Hair Drug Testing - The Gold Standard Method Of Testing

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Hair Drug Testing - The Gold Standard Method Of Testing

Monday, May 4th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

There are five main methods of collecting a sample before laboratory drug analysis: Blood, Sweat, Urine, Hair and Saliva. Whilst some methods remain more popular it is hair drug testing that give the longest period of detection in addition to the fact it is regarded as the most accurate method available.

A Hair Folicle Test requires providing a sample of around 50-100 hairs from the crown of the head. Although this may seem a lot, as it actually only means an approximate pencil width of hair, it is not a large quantity considering our heads are covered with thousands of strands. This means that unless you are balding or have a very short haircut, there are no obvious signs that a sample has been removed.

As human hair grows at a fairly constant rate, it is possible to accurately establish the general period in which any drug has been used. Imagine that the strand of hair represents a timeline as it grows, taking a continual snapshot of the presence of illegal substances. This allows a hair analysis test, to establish periods of abuse as well as periods of when no illicit substances have been taken.

The major disadvantage of hair testing is the price. The method of sample testing hair mean that it is a far more difficult process than any of the other methods, partly because the strands of hair initially need to be changed to liquid form before the chemical analysis can take place.

There are lots of sources online which claim that passing a hair test can be achieved using chemicals which mask the drugs from detection, or shampoos which can remove traces of the drug. In the vast majority of cases however, these sources are unreputable and although it is not possible to be fully confident, it is likely that they offer no real benefit whatsoever. Consider that the drug detection procedures take into account all countermeasures. The single effective way of passing the test, is to abstain in the first instance.

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