Hair follicle drug testing has gained popularity in recent years, becoming one of the preferred testing options for parents, employers, and court-ordered probation testing. A hair follicle drug test can detect evidence of illegal or prescription drugs, as well as tobacco and alcohol, by testing strands of hair.

One benefit of hair follicle testing is the window of detection, which is up to 90 days—much longer than that of urine testing.

What Is a Hair Follicle Drug Test?

A hair follicle drug test is a method of detecting drug use by submitting a hair sample of about 1.5 inches to a laboratory for testing.

Because a hair follicle drug test picks up drug metabolites accumulated inside the hair shaft as the hair grows, it can detect historical drug use for up to 90 days which is longer than urine drug tests, which can only detect drugs for up to three days.

What to Expect with an At-Home Hair Follicle Drug Test

Hair follicle testing works using a process called gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS).¹ The GC/MS test can detect up to 17 different types of drugs while also eliminating false positive results. Most hair follicle tests provide conclusive positive or negative results within just a few days.

How to Take a Hair Follicle Drug Test at Home

Taking an at-home hair follicle drug test is simple, and most kits include detailed instructions on preventing contamination and how to package your hair samples.

All you do is take a small hair sample, place it in the envelope or container provided, and send it to the listed laboratory to be tested for drug metabolites.

Why You May Need One

A hair follicle drug test might be requested for various reasons.

• Your employer may request a test as part of routine protocol or a pre-employment condition.
• If you are receiving treatment at a drug rehabilitation center, you may be requested to take the test.
• If you suspect your child is using drugs, you may want an at-home hair follicle test to confirm your suspicions.

Understanding the Test Results

A large number of drugs can be detected through a hair follicle drug test depending on the panel that is selected for the testing process. Some of the most common drugs that are tested for using a hair follicle drug test are:²

• Cannabis
• Amphetamines
• Cocaine
• Opioids
• Phencyclidine (PCP)

Your test report will indicate positive, negative, or inconclusive results.

• Positive – The presence of a drug or drug metabolite in a hair sample indicates a positive result.
• Negative – A negative result indicates that no drugs or drug metabolites were found in the hair sample. It doesn’t indicate that the person has never used drugs, as recent drug use may not show up in the hair follicle yet.
• Inconclusive – An inconclusive result may indicate the hair sample provided may have been contaminated or the testing process was not completed.

Hair Follicle Drug Testing with AMH Nationwide

At AMH Nationwide, we have a range of drug testing options available. Our hair follicle drug testing options range from 5-panel to 19-panel test kits. If you’re interested in our at-home drug tests, visit our website today for more information or to make an online order.

Sources:

1. https://www.healthline.com/health/hair-follicle-drug-test#accuracy
2. https://www.verywellhealth.com/hair-follicle-drug-test-5223623

Pre-employment drug and alcohol testing, as well as testing throughout employment, plays an essential role in ensuring a safe, substance-free work environment.

To be effective, drug tests must be regularly and systematically administered. The following situations may warrant drug testing:

• Pre-employment drug testing before onboarding a new employee
• After an unusual workplace accident
• Under reasonable suspicion of substance abuse
• At random according to company policy

Why Is Drug Testing for Employment Important?

By eliminating possible drug and alcohol abuse by your employees, you can safeguard your workers from injury while maintaining their productivity.

According to the National Safety Council, workers with substance use disorders:¹

• Miss two more weeks of work per year than their peers
• Are 40% more likely to report having more than one employer the year prior

Testing for drug or alcohol abuse in your employees can also help you to get them treated while protecting your business’s reputation and minimizing workers’ compensation claims due to workplace injuries.

The Most Common Workplace Drug Test

The urine drug test is the most common type of workplace drug test employers use to screen for possible substance abusers. Since urine testing is relatively cost-effective and accessible, its widespread use is not surprising.

Additionally, any employer required by law to conduct drug tests, like public transport companies, may only make use of urine tests as they are the only tests the federal government accepts.

What Is the Urine Drug Test?

A urine drug test detects recent illegal drug use or alcohol misuse in a sample of a person’s urine. Drugs detected by a urine drug test include illegal substances like marijuana and cocaine, as well as the misuse of prescribed medication like opioids or barbiturates.

Why Is the Urine Test the Most Commonly Used?

Among the most common drug testing methods, urine testing has the advantages of being fast, inexpensive, and accurate. Urine drug testing can also detect drugs in the urine for up to a month after use, depending on the drug.

