Frequently asked questions.

Make sure your hair has been washed, preferably with a mild soap or with shampoo, at least 4 hours (but no longer than 24 hours) before cutting the sample. So, you would wash your hair and wait 4 to 24 hours before sampling it. Avoid using conditioners or rinses for best results. Do not place other products on your hair such as hair cream, hair spray, gel or others until after you have cut the hair sample. Avoid any activity that will cause you to sweat excessively before cutting your hair sample. Hair needs to be dry when sampling, so avoid putting wet hair in hats or other covers, ponytails or any other style that will prevent the hair from drying by the time the sample is taken.

IF YOU HAVE A WATER SOFTENER: It is very important that you wash your hair twice with spring water or regular, unsoftened tap water before cutting your hair sample. This does not have to be twice in the same day but needs to be two times in a row. Do not allow the softened water to get on your hair between, during or after the two washings. Once you have cut the hair sample, you may return to using your regular softened water. We have you do this because softened water contains sodium and sometimes potassium which will alter the analysis readings of those minerals.

Water softeners are devices used to remove “hard” minerals (usually calcium and magnesium) from the tap water. They can be hooked up to the whole house or building or just select rooms or even individual faucets, like in a bathroom. (There are filters that work to simply remove chlorine from the water; these are not water softeners.) Some water softeners work by adding an electrical charge to the water, which has no effect on the hair analysis test. Others work by adding either sodium or potassium to the water, which then raises these levels in the hair and alters the hair analysis test readings.

If you have to periodically add sodium or some other compound to a device on your water supply, then you likely have one of these softeners and need to follow the water-softener instructions for preparing your hair for sampling. You may live in a building where this is handled for you, so you may not know if you have a water-softener. One way you can tell if the water you are using has been softened is that it will have an almost slimy feel on your skin. Additionally, softened water doesn’t leave water stains or mineral deposits on dishes and surfaces. One more clue is that soft water allows soap to foam up very easily. Usually, one knows if they have a water softener, but if you aren’t sure, and you want to play it safe, just follow the water-softener directions in the How to Cut a Hair Sample for Analysis instructions.