How to Cut a Hair Sample for Analysis

If you have any serious medical conditions, please read this before sending us your sample: Conditions We Do Not Work With

If you are in the Los Angeles area and want us to cut your hair sample (for no additional fee), then go here: How To Prepare For Your Office Visit.

If you are cutting your own hair sample, or having a friend or hairdresser cut it, follow the steps below. It is important to follow the instructions closely for an accurate hair mineral analysis.

Step 1: The client form.

If this is your first time doing a hair analysis with us, fill out either the New Client Form – for Adults, 18 years and over, or the New Client Form – for Children and Adolescents under 18 Years.

If you have done a hair analysis with us before and this is a repeat hair analysis, fill out the Repeat Hair Analysis Form.

Step 2: Wash Your Hair.

Before cutting the hair sample, wash your hair with a regular shampoo. Do not use dandruff shampoo, or any other specialty shampoo.

For best results, avoid using conditioners before cutting your hair sample. Do not place other products on your hair such as leave-in conditioners, hair gel, hair cream, hair spray or others until after you have cut the hair sample.

There are other circumstances which may affect your test results as well:

• IF YOU REGULARLY USE DANDRUFF SHAMPOO – Wash your hair at least twice with regular shampoo before sampling. This can be twice in a row in the same shower or bath session, or it can be several days apart, as long as it is consecutive. Dandruff shampoos often contain minerals which may alter the results. For example, Head and Shoulders Shampoo contains zinc which could elevate the zinc reading, and Selsun Blue Shampoo contains selenium which can elevate this reading.

• IF YOU HAVE A WATER SOFTENER – Wash your hair twice in a row with spring water or another un-softened water before sampling. This can be twice in a row in the same shower or bath session, or it can be several days apart, as long as it is consecutive. Do not allow the softened water to get on your hair between, during or after the two washings. Once you have cut the sample, you may return to using your regular softened water. How do I know if I have a water softener?

• IF YOU DYE, HIGHLIGHT, BLEACH OR PERM YOUR HAIR – Either sample the hair before a treatment or after you have washed the hair five or more times after a treatment.

Step 3: After washing your hair, wait at least 4 hours to cut the sample but no longer than 24 hours.

Avoid any activity which will cause you to sweat excessively before cutting your sample, as this may affect the hair analysis results. Hair needs to be dry when sampling, so avoid putting wet hair in hats, pony tails or any other style that will prevent the hair from drying by the time the sample is taken. Also, please avoid sending samples that are oily.

Step 4: Cut a hair sample.

If you are cutting your own sample (or having a friend or hairdresser cut it) follow these instructions and watch our videos below:

Using clean scissors, cut hair as close to the scalp as possible. DO NOT use an electric razor to cut the hair sample, because pieces of metal from the blades become mixed with the hair sample. You may cut the samples from any part of the head but we recommend the back of the head, as it often grows fastest. If head hair is not available, the next best is beard hair, then arm/chest hair, but do not mix sample types (for example, do not mix beard hair and head hair). Pubic hair is not as accurate and should only be used as a last resort.

Keep track of which end of the cut hair is from the scalp because we only want the inch or so of hair that was directly against your scalp! This is because the hair furthest from the scalp is the oldest. Older (longer) hair will show us the chemistry of your body months or even years ago, so it is not accurate for your body’s current chemistry. To get the hair we require, simply cut and discard the unwanted ends of the hair until all you have is the 1.5 inches or so (or about 3 centimeters) or less that was closest to the scalp. Use a ruler to be sure you have the right length of hair! (For very short hair, the samples won’t have to be trimmed since they will be 1.5 inches or shorter.)

You will have enough hair when the 1.5-inch or shorter hair samples fill an ordinary tablespoon (or tips the scale if we have mailed you a sampling kit). If you are unsure if you have enough hair, send a little more to be safe. For repeat hair analyses, it’s best to keep the samples no longer than one inch.

 

TIPS FOR SHORT HAIR You can avoid leaving bald spots by cutting multiple very-small samples from all over the head.

TIPS FOR MEDIUM-LENGTH OR LONG HAIR You can easily hide the sample location by pinning part of your hair up to expose the center of the back of your head and cutting the sample from UNDER the hair, about 2-3 inches above the base of the hair line (see picture below). That way the sample spot will be hidden whether you wear your hair up or down. This also allows you to easily find the same spot when you do a repeat hair mineral analysis after 3-4 months: you simply cut the new growth from the same spot.

TIPS FOR REPEAT HAIR MINERAL ANALYSES Try to use hair from the same part of the body as the original analysis. If the original sample was from the head, try to get it from the same general area of the head for repeat analyses. For medium or long hair, you can continue to sample the same spot using the new growth for each repeat hair analysis so you won’t have to cut more long hair off.

 

Step 5: Place the hair in a clean paper envelope and write your name, age, sex, and source of hair on it (for example “head”, “chest”, etc.).

If we sent you a sampling kit, use the envelope we provided. If not, any paper envelope will work, or you may fold the sample up inside of a clean piece of paper.

DO NOT place hair samples in plastic baggies, tin foil, or stapled/taped to the scale or form.

Step 6: Send us your hair sample and payment.

Whether this is your first hair analysis or a retest, fill out, sign, and mail the Form for Mailed-In Hair Samples along with your hair sample and payment to 815 W. Kenneth Rd., Glendale, CA 91202, USA.

To pay by credit card, fill out the credit card payment section of the Form for Mailed-In Hair Samples. If paying by check or money order, make the payment to Moses Nutrition. You can also call or email us to arrange to pay through PayPal. (See Pricing.)