Another benefit is that, unlike blood testing, urine testing is minimally intrusive and does not require medical supervision.

What Is a Five-Panel Drug Test?

If you are looking for a route to establish a drug testing program, a five-panel drug test is one of the most widely used urine tests administered by private employers and government agencies. It screens for five commonly abused substances:

• Amphetamines
• Cocaine
• Marijuana
• Opiates
• Phencyclidine (PCP)

How AMH Nationwide Can Help Keep Your Workplace Drug-Free

Are you looking to implement fast and efficient drug testing for your employees? Do you need an informed and unbiased party to determine your random or scheduled drug tests?

AMH Nationwide is a national testing lab agency with over 30 years of experience that provides reliable, affordable drug testing for individuals and employers. We make your job easy by taking care of all of it for you for one efficient and affordable cost.

If you’re interested and need more information, contact AMH Nationwide online to learn more about the various drug tests we offer.

Sources:

1. https://www.nsc.org/workplace/safety-topics/drugs-at-work/drug-use-in-the-workforce-whos-affected

Drug testing is a prominent part of the professional world. Meant to ensure the safety of individual employees as well as your whole team, gathering this information would be a part of your business’s standard routine. However, if you want to receive the most data from these tests, it’s vital that you choose the right medium.

While urine tests have been the standard for a long time, fingernail processing is proving to play a vital role in workplace drug screening. Here, we’ll discuss why a fingernail drug test would be used over a urine test and the advantages you gain from this procedure.

Quicker Sample Taking

One of the primary benefits of performing fingernail tests is that retrieving the necessary sample is quick and easy. This test simply requires a small section of nail clipping. As such, there’s no waiting for individuals to urinate or needing to provide them with instructions for how much urine you need for the test. With this method of drug testing, your team members can return to their day in as little as a few minutes.

Larger Sample Concentration

Fingernails also contain a higher concentration of the substances you’re testing for. Unlike urine, which contains only a fraction of the ingested material during the time of testing, fingernails grow out for several weeks. Additionally, since nails consist of thicker, more compact keratan fibers, they can trap more of the drug than even a strand of head hair.

Wider Sampling Window

Another reason why a fingernail drug test would be used over a urine test is the larger sampling window. As mentioned previously, fingernails can grow out for several weeks before cutting, creating a more detailed timeline of a person’s consumption habits. A fingernail drug test can detect up to 3 to 6 months of drug abuse! This makes for a much longer sampling period and improves your chances of getting an accurate test result. Most drugs are only present in urine for up to 48 hours.

Reduced Risk of Sample Tampering

Above all, though, testing an individual’s fingernails instead of their urine significantly reduces the possibility of dilution or sample tampering. While an individual can find ways around passing a urine test, such as submitting someone else’s urine, there is no way for them to submit someone else’s nail sample. The sample is given in the direct presence of the specimen collector. For this reason, fingernail testing can be a much more secure method to ensure test results are accurate and reliable.

If you’re looking to maintain the safety of your professional team, AMH Nationwide is your number one solution. Our nail tests for alcohol and drugs offer convenient sampling periods, thorough examinations, and fast results. Know that you’ll need to give samples of 100 milligrams for the most effective testing process, and the turnaround time is from one to seven business days. Call today to receive an electronic lab order for your requested tests.

Marijuana is a complicated substance. On the one hand, it was a scheduled controlled substance for decades. Still, many states have recently legalized cannabis and THC products. There is even a current discussion of nationwide legalization. Therefore, the question remains: Why is marijuana still tested for despite being legal? The answer to this question is more complicated than many people think. Because marijuana legalization remains on the state level, and employers still have oversight to employee safety, testing remains in place. Read on to learn more.

It Depends on the State

Yes, employers can and still test for marijuana use in employees regardless of legality. Of course, much of the concern for employees is due to the different state regulations. Marijuana is not a legalized substance in all 50 states. Some states, such as Illinois, Oregon, California, and New York, allow for recreational and medical marijuana consumption. Other states, such as Rhode Island, Minnesota, and Florida, only offer comprehensive medical marijuana programs. Still, states like Wyoming, Texas, Indiana, and Wisconsin only allow CBD and low-THC products. Each state offers different workplace protections depending on this legality. We are seeing some states go so far as to almost prohibit workplace testing for marijuana, such as the recent change made by the New York State Department of Labor essentially prohibiting testing for marijuana except in the case of DOT or reasonable suspicion.

