Hair Mineral Analysis
Hair provides a record of past and current trace element levels.
Unlike blood, hair is an inert substance that consists of a fibrous protein and trace elements. As hair grows, nutrient and toxic elements are deposited from the blood stream into the hair follicle and hair shaft. Once a trace element has been incorporated into the hair, it remains fixed.
Sample taking is painless, and sample shipping is not timely.
Hair analysis testing requires meticulous sample preparation, during which the sample is freed from external contaminants. Sample analysis is performed using the same instrumentation and criteria as laboratory diagnostics require for metal testing of blood and urine.
Hair analysis, when properly performed, is a reliable measure of tissue levels. Source: Jenkins DW. Toxic Metals in Mammalian Hair and Nails. EPA Report 600, 1979.
Research: Hair analysis in children- Fayoum University
This article, published with the help of Prof. Dr. Shahira Elshafie at Fayoum Medical University, Egypt, Sept. 2021 documents the validity of hair metal analysis as a tool for chronic exposure in children.
Lead in Hair of Beethoven
Hair analysis suggests that high lead levels from a medical procedure killed Beethoven.
Read more:
IMPORTANT NOTICE about SAMPLE SUBMISSION
HAIR and NAILS are similar body tissues. They do have a different growth rate and thus reflect a different period of metal storage in tissue. For this reason, we recommend that you send either hair or nails, not both.
The sample can be placed in a plain envelope for shipping. Download and fill out the submission sheet and send both to our laboratory.
Reports are released within one week (per post or e-mail) after sample and submission sheet have arrived at our laboratory.
Hair Analysis
Material needed:
To measure hair metal values reliably and with good reproducibility, the following criteria must be met:
- Only use chemically untreated head hair.
- If the hair has been treated, it should be allowed to grow for at least 2-3 months before new sampling.
- Alternatives to head hair are pubic, beard or chest hair. Also see Nail Analysis
- Do not mix different sample types (i.e. hair with nails).
If the hair has been treated, it should be allowed to grow for at least 2-3 months before new sampling.
Hair samples do not have to be washed before submitting to testing. We enforce strict washing procedures with metal-free solutions. We follow a multiple validation process to assure analytical results and we double-test when unusual results are noted.
Hair Analysis Information
Hair mineral analysis to define past or low level chronic exposures
Hair mineral analysis (HMA) reflects how efficiently the root was nourished (or intoxicated) via the blood stream. As long as metals circulate, hair tissue will be supplied.
This feeding and storing mechanism continues over time. Therefore, hair mineral levels reflect how well or poorly the hair tissue was supplied over time. While blood and urine testing reflects the present metal status only, HMA values indicate what happened over time.
The metal concentration in blood or urine only correlates with hair values when an immediate metal exposure exists.
Download
(Sample report for adults, including rare earth elements and potentially radioactive elements.)