Frequently Asked Questions

1. What drugs will be screened by HairConfirm™ ?

HairConfirm™ will screen five different drugs such as Cocaine (cocaine & benzoylecgonine), Marijuana, Opiates (Codeine, Morphine & 6-monacteyl morphine), Amphetamine (Meth/amphetamine & Ecstasy) and Phencyclidine (PCP, angel dust).

2. What is the duration of hair testing?

The sample will be tested for the trace of drugs in 90 days by HairConfirm™. Note: The hair sample which is more than 1.5 inches length has to be sent to us for the testing purpose. It should be cut close to the head skin.

3. What procedures does the test include?

The procedure includes:

*Collecting the hair test samples as per our instructions.

* Posting your hair sample inserted in the envelope provided to you. The envelope will be pre-addressed to our affiliate laboratory - Omega Laboratories, Inc,

*After the envelope is mailed, you have to register at our website providing the details such as HairConfirm™ Specimen ID number, Passcode and email address.

* The laboratory hair testing process will take place for a period of 90 days.

* On completion of the testing process, the results will be available in the “results section” of our website.

4. Is your Laboratory is accredited?

Omega Laboratories, Inc* is accredited by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA). All the tests are supervised, reviewed and approved by Ph.D. staff scientists. Omega Laboratories has performed over 1.5 million successful and accurate hair tests.

5. How long will it take to recover the removed hair?

Studies indicate that hair grows on an average of 0.5 inches every month. This growth rate may vary under rare conditions of normal cyclic processes. The rate of growth will be plus or minus two inches in case of the former conditions. The hair growth rate is different for body hair and head hair. Body hair growth rate will be slightly lesser than that of the head hair.

6. When will the effects of drug appear in hair after drug consumption?

Normally it will take 4 to 5 days for the hair to show the effects of drug .The body hairs are not used for the testing purpose as the contamination rate is lesser in their case.

7. From which part of the head the hairs should be collected?

If you are a person with short hair, collect the samples from different parts of your head. If the hair sample is too short then you can use your body hairs for the testing purpose. In case of the body hair the test process will be one year due to the difference in the growth rate when compared to the head hair. Note: Please don’t mix your body and head hairs in the sample collected.

8. What is the minimum duration to obtain the accurate results?

It will take a minimum of one month to get accurate HairConfirm™ results on your hair samples.

9. Will other passive exposures to Marijuana or crack smoke will have an impact on the test results?

No. To exclude the effect of external exposure, HairConfirm™ testing tests for both parent & metabolite (bi-product) of drug usage (where appropriate). For Marijuana analysis, our laboratory detects only the metabolite (THC-COOH). This metabolite is only produced by the body and cannot be an environmental contaminant.

10. Will the cross –reacting substances such as over-the –counter medications affect your hair?

There are possibilities of false results while cross reacting substances such as over-the-counter medications have an impact on your hair. This will have an impact only on the initial tests using Enzyme-immunoassay antibodies (EIA) similar to those used to test urine. With the advanced Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) of HairConfirm™ these false results will be eliminated in our laboratories.

11. What impact does hair colors have on the HairConfirm™ Results?

As the hair color has no base it will not have any impact on haoir testing. The hair color can be distinguished with the help of the chemical (melanin) present in it.

12. Can we use the hair collected from the hairbrush for the HairConfirm™ ?>

No, the hair samples collected from the hair brush or from other sources will not help in getting the accurate results. The reason is that there are high possibilities for the hair to get contaminated. The laboratory will not consider any kind of samples unless it meets the exact requirements.

13. How does HairConfirm™ compare itself to the common urinalysis or saliva tests on the market?

The primary differences are:

1) Wider window of detection

2) Inability to tamper with the test

Cocaine, Methamphetamine, Opiates and Phencyclidine will become undetectable by urine tests after 72 hours of exposure. It is 48 hours in case of saliva tests. Hair test has a prolonged detection period of 90 days or more.

14. What is the reliability of test results obtained from the HairConfirm™ ?

Researches on urinalysis and hair test expose the fact that Hair testing method has a much higher detection ratio than that of the Urinanalysis. The ratio is as high as 4 to 5 times greater than that of the Urinanalysis test methods.

15. How much time will it take to obtain the results?

We have efficient turnaround time policies for ourselves to make it fast to release the results. We care about our customers to keep them satisfied about the time taken for the release of the test results. We can guarantee you to get your results within two business days after the sample has been received by the laboratory. Usually it will take one business day to receive the samples through the courier services.

16. How hard is it to read and understand the test results?

The results page will have all information about the HairConfirm™ test. Each drug will be listed separately so that it will be easy for our customers to track down them. The results will indicate a positive or negative result for each drug class. In addition, when a donor tests positive, the result will provide an assessment of hair dose response to identify whether the donor is a low (occasional), medium (weekend, daily) or high (constant) user**.