Hair analysis can be used to detect nutritional deficiencies, toxins, drugs, and other substances by analyzing the minerals and compounds stored in hair. However, there is debate around the accuracy and usefulness of hair analysis results due to lack of standardization. Different labs may produce varying results for the same sample. While hair analysis shows promise for drug testing and forensics, medical practitioners are hesitant to use it as a diagnostic tool on its own due to the many variables that can influence results. In some cases, hair analysis has provided useful clues when combined with a full medical history and physical exam.

1. Hair analysis has been used to determine nutritional deficiency, trace mineral detection, drug abuse, toxins and poisons. Not only is hair analysis used in the health care professions but also in forensics and pre employment testing. <br />Hair is a solid tissue which is an annex of the skin. It originates from a hair follicle in which the germination center is formed by matrix cells. The follicle with its rich blood supply is what feeds the growing hair and it is here where minerals, toxins, poisons, or many groups of chemicals that practitioners and scientists are searching for exist. (1) The fibrous proteins in the hair contain stored elements from the hosts metabolism. <br />The ability to extract the desired trace toxins or minerals is of reoccurring debate. It is collectively accepted by research professionals and doctors alike that hair does contain elements that were transferred from the blood via the hair follicle to the hair shaft. They do not agree as to the accuracy or usefulness in diagnosis or treating disease.<br />The collection methods vary. Where the sample comes from and how it is taken can directly affect the outcome or desired results of the information divulged in the sample. How it is prepared for shipment to the facility, how long it takes to be processed, the environment in which it is processed and the machine doing the processing are all difficult variables to control.<br />The analysis procedure that is most popular is the Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (Mass Spec). Different labs use different machines that do not have standard calibration procedures which the will produce questionable results. Even the most reputable labs, under the most strict protocols, may have varying results. The major problem here is that there is a lack of established normal values throughout the industry.<br />Another problem is that different labs may produce different findings on the same sample. This lack of standardization and reproducibility is the major difficulty in acquiring acceptance by main stream health care.<br />The US Agency For Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) states “ For most substances insufficient data currently exists that would allow the prediction of a health effect from the concentration of the substance in hair. “ Here is where understanding direct and indirect testing methods become important. The direct method of testing blood and urine is not always a predictor of health but the biochemical marker of a physiological illness or disease state. An example is high glucose in blood and urine which is universally accepted as diabetes. A thorough history and physical exam are needed to confirm this diagnosis. Compared to a PSA (Prostatic Specific Antigen) test, in which an elevation is not always an accepted marker for prostate cancer. <br />As an assessment tool, hair analysis has value in supplying useful information which the practitioner needs to correlate to history and exam findings. In many cases hair analysis does not have a consistent coexisting disease or inefficient organ system and that is why medical practitioners choose not to use it as screening device. We know that a person exposed to toxins consistently will show traces in their hair. The problem is you can’t determine, by the sample alone, where the exposure took place , how long they were exposed , and the concentration of the toxin. How individuals store toxins is a function of their age, sex, and present health.<br />It appears that the tests are more valid when large groups are tested when looking for specific toxins in a given area. Examples of this are arsenic, lead, and radioactive traces. One area that hair analysis shows promise is in drug abuse screening. (1) Balikova states “Hair analysis has a wider detection window then urine analysis and has a higher prevalence rate. Drugs tested both in hair and urine were, amphetamines, cannabis, cocaine, opiates, and phencyclidine. Hair samples are more useful to prove chronic intoxications then urine samples.”<br />Another area where hair analysis is used effectively is forensics. Here the pathologist is looking to explain or confirm the existence of toxins, poisons, or contamination from radioactivity. Again due to the length of time it takes hair to grow all information needs to be correlated to specifically why they are looking for a particular marker. For example, if a person was poisoned a very short time prior to death there would not be enough time for the poison to appear in the hair but if the poisons were administered in small doses over a long period of time they would appear in the hair and be more diagnostic. <br />The following case demonstrates how useful hair analysis can be in the hands of an experienced practitioner. In this case we have a troubling diagnosis that has blood and urine without positive findings and a weak and tired individual. <br />The hair analysis report showed that the patient was high in the metals aluminum, mercury, and radioactive uranium but was low in the minerals magnesium, potassium, and selenium. The practitioner determined that there must have been a rare radioactive material somewhere her your life. The patient reassured the doctor that this was not the case. With continued questioning it was brought up that living on military bases throughout her childhood, she was housed above nuclear storage facilities. Medical doctors were not able to trace the roots of her health problem but this practitioner’s interpretation of her hair analysis and thorough history taking provided the clue to her diagnosis and recovery. The practitioner’s insight and referral to professionals in the field of radiation poisoning would help her. The detoxification program initiated by the practitioner along with the appropriate nutritional supplements and exercise, have returned her to normal health. (2) <br />From a functional medicine perspective hair analysis as an adjunct tool is promising. There has been a tendency for practitioners to use the hair analysis information incorrectly. An example would be to prescribe a vitamin regiment on the findings of the hair analysis alone. We know that nutritional assessment requires a history, physical assessment, knowledge and experience. I feel in the right hands the information acquired in hair analysis can be incorporated into a complete assessment of an individual thereby giving a trained practitioner added information to diagnosis and treat correctly. <br />1. Balikova, Marie, (2005) Hair Analysis For Drugs of Abuse. Plausibility of Interpretation. Institute of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology <br /> <br /> 2. http://www.hairanalysisprogramn.com/hair-analysis-case-study2.php <br /> http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedtopics/hair.html<br /> http://svmsl.chem.cmu.edu/vmsl/cocaine/ch_bg2.htm<br />http://www.hildaguevara.com/trace-mineral-hair-analysis.html<br />http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/ppmc/articles/PMC2945912/_/<br />http://www.nutritional-healing.com.au/content/articles-content.php?heading=Hair%20Mineral%20Analysis<br />