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Articles > Hair testing for drugsHair testing for drugs Hair tests provide accurate results for drug usage examination for a long period of time, for up to 90 days precedent to the testing procedure. Hair comprises all drugs that were used during the growth period. Long hair reveals one’s drug history spanning longer time period than short hair. Drug testing laboratories require a strand of hair not shorter than 0.5 inches for testing. Normally human hair grows approximately 0.5 inches per month. This represents 1-2 months of drug usage. The ordinary strand for testing consists of about 80 hairsprings for hair 1.5 inches and longer; about 120 hairsprings for hair 0.5 inches long. Some people try to escape testing procedures through shaving the heads. It is pointless because body hair can be used as a substitute (hairs from chest, face, arm pit) if there is absence of the required amount of hair on the scalp. Sometimes police take leg hairs for testing as they have slower growth rate. Even if all hair is shaven, follicles left and they can be used for checking drugs intake instead of the hair. Normally hair follicle tests are not applied on an employer-based narcotic substances intake examination. In reference to pre-employment hair testing, the impossibility to get a sample hair strand may be grounds for not hiring. In USA official hair testing laboratories are regulated by CLIA or SAMHSA. Law enforcement agencies and big companies are interested in spreading of hair analysis application as it is effective and reasonably priced way of drug testing. Hair testing has gold standard reputation on results’ accuracy. This technology uses radioimmunoassay or the ELISA technology first; and then confirms the results with mass spectrometry. However hair testing has been subject of a few lawsuits in the recent couple of years. Taken research has proved that due to different hair structure of various ethnic groups false positives can occur. These days on the market special shampoos are available that help to beat the tests. Usually these products include Aloe Vera as a clarifying agent; laundry detergent is added. These shampoos could be helpful during detoxifying as they minimize contamination from scalp oils and sweat. However to reduce the possibility of a false reading drug testing laboratories sometimes perform extensive wash procedures on each hair sample.
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