It is crucial to start by saying that hair drug screening, or as we can call it hair follicle drug test or screening can easily track the misuse of drugs, prescription medications,and weed.
Have in mind that administrators will take the strand of your hair by using scissors and analyze a sample with the idea to check the last three months of drug usage.
Since urinalysis can detect short term drug usage, this particular screening is an excellent solution because it will provide you the ability to detect the usage in the last ninety days, which makes it perfect for identifyinglong-term abusers.
Most employers decide to conduct this special screening for illegal drugs as part of random screenings or as pre-employment regulation. There are ways to tamper with it by using Aloe Rid detox shampoos for instance, but you have to be persistent.
What Should You Expect?
The first thing you should know is about the setting because the hair follicle screening has to be conducted in a regulated environment by professionals that know how to handle everything.
Therefore, you can expect to go to the lab, but some DIY tests are not standard among employers.
If you have to handle the necessaryscreening as the part of the pre-employment process, in most cases, you will be supervised during the procedure.
You will be able to dye and wash your hair and use other stylistic products that you are regularly used,and that will not affect the accuracy of the test.
After a few days, the lab will send results to your employer by checking between 100 and 120 hairs from your head. Have in mind that if you do not have hair on your head, they will take your body hair, which is something you should remember.
How Should You Read The Results?
After 24 hours of hair removal, the lab will have results in a case that they are harmful. The most common screening used for this particular method includes ELSA, as the most accurate test. It can determine whether a hair sample is negative or not.
In case that you have not consumed anything illicit, the indication will be noticeable in a matter of hours. Of course, they have to conduct additional screenings to confirm that you have passed the test.
After 72 hours, the lab will confirm a positive test. The main idea is that screenings will undergo a second analysis called mass spectrometry that will establishin caseyou have been positive. That will also provide lab specific information on drugs that you have consumed.
There are ways for results to get inconclusive, but that is not common among prominent labs. For instance, the main problem can happen if the administrator improperly collects hair specimen, which may not be relevant for the testing method.
The lab will have to send and deliver results to the organization or individual that requested it in the first place. Of course, they will use confidential matters, which mean that you will be able to protect your employee’s privacies.
Is It Accurate?
We have mentioned above that hair drug tests can easily detect repeated drug use in the last three months or ninety days.
Since hair growth tends to vary from person to person, the test will not be able to determine the exactly what you did during 90 days, but that is a general number that this test may reach.
The collection of hair uses one of the most prominent and advanced standards that will increase overall accuracy and reduce the possibility for tampering. Therefore, during the testing process, the collected hair will be tested and washed for contamination that could affect the outcome.
To avoid getting false positive, which is a rare situation, the lab is using two tests for making the entire procedure. The first one we have mentioned above,and it is ELISA that can check whether results are negative or positive in the matter of one day or 24 hours.
The next analysis is the perfect method that will confirm the positive result, and this is the one that will test for specific drugs that you have consumed. Have in mind that this particular analysis guards you against false positive results that are caused by foods such as hemp seeds and poppy seeds.
According to one specific study, certain meds can affect the overall results of the test. In case you have been using opioid painkillers for some reason, that will show up on your check.
Therefore, you need to find relevant documentation as well as prescriptions that will help you along the way.We recommend you to check this site: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shampoo to learn more on shampoos in general.
Urine or Hair Drug Test?
As you can see from everything we presented above, the main difference between these two types of screening is in the detection window. Urinalysis is a perfect choice that will help you determine short-term usages for most drugs, but that is not the case with cannabis.
However, a hair drug analysis can detect chronic drug use in the last three months, but it is an inefficient solution for short periods. Therefore, if you consume weed,and the next day you have to conduct a test, you will pass it without any additional problem.
However, if you have consumed it ten days from the it, you will fail it,and that is something you should remember.
Conclusion:
The main reason why most employers are choosing hair drug test instead of urinalysis is due to its inability to cheat it. A urine drug analysis is standard and one of the most popular; however, ways of cheating through it increased as time went by.
Since employers want to create drug-free environments,especially for businesses that rely on other’s safety, they wish to ensure that employees are not consuming anything altogether.
That is why they combine this special screening with a urine drug test with the idea to check both long and short-term usage and abuse. In case you consume prescription medications, you need to have reports and documentation to present as proof to your employer.
