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Hair testing yields 10x the positivity rate compared with urine because it offers a longer detection window (Up to 90 Days).

Hair Drug Testing Overview

Hair drug testHair follicle drug testing or hair drug testing is an alternative to the standard urine drug testing. A hair follicle drug test is popular among employers, substance abuse professionals and courts as it offers a longer detection window than urine drug test. Typically a hair drug test provides up to 90 days of drug use history. This is one of the reasons why hair drug tests lead to a greater number of positives and are used by employers adopting a zero-tolerance drug testing policy.

It’s important to note that hair is not plucked from the scalp so technically it’s not hair follicle drug testing but simply a hair drug test. Hair follicle drug testing can be used by employers as part of their pre-employment or random drug testing process or by individuals for monitoring drug-use during rehabilitation. A 5-panel hair drug test is most common but it also comes in 10-panel and 12-panel variants to cover more drugs.

Many large trucking companies such as JB Hunt, C. R. England, Schneider Trucking, Swift Transportation and Shell Oil use hair follicle drug testing for their drivers over and above the standard DOT urine drug test. A lot of safety-sensitive industries prefer hair drug testing because they understand the huge liability they’re exposed to when hiring a drug-addicted employee.

Hair Drug Test Panels

5 Panel

  • Marijuana-THC

  • Cocaine-COC

  • Phencyclidine-PCP

  • Opiates-OPI (Codeine, Morphine, Heroin)

  • Amphetamines-AMP (Methamphetamine, MDMA)

5 Panel + Opiates

  • Marijuana-THC

  • Cocaine-COC

  • Phencyclidine-PCP

  • Opiates-OPI (Codeine, Morphine, Heroin)

  • Amphetamines-AMP (Methamphetamine, MDMA)

  • Expanded Opiates (Oxycodone, Oxymorphone, Hydrocodone, Hydromorphone)

Expanded Panel

  • Marijuana-THC

  • Cocaine-COC

  • Phencyclidine-PCP

  • Opiates-OPI (Codeine, Morphine, Heroin)

  • Amphetamines-AMP (Methamphetamine, MDMA)

  • Barbituaries

  • Benzodiazepines

  • Methadone

  • Methaqualone

  • Propoxyphene

  • Expanded Opiates (Oxycodone, Oxymorphone, Hydrocodone, Hydromorphone)

Benefits of Hair Drug Testing

Longer Detection Window

A hair follicle drug test will return twice the number of positives as compared to a standard urine drug test. Urine drug tests can detect drug use within 2-4 days of use for most drugs. Hair drug tests can detect a pattern of repetitive drug use for up to 90 days.

Tamper-Proof

Hair follicle drug tests are very difficult to cheat primarily because of the way samples are collected. During a hair collection, the collector will cut hair from the donor’s head. The hair is cut as close to the scalp as possible and, in most cases, the result is not visible to others. Many donors find a hair collection less awkward for the donor than urinating into a cup. It also eliminates the opportunity to cheat a drug test by using fake/synthetic urine, dilution or any other trick. Body hair may also be used.

Reliable Results

Because of the longer detection window, hair drug tests are ideal for random or pre-employment drug tests where you’d like to detect habitual drug use or addiction, whereas a urine drug test or oral fluid drug test is well-suited for reasonable suspicion or post-accident drug testing to detect current or very recent use of drugs.

Hair Drug Testing FAQs

A hair follicle drug test requires sampling of a small amount of hair. We require at least 100-120 strands of hair at 4cm or 1.5″ in length for accurate analysis. In case the donor is bald, body hair from the leg, chest or arm-pit can be used.

After collecting the hair specimen, it’s sent to one of our partnered laboratories for drug use analysis. Results for hair drug test usually take 2 business days for the 5 panel and may take up to 3-5 business days for the more complex hair test panels. Non-negative results require confirmatory testing which can add a few more days to the process.

No, hair drug tests can only test for the use of drugs and specify which drugs were used by the donor. It cannot trace back the time, dosage or frequency of drugs taken.

There is concern about false positives due to exposure to second-hand smoke from drugs like marijuana, methamphetamine or crack cocaine. At InOut Labs we test for both the drug as well as the metabolites your body generates when you inhale the smoke. So rest assured even if the smoke is embedded in your hair, if you didn’t inhale it, your sample will have no traces of marijuana metabolites so it won’t be a positive result.

Hair drug tests are very effective in detecting repetitive drug use in persons over a prolonged period of time (Up to 90 days). Furthermore, it’s very difficult to cheat a hair drug test as the hair is cut by our technicians in direct observation.

Hair Drug Testing is available at over 5000 locations in the US

Order a Hair Drug Test Online

Why Choose InOut Labs for Hair Drug Testing?