Employers Still Have Reasonable Suspicion

Of course, employers who have reasonable suspicion of marijuana consumption on or off the worksite can request a test from employees despite legal status. Marijuana still impairs the body. Employers must ensure proper safety and coordination within for the tasks at hand. Reasonable suspicion falls under observation and influence. If employees exhibit certain symptoms of marijuana use, such as questionable movements, dilated or watery eyes, blank facial expressions, or drowsiness, employers have the right to assess for marijuana abuse.

Substance Abuse Still Affects Job Performance Regardless of Legality

A major reason why marijuana is still tested despite being legal is that the risk of abuse remains. Alcohol and prescription drugs are legal substances yet are two of the most widely abused substances in the workplace. Despite its legality, marijuana is no different. Employers must grapple with numerous challenges to comply with federal, state, and local policies. Whether employers adopt state-specific policies, implement a universal policy that complies with local laws, or adopt a “business-need” approach, marijuana testing remains at the forefront of pre-employment drug testing to ensure accountability and safety in the workplace.

For proper pre-employment drug tests, check out our 10 panel urine and 10-panel hair follicle drug test from About My Health. These drug tests offer state-of-the-art assessments for many different substances, including marijuana, cocaine, PCP, methadone, oxycodone, and more. Any hair follicle drug test requires a sample of between 90 to 120 strands of scalp hair that are approximately 1 ½ to 2 inches in length. Body hair and facial hair also comply. Please call with any questions.

Employers use many metrics to hold workers accountable during the workday. For pre-employment, there are specific protocols in place to ensure new hires are ready for the tasks at hand. One of these is drug tests. Still, many employers wonder if drug tests are worth the time and investment. Here are some pros and cons of drug testing for employment to help you decide.

Pro: It Creates a Safer Work Environment

Employment drug testing is essential to maintain the safety and well-being of all employees. Whether you supervise workers in a manufacturing facility, warehouse, school, corporation, or construction site, drug testing is crucial to ensuring all employees follow safe protocols during their everyday responsibilities. Sober employees are less likely to commit infractions, and frequent testing increases the odds that employees remain sober.

Con: It’s Potentially Intrusive

However, when considering employment drug testing, keep in mind that certain people may take issue with the intrusiveness of the test. There are many types of drug tests employers can administer. Hair, saliva, urine, and blood tests are the most common, but some of these intrude on an employee’s personal boundaries. For instance, hair follicle tests require 90 to 120 strands of scalp or body hair for a sample size. Fingernail drug tests also require an on-body sample. Some tests, like urine tests, are less intrusive but may leave the employee feeling uncomfortable about the process. Remind employees before they begin that drug testing is safe and harmless and helps promote a clean work environment.

Pro: It Ensures Employee Accountability

As with safety, one of the pros of drug testing for employment is that it builds employee accountability. Accountability is essential to a productive workforce. Supervisors and managers need to feel that they can trust their employees with their respective tasks. Drug testing, therefore, holds employees accountable for their own actions. Employees who show up to work under the influence of any substance are liable for termination and possible legal action if an accident or injury takes place. It is up to the employer to hold employees accountable for their actions and behaviors while on the job.

Con: It May Lead to Distrust Between Employees and Employers

One last thing to keep in mind is that drug testing may build distrust between employees and employers. Employees may feel a sense of betrayal or dismay at the thought of drug testing. To them, it may look as though you don’t trust their judgment. Others may take it as a personal insult to their lifestyle. You can avoid these issues by reminding employees that everyone is subject to drug tests and that these tests are standard to evaluate the condition of the workforce.

About My Health has all the employment drug tests you need for your employees. Our hair drug and alcohol testsyield fast, reliable results within seven business days. They’re simple and only require 90 to 120 strands of head hair, approximately 1.5–2 inches in length. The hair alcohol test has a detection time of 90 days from potential usage. Call now for more information about how to order hair follicle drug tests for your business.

Whether in a corporate field or other professional setting, drug tests ensure the safety and well-being of all employees involved. The most common forms of drug tests used today include hair, urine, and saliva.

While saliva drug tests may seem invasive, there are many concerns over hair and urine drug tests and their reliability for employers to consider. However, these advantages of testing hair over testing urine will help clarify any confusion.

Longer Detection Window

One of the main benefits of hair drug tests is that it provides a longer detection window than urine tests. Urine tests typically only detect within hours or days of substance abuse. Hair tests, on the other hand, can detect substance use that occurred within 90 days of the test. This ensures greater safety and coverage in the workplace for all employees.

