Hair drug testing—alternatively called hair strand or hair follicle drug testing—is a common method of detecting employee usage of illicit recreational substances such as narcotics. This type of test has several key advantages over urine drug testing: (1) It is relatively difficult to falsify a hair drug test, as samples are collected directly from the employee by a technician; and (2) evidence of drug use is present in body hair much longer than in urine. For that reason, hair testing is frequently a part of pre-employment screenings and/or a condition of ongoing employment.

A hair drug test is often mandated in certain industries to ensure compliance with federal law. For instance, any organization that accepts a federal contract (with a value of at least $100,000) or a federal grant of any value is subject to the substance-abuse-testing guidelines of the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988. These organizations often rely on this testing method to detect drugs. In addition, many private employers require hair drug testing for workplace safety reasons, although their right to compel employees to participate in these programs may be limited by state law.

What Drugs Does It Detect?

A standard 4-panel hair drug test can detect the presence of the following substances:

• Cocaine
• PCP (phencyclidine)
• Opioids (including heroin and morphine)
• Amphetamines (including methamphetamine and ecstasy)

Incidentally, a 5-panel test detects all the above as well as marijuana (THC) .

When properly collected, hair samples used in a 4-panel test can yield evidence of drug abuse that occurred within the past 90 days. This is a significantly longer window of detection than is possible with urine testing. For instance, cocaine and amphetamines usually disappear from urine within a few days.

However, very recent drug use—within the past 5 to 10 days—may not be detectable in the sample, for the simple fact that it takes time for hair to grow. Therefore, drug metabolites will not be immediately apparent.

After the sample is collected, it is sent to a laboratory for analysis. Hair drug test results can be made available usually within 3 to 5 days.

How Is the Hair Collected?

Hair is generally cut with scissors from the occipital scalp of the subject’s head. Although the procedure is sometimes called “hair follicle drug testing,” this is misleading—the follicles themselves are not part of the drug test screening. Hair is usually removed from three spots in this area, then carefully placed in a hair kit. Generally, samples should be 1.5 to 2 inches in length.

For some subjects, it’s not possible to follow this procedure to collect hair samples. Some individuals have bald heads; other subjects may have very short hair (less than one-half inch) that precludes the collection of sufficiently long strands. In these cases, hairs may be removed from other areas of the body, such as the chest, leg, beard, or underarm.

Ordering a Hair Drug Test

With AMH Nationwide, employers and individuals can easily obtain the lab drug test orders they need. We work with many top labs across the U.S., including Omega Laboratories, LabCorp, United States Drug Testing Laboratories, and Quest Diagnostics.

Non-marijuana hair drug testing is available for employers who do not need to test for this substance, and who wish to avoid the liability issues that may arise from prior knowledge of an employee’s use of marijuana. (This option is not available from certain labs.)

To get started, just call AMH Nationwide at (888) 493-2521.