Hair Follicle Analysis

Hair follicle analysis is done to see what substances you have recently ingested, or to detect toxic metals, drugs and chemicals. Doctors, chiropractors, paternity scientists, forensic scientists and forensic crime labs may all conduct hair follicle analysis.

Function

• As your hair grows, the follicle is made up of cells that are influenced by substances in your body. In addition, your hair contains a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) record of your body.

  As the hair grows out of the follicle, the chemicals and minerals in your body are trapped in the hair and it becomes a record of what you ate, drank, smoked or otherwise ingested.

Process

• A laboratory will cut off a section of your hair and put it under a microscope to study it and analyze its chemical makeup. Another way of testing is to dissolve the hair to see its mineral and chemical makeup.

Warning

• Each hair can live approximately five to six years on the scalp. Shaving the head does not get rid of the DNA or record of what you ingested, because when the hair grows out it will grow out with same chemical makeup as the one you cut off.

Identification

• Hair follicle analysis can determine who your relatives are. The DNA in the hair can match the DNA of your parent's hair.

Expert Insight

• An employer or law enforcement entity can detect in your hair follicle the following types of drugs: cocaine, PCP, marijuana, ecstasy, heroin and methamphetamines. The hair can store the drug traces in the follicle for up to a year.

  Hair follicle testing can also be used to find out if you have an excess of toxic metals such as lead, arsenic or mercury in your system.

Considerations

• Hair analysis to determine whether or not you have a disease or are lacking vitamins and minerals in your body is not scientifically proven or reliable, according to the Journal of American Medical Association.