Larger Sampling Area

Another advantage of testing hair over testing urine is the larger sampling area. Urine is stored in only one area of the body: the bladder. Therefore, urine tests are naturally limited to the sample provided during a urine test. Hair tests have greater flexibility. Hair tests require between 90 and 120 strands of scalp hair, facial hair, or body hair. Ultimately, a hair panel drug test uses the hair from anywhere there’s a large enough sampling. This reduces wait times, dilution, or testing error common with urine tests.

Less Risk of Adulteration

More importantly, hair tests have a significantly smaller risk of adulteration. Urine tests are prone to various subversion techniques to promote a negative result. Dilution, substitution, or adulteration are common methods for manipulating a urine drug test. Contrarily, hair samples are impossible to manipulate. You cannot adulterate hair samples without extreme difficulty. Also, since hair drug tests require scalp hair, facial hair, or body hair to process, wigs or other artificial hairs pose no risk in test results.

AMH Nationwide offers the perfect solution to find ETG hair follicle tests for your company. Our lab tests provide the best toxicological and communicable results to detect substance abuse for workplaces or schools. With detection times up to 90 days from samples of only 90 to 120 strands of scalp hair or body hair, these tests provide the most accurate, reliable results you’ll find. ETG hair follicle test results take roughly 5 to 10 business days for drug use to show. Call now for more information, or order your hair drug test today.

With the high prevalence of drug tests used in the workplace, employers may struggle with deciding which one is better to detect recent substance abuse. This guide on why hair follicle drug tests are the best type of test will help clarify any confusion.

How It Works

Hair follicle tests are used to detect substance abuse in potential employees via drug metabolites. As the body breaks down substances, drug metabolites form in the hair, fingernails, and urine. Hair metabolites can even detect substances ingested through oral or nasal cavities. As the body creates drug metabolites, these metabolites transfer to hair follicles and oil glands on the scalp, body, face, and groin. Drug metabolites can remain in hair for months at a time making hair testing a reliable drug test to detect prior abuse.

Accuracy

A hair follicle drug test produces reliable data on substance abuse for up to three months or 90 days of prior use. However, drug tests are not 100 percent accurate even though they detect various substances depending on the panel administered. 5-panel hair follicle drug tests detect basic substances like amphetamines, cocaine, PCP, marijuana, opiates, and hydrocodone. These tests range up to 19 panels which can detect the same substances and more, such as barbiturates, methadone, ketamine, kratom, tramadol, etc. Higher panel drug tests offer an extended detection time up to six months, nine months, and even a year.

Cost

The price of a hair follicle drug test varies depending on your location and drug testing facility. Also, the number of substances tested may determine the overall cost of the drug test. Employers may cover the costs of these tests and only require employees to submit a sample. Although there’s no guaranteed price on these tests, hair follicle tests are typically non-invasive and only require a small sample of a patient’s body hair, scalp hair, facial hair, or pubic hair for testing.

How Hair Follicle Testing Compares To Other Drug Tests

Compared to other administered drug tests, such as urine tests, the main reason why hair follicle drug tests are the best type of test is because it delivers a larger detection window. For example, urine tests may only test for up to a week of prior substance abuse. Hair tests, as previously mentioned, detect up to 90 days of prior use unless larger panel are used, and they can detect prior abuse up to a year. Both are great options for employers depending on how large of a detection window they need.

AMH Nationwide offers state-of-the-art 12-panel hair follicle tests to detect amphetamines, cocaine, opiates, PCP, marijuana, benzodiazepines, methadone, oxycodone, and more. There’s no appointment needed for a same-day lab order, and turnaround times commonly range from five to seven business days. The 12-panel hair follicle test uses 90 to 120 strands of scalp hair but can include body hair, facial hair, leg hair, or public hair if needed. Call now with any questions and our customer service will happily assist you.

When starting a new job, employees often face some requirements to prepare for their new responsibilities. One of these may be a drug test. Drug tests are a necessary component that employers use to ensure safe practices for employees and hold employees accountable for their actions. Here are some advantages to requiring drug tests for employment that all employers will want to know.

Employee Accountability

Hiring new employees is a risk for companies. It’s safe to assume those who apply for a new job understand the commitments and responsibilities involved. However, drug tests further ensure no substance abuse occurs on the job, keeping employees accountable for their actions. Those who fail to understand the responsibilities in place must undergo drug tests to ensure they are mentally and physically capable of undergoing the various job responsibilities expected of them. This also ensures safe work practices for new hires as well as the safety and well-being of their coworkers and environment.

