Hair follicle drug test

A hair drug test, commonly referred to as a hair follicle drug test looks for both illegal drug usage and prescription drug abuse. You will get a little section of hair cut off of your head for this test. After that, the sample is examined for evidence of drug usage in the 90 days before the trial.

What is a Hair Follicle Drug Test?

A basic hair follicle test tests a person for illicit and uncommon drug consumption. It is also done if you take the medicinal drugs that have not been prescribed to you otherwise by the medical professionals.

A hair follicle drug test can check for drug use in the last 90 days. This is why several professionals are slowly using hair drug tests. Although the hair drug test does not tell you the exact date you took the drug, it traces back the signs of drugs of the preceding three months.

Typically, it is used to check for:

• Amphetamine
• Methamphetamine
• Ecstasy
• Marijuana
• Cocaine

PCP opioids (codeine, morphine, 6-diacetylmorphine) While a urine drug test may determine if you’ve used drugs recently, a hair follicle test can decide whether or not you’ve used drugs within the last 90 days.

Your employer may require a hair follicle test to check for drug usage before hiring or at random while working there. Some analysis Additionally, according to a reliable source, hair drug testing may be helpful for tracking drug use in at-risk persons when combined with self-reporting.

What Happens in a Hair Follicle Drug Test?

In a hair follicle drug test, a hair is plucked out significantly from the scalp, and it is then sent to the laboratory for getting the test done. Taking the hair from the scalp effectively brings out an instant and precise result of the drug test.
When a person intakes drugs, the chemicals in the drugs get mixed in the person’s blood. The blood reaches out to different body parts and helps in the growth of the body.
Therefore, a person’s hair follicle in 90 days, grows and nourishes with the same blood. When a hair follicle is taken from the scalp, the hair follicle contains the drug components. After screening, drugs become apparent, and then the person is tested positive.
Moreover, the hair drug test undergoes multiple processes and includes various screenings in the detection window before the final report is laid out. Therefore, there is no doubt that the hair follicle drug test is inaccurate.

Why the Hair Follicle Drug Test?

Never has it been a case that an accurate hair drug test has given fake or false results. The hair follicle drug test is entirely secure and a fool-proof method to check a person for drug use. Not only this, the hair follicle drug test method traces back the signs of drug use in the past 90 days, which is more than the usual time of other drug tests—the hair-based drug tests for some very effective drugs, such as marijuana and cocaine. Thereby, many people rely on this test for a trustworthy report.
On a general level, it can also test for actual alcohol consumption as well. Moreover, it is almost next to impossible to cheat on a hair follicle drug test because hair includes your DNA sample. Overall, the hair drug test is the most accurate and reliable drug test. It is slowly becoming the prime choice of people to test for illicit drug consumption.

Some people also think that the only way to pass a hair follicle drug test within 2 days is that go bald. But it is not true, and We discuss the detailed guide on how to pass a hair test

How far back does a hair follicle test detect drugs?

Drug use may often be detected for up to 90 days by hair tests, which have the most extended detection periods. A hair sample may sometimes use to assist in identifying when drug usage started and whether it has been stopped, depending on the medications used.

Hair follicle drug test results chart?

What does the Drug Test Report Mean?

Now that you have submitted your hair sample for the drug test to be done, another concern includes knowing the outcome of the drug test. The drug test report will make you acknowledge three different results. Those are-

•Positive– A positive drug test report signifies that some elements of drugs are found in your hair follicle. Therefore, after getting a favorable report, the hair sample is sent for further tests, which are gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. It happens within the next 72 hours. Various other tests are then done before finally accusing the person of drug consumption.

•Negative– You are saved from pain and botheration if you get a negative drug test report. A negative hair drug test report means that you have passed the drug test and that the drug test report came clear and clean. You can get a negative test report in 24 hours after all kinds of screening are suitably done.

