What is the time period a standard test covers, and what variations can I request?
The most common test requested is for a 3 months/90 day history or profile of drug use or abstinence, requiring a 3 cm (1 ¼ inches) length of hair sample. We can, however, test from less than one centimetre up to any length of hair sample available, though we have to cut long samples into maximum 3 cm length sections, to maintain the test’s sensitivity. Drug use profiles are therefore available from approximately 7 or 8 days history through to over 2 years. TrichoTech has provided clients in medical-legal fields with 2-year profiles on a number of occasions for donors with hair 24 cm in length. Testing a centimetre at a time is more expensive but will provide a month-by-month history, especially useful when assessing progress of treatment or when a more precise view of when drug use occurred is required.
The most common test requested is for a 3 months/90 day history or profile of drug use or abstinence, requiring a 3 cm (1 ¼ inches) length of hair sample. We can, however, test from less than one centimetre up to any length of hair sample available, though we have to cut long samples into maximum 3 cm length sections, to maintain the test’s sensitivity. Drug use profiles are therefore available from approximately 7 or 8 days history through to over 2 years. TrichoTech has provided clients in medical-legal fields with 2-year profiles on a number of occasions for donors with hair 24 cm in length.
