Whether in the workplace or anywhere else, there is a common factor:
Drug testing is daunting. And time to getting results can be agonizing. Whether or not you’ve been in active use of drugs recently, drug residue can put you in a predicament quickly.
But can you pass a hair drug test? Can you prepare in advance? It will require work on your part…
But yes. You can.
This article explains how.
All About Your Follicles: Hair Drug Tests Under a Microscope
Cut-off levels. Body mass index. Test sensitivity.
These are all factors that can make hair follicle testing a favored method of finding out a person’s drug history. If you’re facing down a looming drug test, you need to know how they work.
So, how do hair drug tests work?
It’s not just the visible hair that tells a story. Hair follicle tests scrutinize the chemical makeup of your hair. Usually, a small sample is taken from the crown of the head and sent to a lab.
Why the crown?
Two reasons. The first is about cosmetics – taking a few strands of hair from the crown of somebody’s head isn’t going to give them a bad hair day. The second is practical:
Freshly grown hair offers a window into recent substance use.
Hair follicle analysis starts with a screening test. This test looks for the main signs of drug use. A second “confirmation” test will rule out false positives.
Often, hair is washed before testing to eliminate contaminants. That’s because labs are interested in substances that have been metabolized by the body and not remnants from your environment.
Read Also: The Ultimate Guide to Using a Hair Diffuser
When Can your Employer Perform Hair Drug Tests?
Occational tests for evidence of substance abuse depends on the laws of the state. In usual practice, as long as there is clear drug testing policy in place, you could potentially face regular drug tests.
Some jobs are more of a common place to see widespread drug testing, like those involving sensitive information or public safety. Other criteria for drug screenings include things like:
- Workplace accidents
- Random employee screening
- Suspected drug use
All drug screening policies should be clearly communicated ahead of time. Reviewing company policy (or an employee handbook) will help clear up any confusion.
How Long Do Substance residue stay in hair?
Hair drug tests look back in time a lot further than other types of drug screening, like urine and saliva tests.
Why?
Once the body metabolizes a drug, the compounds circulate throughout the blood. Some of them end up binding to hair follicles, sticking around for months after substance use.
The detection window isn’t infinite, though. Three things influence it:
- How fast your hair grows
- How long your hair is
- The type of drug being screened
Most people’s hair grows around half an inch each month, so a 1.5-inch strand of hair reveals drug use up to 90 days in the past. Yet the rate of growth also tends to slow down as your hair gets longer – dependent on your genetics.
Yet one of the biggest factors in detection is the nature of a drug. Marijuana is fat-soluble, helping it to bind to hair more easily. Drugs like cocaine aren’t.
And that results in a shorter detection window.
How Reliable Are Hair Tests for drug use?
Hair tests screening for evidence of substance abuse are accurate. Supposedly. They’re praised, that is, by employers keen on finding positive results.
There’s little room for tampering because a technician takes a sample (and the testing process is sophisticated) – but no test is infallible. False positives and cross-contamination happen all the time.
In fact, margins of error can come from all sorts of places:
- Human error
- Cross-contamination from medications
- Laboratory errors
- Equipment malfunctions
- False positives
In short?
Hair drug tests aren’t beyond being challenged. The results can be contested with evidence of a test’s limitations even after a (false-) positive result.
Things That Can Change Detection Time
Hair color is a big factor. Darker hair has higher levels of melanin, making people with dark hair more sensitive to testing.
Your body mass index is another factor: Drugs are lipophilic, which is the scientific term for “fat-loving”. More body fat means your body stores the traces of drug use for longer.
All drug tests have some sort of threshold, under which results are largely ignored.
So, the frequency of drug history and use is also paramount. Individuals who use substances regularly are more likely to test positive than occasional or one-time users.
Finally, your age affects how fast your hair grows, so drugs are more likely to stay in your hair for longer for older people.
Requirements to Pass a Hair Drug Test
To pass a hair follicle drug test, you must meet certain core requirements.
Firstly – and most obviously – you mustn’t exceed the threshold for substances found in your hair. How do you do that?
The straightforward requirement is to abstain and detox from drug use that exceeds the usual 90-day window. Detox ensures your newly grown hair doesn’t contain any contaminants.
But lets get back to the objective of this article.
So, the second-best option comprises three elements: A healthy scalp, prior planning, and a proven detox shampoo. Put these elements together and follow a strict schedule, and your chances of having the desired hair drug test results greatly increase.
Know ahead of time that prescribed medications can lead to false positives, so it’s crucial to disclose their use before a test. Providing documentation courtesy of healthcare providers can clarify your situation and prevent a misreading of drug testing results.
General Cleanliness and Hygiene
A healthy scalp won’t reduce the amount of substances in your hair follicles. What it will do, however, is promote natural hair growth. Your hair will grow out faster, reducing the likelihood of a follicle test returning with positive results.
Besides that, maintaining good general hygiene practices helps lower the chances that external contaminants will affect your results. Regular hair washing with standard or detox shampoo is a safe bet.
It’s also best to avoid environments where you’ll be exposed to secondhand smoke.
Detoxing Naturally
The best way of passing a hair follicle drug test is to get the macujo aloe rid shampoo and cleanse with the mike’s macujo method.
Regular exercise improves your blood flow (helping you to remove drug traces), while sleep and low levels of stress allow your body to repair itself.
“Passing” a Hair Test
You “pass” a hair drug test when the analysis of your hair sample returns a result below the established cut-off level, or threshold, for each tested substance. The cut-off levels distinguish between actual use and innocent exposure.
“Passed” doesn’t mean “no drugs in your hair”. Instead, it simply means that potential drugs weren’t present in a sufficient amount.
Sometimes, passing a test depends on the policies of the employer requesting the test. Law enforcement and similar organizations are strict and test for an extended range of substances.
In practice, SAMHSA sets guidelines for this task. And are intended for use by federal agencies, but is is also of common use for private employers to use them as a templates.
Staying Informed Ahead of Time
It’s rare for most employers to spring drug testing on their employees out of nowhere. As we said before, it’s often a matter of standard procedure.
Yet policies can change over time.
Your best bet is to keep up to date with policy changes and plan ahead. Staying proactive will serve you well and give you plenty of time to detox and rid your hair of any unwanted substances.
Using Detox Shampoo
Detox shampoo strips the hair of toxins to some degree and a brand of high-quality shampoo will expedite the detox process.
Detox shampoos aren’t a guarantee for passing a test, however, and many suppliers recommend combining the use of detox shampoo with a thorough hair bleaching and re-dying regimen.
This process helps to break down any substances in your hair, minimizing the risk of detection.
Selecting a reliable detox brand often comes down to testimonials and online reviews. Avoid generic, no-name brands and instead rely on the opinions and insights of other people in similar situations – after all, we all make our grievances known when a product doesn’t meet our expectations.
Understand Your Hair’s Journey
Your hair follows you everywhere you go – and it’s a silent witness to your past.
To pass a hair drug test, avoiding substance use is the safest way to go. But that isn’t always practical advice – and you can significantly increase your chances of passing a test with a thorough cleansing treatment and proven detox shampoo.
At Macujo, we’ve been helping our customers remove the traces of compounds from their hair for 20 years. Our flagship product line and proven detox method can rid your hair of drug compounds reliably.