•Inconclusive– Another word you can see on your drug test report is “inconclusive.” Apparently, an inconclusive drug test report means that the hair sample given to the laboratory is not capable enough for screening. When no conclusion can be drawn from the drug test, you will get an inconclusive report. After this, you will be asked to submit another hair sample.

Hair follicle drug test detection time?

Drug testing on hair follicles finds substances or metabolites in a hair sample. A drug metabolite is a chemical produced in the body during the breakdown and elimination of a drug.

Drug tests using hair follicles provide a more comprehensive detection window than other tests. Even though drug use and abuse may not become apparent in the hair for 7 to 10 days after exposure, once it does, it stays there for weeks, months, or even years. Hair follicle drug testing may reveal drug exposure patterns, but it cannot identify active intoxication.

The window of detection is the time drugs may still detect in hair. The quantity and frequency of drug use or abuse and the pace at which the drug is metabolized in the body affect how long the detection window is. For many months after a person’s last drug exposure, certain substances may still be found in newly growing hair.

The quantity of hair examined affects the window of detection as well. Even though lengthier samples of hair may use to test for drug exposure over more extended periods, a typical scalp sample of 1.5 inches of hair can provide information about roughly 90 days of previous drug use. The detection window for a hair sample collected from a different body area where hair grows more slowly may be up to 12 months.

How to read a hair follicle drug test?

Drug testing on hair follicles may provide positive or negative findings. Positive test findings mean that the hair sample submitted for analysis contained a drug or its metabolite.

Negative test findings show that the hair sample contained no drugs or metabolites. Negative results imply that a person did not use the prescription that was the subject of the test, that they did so outside the test’s detection range, or that they did not use enough of the substance to leave enough hair for the test to detect it.

Understanding the testing procedure employed in the laboratory may be helpful when interpreting the findings. Similar to or significantly modified versions of the laboratory procedures used in more popular types of drug testing, such as urine drug testing, are utilized in hair follicle drug testing.

Drug testing laboratory techniques are often classified as initial or confirmatory methods:

Immunoassays are a popular technique for drug testing. However, they only provide early findings. The drugs or drug classes found over the lab’s limit for positive findings are included in the results. Positive test findings should be followed by testing using a confirmatory test technique to lower the chance of incorrect results on the first test.

Confirmatory test procedures: Confirmatory test procedures, including gas or liquid chromatography, provide more thorough findings than preliminary test procedures, including details on individual metabolites found in hair.

Hair follicle drug test cutoff levels?

For the 5-panel test, screening cutoff values were determined according to the laboratory’s regular procedures: GC/MS confirmation cutoffs were one pg/mg for marijuana, 500 pg/mg for cocaine and amphetamines, and 300 pg/mg for opioids. The following dosages are given for various drugs: 0.30 pg/mg for the carboxy-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) metabolite, 500 pg/mg for cocaine, and 50 pg/mg for cocaine metabolites (benzoylecgonine; norcocaine), 500 pg/mg for amphetamines, methamphetamines, and 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamp Thus, only morphine, codeine, and heroin were tested according to a study.

Where to get a hair follicle drug test?

A typical hair sample is around 1.5 inches long. However, in rare circumstances, a lengthier selection may take to understand better a person’s history of drug use and abuse. Hair from the face, armpit, pubic region, or another unshaven body portion may be harvested from patients if there is short hair on their scalp.

How is a hair follicle drug test performed?

To conduct a hair sample drug test, all that is needed is a small amount of hair. Parents might take strands of hair from their pillow if they are concerned about their adolescent doing drugs. Employees may provide samples upon request from their employers.

Problems with hair follicle drug testing?

There is abundant evidence that color bias exists in hair testing. The assessments are precise. The topics under discussion are the drug’s origin and the possibility of discrimination based on race.

Can a hair follicle test go back 12 months?

The detection window for a hair sample collected from a different body area where hair grows more slowly may be up to 12 months. One kind of hair follicle drug test may look for the presence of a single drug, while another can test for a panel of drugs at once.

