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Hair follicle testing is a recent method of testing and is becoming more popular among the court systems and employers.

When a person ingests a drug, it enters the bloodstream while simultaneously
metabolizing. Those metabolites also circulate through the blood along with the drug itself. Since blood nourishes a person’s hair follicles, the ingested drugs and their metabolites are deposited into their hair follicles.

 

Contrary to the name of the hair follicle test, the follicle, or “root” itself is not actually tested. Only about the first inch and a half of hair growth from the base is tested. If a person’s head hair is less than an inch and a half, then the test can be done using other body hair.

 

Body hair goes back 6 months and up to a year and needs enough hair to form the shape of a small cotton ball. Body hair is taken from the chest,armpits, legs and arms.

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Please watch this video which shows how a hair collection is performed.

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