Hair testing is increasingly becoming the testing technology of choice for many corporate drug-testing programs. In side by side comparisons, hair testing identifies two to five times more drug users than does urine testing. Some additional advantages of hair testing over urinalysis include:

Increased Window of Detection - One of the biggest challenges to an effective urine-testing program is the limited window of detection.  A standard hair test provides a 90-day history as opposed to the typical 3-5 day detection period with urine.  Comparisons between the two technologies for detection of marijuana use are less significant, although detection is still greater with hair than urine.  Drugs with relatively short half-lives like cocaine and heroin are much more likely to be detected in hair than urine, typically two to four times more likely.  The heroin metabolite has an extremely short half-life in urine, only several hours, while it is detectable in hair for months.  In one study, hair testing was shown to be 16 times more effective than urinalysis in detecting the presence of cocaine.

Less Likelihood of Adulteration - Another significant challenge in urine testing is the relative ease of dilution, substitution and adulteration.  Advertisements for products to "beat the drug test" are commonplace on the Internet, at retail locations and in magazines.  Many of these products are effective, especially if the laboratory or company program does not include validity or adulterant testing.  Hair-testing laboratories have tested all commercially available hair-testing adulterants and found none to be effective.  Additionally, hair collection is a simple, non-intrusive process and every collection is observed.  The collector is never separated from the specimen once it is collected, and therefore the applicant cannot tamper with the specimen during collection, as is possible during urine collection.  Treatment processes such as hair coloring and permanent solutions are not of significant impact due to washing and extraction methods during the testing process.

Specimen Availability for Retest Procedures - Unlike with urinalysis, with hair testing, another specimen is available for retest procedures for detection of drug use during the same time period.

Hair testing is appropriate for use in pre-employment situations and is increasing in use for random testing or post-treatment monitoring.  However, due to the fact that hair testing detects drug use over a longer period of time and not during the most recent weeks of use, it is not an appropriate method of testing in post-accident or reasonable suspicion situations.  Specimens that screen positive are confirmed via GC/MS or GC/MS/MS testing comparable to urine specimens.  Turnaround time for hair-test results is also comparable to urinalysis.  Hair testing can accommodate the five-drug panel most commonly used for workplace drug testing:  amphetamines (methamphetamine and amphetamine), cocaine, opiates (heroin, morphine, codeine), phencyclidine (PCP) and marijuana (THC).  Additionally, hair testing can recover MDMA, more commonly known as Ecstasy, a club drug of increasing concern, at the same testing price.  This test is often considerably more expensive when offered in urine testing, if it is available at all.

Employment Screening Services, Inc.  is now offering complete hair-testing programs to our clients, including collection site location and medical review.  These programs can be established with hair testing alone or in combination with other testing programs. 

*Information provided by American Medical Laboratories.