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Hair Mineral Analysis FAQ

Updated over a week ago

How Should I Prepare, Collect, and Understand My Sample for a Hair Mineral Analysis?

Hair mineral analysis provides valuable insights into your mineral levels and potential heavy metal exposure. To ensure accurate results, it’s important to properly collect and prepare your sample. Follow the steps below for the best outcomes:

Acceptable Sample Types

  1. Head Hair (Preferred Type): Collect approximately 1 tablespoon, a small bundle roughly the diameter of a pencil, from the neck or back of your head.

  2. Alternatives (If Head Hair is Unavailable): - Body Hair (e.g., pubic hair): Submit an equivalent quantity (1 tablespoon). - Fingernails: Clip small pieces from all ten unpolished fingernails to gather at least 100 mg.Ensure nails are clean and free of any polish or artificial enhancements before submission.Note: Only one sample type can be submitted per test. Mixing sample types (e.g., combining head hair and nails) is not permitted and may invalidate the test.

Collecting Head Hair Samples

  1. Use clean scissors to cut the hair.

  2. Cutting Area: Take hair from the neck or back of the head, as close to the scalp as possible for the most accurate analysis.

  3. Sample Length: - If hair strands exceed 4 cm, trim them and include only the first 4 cm closest to the scalp, discarding the rest . - Keep in mind that the 4 cm closest to the scalp represents approximately the last 3 months of exposure. Avoid sending longer, untrimmed samples as they may make interpreting the results (e.g., time-frame of exposure) difficult .

  4. Collect at least 1 tablespoon of hair, ensuring enough material is provided for testing .5. Hair can also be collected from a clean hairbrush as an alternative to cutting directly from the scalp or head.

Reasons for Sample Collection Guidelines

  • The scalp-proximal 4 cm of hair provides the most reliable data regarding exposure over the most recent three months, since hair absorbs and locks in minerals and elements as it grows .

By adhering to these guidelines, you can ensure your sample is correctly prepared, enabling accurate analysis and useful results.

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