Urine| Hair Follicle | Oral Fluid | Blood | ETG
Hair testing has emerged as a potent method for identifying drug and alcohol use. Hair offers a prolonged history of alcohol and other substances by enclosing biomarkers in the fibers of the growing hair strand. When taken near the scalp, hair can reveal a detection window for up to about 3 months for alcohol and other drugs. Hair is straightforward to gather, relatively tough to tamper with, and simple to transport.
A 1.5-inch hair sample of roughly 200 strands (approximately the width of a #2 pencil) nearest to the scalp yields 100mg of hair, the perfect sample for screening and confirmation. For EtG, add-ons, and tests beyond 10 panels, a 150mg sample is advisable. We advise weighing the sample with a jeweler’s scale. If scalp hair is missing, a comparable amount of body hair can be collected. When we mention head hair, we refer to scalp hair solely. Body hair includes all other hair types (facial, axillary, etc.).
Process Overview
The primary stages in processing a drug test result in the lab are Accessioning, Screening, Extraction, and Confirmation.
Accessioning entails the initial handling of a sample into a lab’s system. This step confirms the sample was sealed and sent correctly, assigns a random LAN (Laboratory Accessioning Number), and completes any missing data not given by an electronic chain of custody.
Screening involves a quick preliminary check for drugs of abuse. While Screening is economical for ruling out drug use in most samples, a positive screen must be verified for court acceptance. Samples presumptively positive in Screening require a second confirmation.
If a sample is presumptively positive during Screening, more hair is extracted from the initial sample for Extraction. In this phase, drugs are extracted from hair at a significantly lower concentration compared to other methods (e.g., urine or oral fluid), making hair drug screening the most challenging method to execute.
Confirmation of any positive screening outcome is conducted using GC/MS, GC/MS/MS, or LC/MS/MS. All samples deemed presumptively positive are cleaned prior to confirmation as required. The entire lab process from Accessioning to Confirmation is inspected under the CAP (College of American Pathologists) Hair standard and accredited to ISO / IEC 17025 guidelines.
Advantages of hair drug testing:
Limitations:
Note: Although often called "hair follicle tests", the analysis is performed on the hair strand, not the follicle beneath the scalp.
Why Hair Follicle Testing Beats Urine Testing in Oil Trough, AR
Extended Detection Window in Oil Trough, AR
Tamper-Resistant Testing Method in Oil Trough, AR
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