Collecting Your Hair Sample Instructions & FAQs

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Before cutting the hair sample, wash your hair with regular shampoo and rinse well with distilled water. Please do not use dandruff shampoos like Selsun Blue or Head and Shoulders!  They often contain zinc and selenium which can significantly alter your test results. 

Please refrain from using conditioner or hair products before cutting your hair sample.

Your hair should be allowed to dry completely before taking your sample.  Any moisture in the hair will contaminate the sample.     

Dyes and Bleach.

Some hair dyes can contaminate the hair with manganese, iron, copper, cadmium, lead, barium, bismuth, and tin artificially raising the level of these elements in the hair.  To eliminate this, it is suggested to wait until sufficient new growth of one and a half inches has emerged.

Bleach and highlights can artificially affect the level of calcium in the hair.  So either take your sample the hair before bleaching or highlighting, or wait until sufficient new growth of one and a half inches has emerged.

Water Softeners

Some water softeners use sodium or potassium which can artificially alter the level of these minerals in you hair.  If your water is softened via a salt-softener, please complete the following 3 washes before taking your sample.  For the first wash use 1 tsp of baking soda and rinse with vinegar.  For the second and third washes, shampoo as normal and rinse with distilled water.   Be sure that your hair does not come in contact with the softened water between washings.  Do not use dandruff shampoo.  Do not condition.  Do not apply products.     

After washing your hair, wait at least a few hours to cut the sample.  Any moisture in the hair will contaminate the sample.  It is strongly suggested to take the sample on the day of washing.

Please be sure to avoid any activity that causes you to sweat before cutting your sample.  We loose minerals in our sweat, so sweaty hair can affect your result.

The hair should but cut as close to the scalp as possible from a few areas of the scalp on the back portion of the head.  The weight of the same needs to be 80 milligrams (.08 grams).  Please be sure to use clean scissors.  The entire sample of hair should be taken on the same day.  ***Scalp hair is the most accurate, however, if scalp hair is not available, the next best is hair to take would be from the pubic section.  Please do NOT submit a pubic sample with out contacting me first.   Please do not mix hair sample types.  The entire sample should come from a single area on the body.  

It is very important to keep track of which end of the hair is nearest to the scalp.   You only want to keep approximately one and a half inches from the scalp down.  Average hair growth is one half inch per month, so the first one and a half inches will allow us to look at approximately 3 months of your most recent biochemistry.  Cut and discard the unwanted length of hair leaving you with the one and a half inches closest to the scalp.  A ruler is helpful to make sure you have the correct length.  

The amount of hair is sufficient when the 1-1.5 inches of hair tips the cardboard scale included in your kit.  If you don't have the cardboard scale, the sample can be weighed on a kitchen scale.  It should weigh .08 grams.   Last resort would be taking enough hair to fill a teaspoon.  If you are unsure if your sample is sufficient, it is always better to have a little extra than to not have enough.  If you sample is insufficient the lab will not be able to process your results.  

***If your hair is long enough (it doesn't have to be very long) you can easily hide the sample spot by pinning part of your hair up and cutting the sample from below the pinned section. I like to find the top, center point of the ear and from there measure 4 inches towards the back of my head.  This assures sample spot will be hidden whether you wear your hair up or down.  This also makes it easy to find the same spot when you do a retest.  You simply cut the new growth from the same spot.

Step 4:  Place the sample in a paper envelope.

Placing the sample in anything other than a paper envelope can contaminate your sample, and the lab will refuse it.  

You can either cut your own sample or have a spouse, friend or hairdresser cut it for you.  If you are cutting your own sample,  see the *** section in Step 3 above.  This will make it easy to find the spot using a hand mirror.

Please refer to the  Dyes and Bleach section under Step 1 above. 

Please refer to the  *** section of Step 3 above.

The hair should come from the middle-back portion of the head, closest to the scalp. When cutting a sample for a retest please try to take the hair from the same spot as previous test.  For the easiest way to do this, please refer to the  *** section of Step 3 above.

Please refer to Step 3 above.

Please refer to Step 3 above.

Please refer to Steps 1 and 2 above.

Please refer to the  Water Softnener section under Step 1 above. 

 Please  refer to the *** section in Step 3 above.