Hair follicle tests can detect drug use up to 90 days past the first time someone used a drug, as opposed to urine tests which are only good for roughly 3-5 days past the time someone uses a drug.

Hair testing’s primary use is for repetitive drug use over long periods of time. Admittedly, this is a new technology but employers and court systems are using it more and more often.

Pros and Cons of Hair Drug Tests

• Longer look back than urine test (up to 90 days or more)
• Very difficult to cheat (we cut the hair right from the person’s head or body)
• A single usage of a drug in the prior 90 day period tends to not be picked up in the hair
• If person has no head or body hair, then the test can’t be done
• If a person used drugs in the immediate past (the most recent 5 days), it will not have had time to grow out of the hair follicle into the strand of hair that we cut and test; therefore, if immediate usage is suspected, choose a urine drug test instead

Hair Follicle Drug Testing Basics

We need at least 1.5 inches of hair to conduct a hair follicle test and we can actually use hair from the legs, chest, head, or armpit. Some of our clinics are fully capable of doing body as well as head hair, while others only use head hair.

When someone uses drugs, it is human physiology for the drugs or their metabolites to get deposited into the hair follicle. We do not actually test the follicle or hair root itself, the way this works is that when the hair grows out of the follicle the evidence of drug use is obvious. Testing the first 1.5 inches of hair enables us to go back 90 days in someone’s past to determine if they used a drug or not.

Can a Hair Test Be Beat?

Chemicals, shampoos, even environmental exposure (extreme cold, heat, or smoke) will not change the test’s outcome.
Hair Drug Tests Can Screen for Several Substances

• Heroin
• Codeine, and Morphine
• Cocaine
• Marijuana
• Amphetamines
• Ecstasy
• PCP (Angel Dust)
• Hyrdrocodone and Oxycodone
• Benzodiazapenes
• Methadone
• Barbiturates
• Propoxyphene
• Oxycontin
• Demerol
• Tramadol

For more information on RaBu Diagnostic you can contact us through our website by clicking here, email us at rabudiagnostic@yahoo.com, or call us at 855-845-RABU(7228).