styling work on hydrogen bonds; perms and relaxers break disulfide bonds.
Question 3
What does hair porosity describe?
- How far a hair stretches before breaking
- How many hairs grow per square inch of scalp
- The thickness of each strand
- The hair's ability to absorb moisture
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D. The hair's ability to absorb moisture — Porosity affects how chemicals are absorbed; density and texture are different measures.
Question 4
About how many hairs does a person normally shed each day?
- 5 to 10
- 50 to 100
- 500 to 1,000
- 1,000 to 2,000
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B. 50 to 100 — Losing roughly 50–100 hairs a day is normal.
Question 5
Which layer of the hair shaft gives hair most of its strength and elasticity and holds its natural pigment?
- Cuticle
- Medulla
- Cortex
- Follicle
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C. Cortex — The cortex is the bulk of the fiber; the cuticle protects it; the medulla may be absent in fine hair.