Drug testing remains an essential tool in many industries for maintaining a safe and healthy work environment. However, there are several different types of drug tests employers can use. Understanding the differences between the types of drug tests available can help employees make more informed decisions. One reliable method is a hair follicle drug test.

Generally, hair follicle drug tests are accurate and fairly easy to administer. So, if you’re trying to decide whether to use this method in your workplace, here is what you need to know.

How Does a Drug Test Using Hair Follicles Work?

Collecting Hair Samples

The first step in administering a drug test using hair follicles is to extract a small hair sample. Hair samples do not need to be large. Additionally, hair strands must be at least ½-inch in length and can be removed using scissors to avoid discomfort.

If a test subject is bald, body hair can be used just as effectively. Typically, hair will be collected from the arms, legs, underarms, or the chin.

What Happens During a Hair Follicle Drug Test?

A typical hair follicle drug test involves a two-step screening process. After the sample is collected, it undergoes the initial rapid screening process. Overall, this process can test for a variety of substances, including marijuana, cocaine, opiates, and amphetamines.

If this initial rapid screening produces a positive result for any particular substance, a second screening test is performed on the sample. This second test will use a different screening method (typically chromatographic testing) to confirm whether the initial test was accurate. If both screening tests produce positive results for the same substance, the test is considered to be positive.

Occasionally, certain medications or foods can result in false positives in rapid screening tests. The two-step process helps to ensure that such false positives are identified before the test results are made official.

Pros and Cons of Hair Follicle Testing for Drugs

Pro: Long-Term Accuracy

Hair follicle testing for drugs provides one of the longest windows for reliable testing. Other methods, like urine analysis, while highly accurate, can only detect drugs in the system for about a week. Hair follicle drug testing, however, can detect drugs taken up to 90 days before testing.

Pro: Difficult to “Beat” Hair Follicle Testing

There are no reliable methods to cheat a hair follicle drug test. Samples are always collected under close supervision and in a controlled manner. There also are no products or methods to help flush out the system before a drug test using hair follicles.

Pro: Two-Step Process Ensures Reliability

As mentioned, the two-step screening process eliminates concerns about potential false positives. Employers and employees alike can have full faith in the reliability of hair follicle drug testing.

Pro: Easy to Administer

Hair follicle testing for drugs is less invasive than testing involving urine or saliva. It is also extremely easy to collect samples for a hair follicle drug test. In most cases, testers simply snip off a small length of hair from the back of the subject’s head to reduce visibility.

Con: Can Miss Recent Drug Use

Because hair takes time to grow, it takes a few days for drugs to become detectable using hair follicle drug testing. This means very recent drug use may sometimes go undetected. If this is a concern, it is possible to combine hair follicle drug testing with another testing method to cover all time windows.

Researching “Hair Follicle Drug Test Near Me”? Soteria Can Help.

Looking for reliable hair follicle testing for drugs that you can use in your workplace? Soteria offers several drug test types for employers, including hair follicle drug testing. You can order a test today, or contact us to learn more.