Here are a couple frequently asked questions we receive about hair testing and their answers.

What is hair testing?

Hair testing is a drug screening method that uses hair instead of urine or saliva to screen for presence of drug abuse. Hair testing is the only drug testing method that provides up to a 90-day history, allowing testers to screen for repetitive drug use. When compared with urine testing, hair testing tends to provide a greater number of positives due to its longer detection window. Hair testing requires a small sample of hair that is collected under direct supervision without any invasion of privacy. 

What drugs can Blueline Services test for with hair?

Blueline Services’s 5-panel hair test can detect cocaine, marijuana, opiates (codeine, morphine & 6-acetylmorphine,), amphetamines (amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA, MDA), and phencyclidine (PCP). Blueline Services’s Extended Opiates panel adds oxycodone, oxymorphone, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone

How effective is hair testing in detecting drug users?

Labs regularly report finding five times as many users compared to laboratory based urine testing programs.

What time period does hair testing cover? 

The typical length of head hair tested is 1½ inches from the root end. Since the average growth rate of human head hair is approximately ½ inch (1.3 cm) per month a hair analysis covers an approximate 90-day time frame. This time frame is an approximation only since an individual’s actual hair growth rate may vary from the average.

Does body hair give the same type of results as head hair? 

Body hair can be used for testing. However, while body hair is generally acknowledged as representing a more distant time frame than head hair, the approximate time period cannot be identified due to the high variability of growth rates.

How soon after use can a drug be detected in hair? 

It takes approximately 5-10 days from the time of drug use for the hair containing drug to grow above the scalp where it can be collected. 

What is the turnaround time? 

Hair testing results can usually be returned within 2-3 business days.

Does the laboratory wash the hair prior to analysis? 

All hair specimens are washed prior to confirmation testing to remove possible external contamination.

Can external exposure to drugs (marijuana smoke, crack smoke, etc.) have an effect on the hair test results? 

Along with a wash procedure, Laboratories looks for both the parent drug and metabolite (by-product) of drug usage (where appropriate). For marijuana analysis, Labs detects only the metabolite (THC-COOH). This metabolite is only produced by the body and cannot be an environmental contaminant.

Can a hair test be beaten/adulterated? 

Currently there are no known successful commercial adulterants for hair tests and the recommended use of normal hair care products/procedures (shampoos, dyes, permanents, relaxers, bleaches) do not have a significant effect on results.

Do you pull the hair out of the scalp to examine the follicle? 

No. Testing a hair follicle would require a painful collection process. Hair testing requires the smallest sample in the industry, snipping above the scalp. No hair is “pulled” out of the scalp, and the hair follicle is not disturbed. Sample collection is a completely painless, quick procedure

How does hair analysis compare to urinalysis?

The primary difference is the wider window of detection with hair. Cocaine, methamphetamine, opiates, and PCP are rapidly excreted and usually undetectable in urine 72 hours after use. Rather than the hours or days covered by a body fluid test, a hair test covers a period of months, ensuring that a drug user cannot evade the test by simply abstaining for a few days. Additional advantages include non-intrusive collection procedures, virtual elimination of test evasion through substitution or adulteration, and greater accuracy through test repetition capability. The combination of an increased window of detection and resistance to evasion makes hair testing far more effective than urinalysis in correctly identifying drug users.

How sensitive is hair testing in detecting drug users?

Comparison studies have proven that hair testing is up to 6-10 times more effective in identifying drug users than urinalysis. In other words, 85% of the drug users identified by a hair test could get through a urine screen and enter the workforce.

Can hair drug tests be run on people with little or no hair?

Yes. Hair can be collected from several locations on the head and combined to obtain the required amount of hair. If head hair is not available, certain body hair can be used as an alternative.

Can hair testing be used for the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) testing?

No, the U.S. Department of Transportation has not approved hair testing at this time.

The post Hair Testing FAQs appeared first on Blueline.

1. Online ‘Fact’: Drinking a lot of water will help you pass a drug test.
Truth: This is partially true. Lots of water will dilute your urine, but it will also alter urine creatinine levels. Drug testers are on alert for this and will often give a dilute negative and consult the employer. Employers may call for a retest if they are unsatisfied with the result.

2. Online ‘Fact’: Drug test results are available immediately.
Truth: Many people picture drug testing being similar to a pregnancy test—where you urinate on a stick and are able to get results instantly. While there certainly are drug tests that do this, more often when you go in for a drug test, results will take a bit longer. Your urine sample will likely be sent a lab where more accurate results are available to you days to weeks later.

3. Online ‘Fact’: Drug tests detect diseases.
Truth: Some diseases can be detected through urine. However, employment drug tests are only used to detect the presence of select drugs.

4. Online ‘Fact’: Positive marijuana tests wont affect you where it’s legal.
Truth: This depends on your employer and specific state laws. (For example, those working in DOT regulated safety-sensitive positions are required to be drug free) Many states still allow employers the right to set their own drug policies. Because marijuana can alter mental status and ability to perform on the job, many employers may reconsider employment with positive marijuana test results.

5. Online ‘Fact’: Working out will help eliminate drugs from your body.
Truth: Some articles online claim that increased perspiration will help detox drugs from your body. This method isn’t likely to work as the amount of sweat that must be produced to make a difference is an extremely large amount that would take weeks to produce. Making this method not very effective, especially in random drug test cases.

6. Online ‘Fact’: Urine tests are not very accurate and shouldn’t be trusted.
Truth: In the past this may have been true, but today’s urine drug tests are nearly 100% accurate despite their low cost.

7. Online ‘Fact’: Urine tests are the only method used to test for drugs.
Truth: You can also test saliva, hair follicles, and blood for select drugs. Urine tests are just one of the most simple and efficient ways, so they’re the most commonly used.

8. Online ‘Fact’: You can fail a drug test from secondhand smoke.
Truth: In order to have enough drugs in your system to show up on a test you’d have to intentionally try to inhale secondhand smoke—staying in a confined space with smokers for hours. Occasional secondhand smoke will not affect a drug test result.

The post 8 Drug Screening Myths (Or Half-Truths) appeared first on Blueline.