Ensure a Safe Work Environment

Drug testing ensures an overall safe work environment for everyone involved. It deters substance abuse that can affect job performance and cognition. Employees who use illicit substances, or abuse legal ones, are liable for the health and safety of their coworkers. This is especially true for industrial applications that use heavy machinery and tools. Drug testing thus reduces the chance of onsite injuries, accidents, and health problems. Those with underlying health conditions that require medication that may test positive on a drug test should inform employers of their usage in compliance with the safety protocols in place.

Comply With State and Federal Regulations

Another advantage to requiring drug tests for employment is that it complies with State and Federal regulations. Employers are responsible for best practices in their industry. As such, they must comply with State and Federal health, safety, and business practices. Drug testing falls under this scope, so employers must ensure they comply with top practices to avoid legal ramifications. Since one cannot guarantee future employees will pass drug tests, it’s best to test all employees to ensure everyone follows these rules and regulations to the best of their ability. Otherwise, companies face the risk of onsite violations if they neglect to do so.

AMH Nationwide offers 10-panel hair follicle tests perfect for employee drug testing. Our state-of-the-art lab testing streamlines the process of onsite drug testing and detects up to 10 substances, including amphetamines, cocaine, opiates, PCP, marijuana, methadone, oxycodone, and more. Results will typically come within one to seven business days, but on average, in three to five—however, we cannot guarantee these response times. The hair follicle test is a safe, non-invasive process that collects scalp hair, facial hair, body hair, or public hair to detect these substances. If you have any further questions, please contact us, and we’ll answer them as soon as possible.

When exploring drug testing to ensure a drug-free workforce, you have several modalities to choose from. Urinalysis, the most popular method, offers a quick response time from laboratories but only gives technicians a short window of detection—generally 24 to 72 hours. Saliva testing is minimally invasive, easy to observe, and almost impossible for subjects to circumvent, but it offers an even shorter window. Blood testing, with a brief window of detection and the invasive nature of drawing blood, is far more likely to find use in emergent legal issues than in standard testing as a condition of onboarding or continued employment.

For discreet procurement and detection windows that last months, not hours, two means of drug testing tower above the rest: hair testing and fingernail testing. Similar in some respects, they’re still quite distinct methods of screening for illegal and abused drugs. Today, we’ll examine the difference between hair and fingernail testing to help you decide which approach will best suit your needs.

For more employer drug testing information or to set up a business profile for your company and get a drug test lab order, simply call customer service at (877) 731-6377.

How Are They Similar?

Before hair and nail testing diverge, they share an important commonality. Our hair and our nails are made of keratin, a fibrous protein that occurs throughout the fins, fur, feathers, hair, and hooves of the animal kingdom. Drug testing keratin-based samples relies on detecting drug metabolites that become embedded in the fibers, where they reside for 3 to 6 months.

Differences in Detection Windows

Deposits of metabolites settle amid the fibers of hair and nails, but the duration for which they stay there differs between hair and nail specimens. The detection window for most metabolites in hair is generally around 90 days. This makes hair tests particularly useful in identifying long-term patterns of drug abuse that short-window tests of urine and saliva would not indicate. Furthermore, if the specimen donor has long enough hair (longer than 1.5 inches), segmented hair testing can be done to go beyond the estimated 90 days of detection. This is performed in increments of 90 days, and as long as you have the appropriate length, we can order a hair test going back 6 months, 9 months, and even one year and beyond. You will need 1.5 inches of head hair length for every 3 month increment. For example, you will need 6 inches to get a 1-year hair drug test. Body hair collections are also an option, but not for segmented time frames. However, with hair drug testing, ultraviolet light, water, and detergents cause these metabolites to break down—other keratin samples could retain them much longer.

Nail tests effectively double the window thanks to the relative hardiness of nail-based keratin, allowing up to 6 months for lab technicians to look back on a variety of drug uses. Some toenail samples can even offer up to 12 months of insight into potential substance abuse.

Differences in Potential for Contamination

Hair is good at picking up byproducts of drug use—in some cases, perhaps too good. The difference between hair and fingernail testing looms large when it comes to the possibility—however remote—that a hair sample has picked up false positives from environmental exposure. A porous hair shaft can pick up airborne drug metabolites, which then become embedded in the shaft and deliver a false positive. Fingernails and toenails are much less susceptible to this.

Still, the chances of this happening are rare. A hair drug and alcohol test is a highly reliable means of drug testing. Just know that you have the option for a nail test as a very solid backup.