Should I cut my hair before a hair drug test?

No. The area nearest to the scalp is the most responsive on a hair drug test. The professionals will check for hair if you shave your head and your legs, brows, underarms, pubic region, and anal region. Acknowledge the situation for what it is, don’t come in with a whole new hairdo or waxed body, and be ready to accept the consequences of your actions.

Can a hair follicle test detect one-time use?

The use of drugs may be detected in a person’s hair if they have been used for an extended period. A hair follicle test might not show drug usage in the days before the test if the patient used drugs recently or occasionally since hair takes time to grow. That data should be taken into account by companies when they choose a drug testing method. On the other hand, if you use it seldom or rarely, this test might be a relief.

Can hair dye affect a hair follicle drug test?

The gathered hair is cleaned and examined for contamination from the surroundings that can affect the test’s outcomes. If you wash, color, or apply styling products to your hair, your results won’t impact. Drug testing on hair follicles may provide erroneous or skewed findings due to hair color. Dark hair’s melanin may make drugs like cocaine, methamphetamine, and opiates more likely to bind, resulting in more significant quantities in hair tests.

 How long can drugs be detected in a Hair Follicle drug test?

 A hair follicle drug test is practical enough to test for drugs for 90 days. If you have been on illicit drugs or non-prescribed medications for a month and a half, it is a significant probability that you will get a positive drug test report, which indicates that you have taken drugs during this period.

 Can a hair test determine the actual date of drug use?

 The hair follicle drug test draws up a pattern depending upon a person’s hair growth. This set pattern is used to detect the presence of drugs in the bloodstream of a particular person. As a result, a hair follicle drug test does not validate knowing the exact day on which the drugs were consumed in the last 90 days.

How much does a hair follicle drug test cost?

 A hair drug test is more costly than a urine drug test. It is for this reason that a hair drug test is more accurate, and it is a two-step verification process. A home-use drug test kit costs between $65 to $85. A hair drug test done at the laboratory or in a hospital will cost $100 to $125.

Which drugs do the hair follicle drug test detect?

 A hair follicle drug test is effective in knowing many illicit and prescribed drugs that you have been taking wrongly over time. Usually, these drugs are tested for by the 5-panel drug test. A hair drug test detects the following drugs-
• Phencyclidine
• Opioids
• Cocaine
• Marijuana
• Amphetamine

Can Body Hair contain drugs too?

 When someone takes drugs, the components of the compounds get mixed in the central bloodstream. The blood then travels and gets transported to all the body parts. Therefore, all the hair on your body contains drugs if you have consumed it.

Do Companies do hair follicle drug tests?

We often get this question at tafmed.org. The answer is yes, and in this blog article, we’ll look at some of the benefits and drawbacks of this kind of testing and why businesses would decide to do hair follicle drug tests.

Employers are increasingly using hair follicle drug testing to check employees for drug usage. A few factors may influence a company’s decision to do hair follicle drug testing. First, drug use may detect up to 90 days before a hair follicle test with excellent accuracy. They are thus a perfect tool for businesses looking to check for chronic drug usage. Drug tests performed on hair follicles are less intrusive than tests performed on urine or blood. For companies that value their relationships with their staff, this is crucial.

The use of hair follicle drug testing may have several drawbacks. First off, the exam is not cheap. A small amount of hair must also collect for the test, which might be challenging for certain workers. Finally, some workers could consider the exam an invasion of privacy.

Conclusion

You may not be aware that drug testing looks for more than just drugs in your system. Additionally, they may check for drug usage from months past. Drug tests using hair follicles are getting more and more popular, particularly at work. A hair follicle drug test may find cocaine, methamphetamine, and PCP.

• You should be aware of a few things before getting a hair follicle drug test:
• Passing the test might be challenging if you’ve recently taken drugs.
• Refrain from using any hair products that can affect the test.
• Keep in mind that the test may be pricey.