jerkyterk

hello all,

I have a theory why some people may or may not be passing the hair drug tests even after trying some "hair cleansing solutions" being posted on this forum.

everybody go to this link:

***.psychemedics.com/images/home.gif
if you all look at the image posted here, only the cortex has the toxins trapped in there.

as you can see in the illustration, the cuticle doesnt have any toxins on it or in it (and even if there were, these would definitely be washed away by the intense cleansing the labs do to pre-treat the hair anyways). The outside of the cuticle is probably the only area that is cleaned of impurities when using those "hair cleansing solutions".

to claim that a shampoo can penetrate into the cortex and clean out all the toxins, is quite a stretch in my opinion. i dont think its possible. it may reduce it a little bit, but not much. if you know anything about physiology and biochemistry, you would know that the toxin located in the cortex would have to either be smaller or broken down to small enough chunks by another chemical to be able to get through the gaps between the protein molecules which make up the hair. any chemical that has a name like "cyclo-tetrahydro carbonyl salicylic acidic-whatever the f*ck" is a HUGE molecule and theres no way its gonna make through the layers upon layers of hair proteins to make it to the cortex, let alone break up the chemical make-up of another huge molecule like "cocaine" (chemical name: 2beta-carbomethyoxy-3beta-benzoxytropane) or "meth" (chemical name: (S)-N,a-Dimethylbenzene-ethanamine)

next point: if you read about instructions or procedures for collecting the hair samples it always says "cut the hair as close to the scalp as possible"

why?

well, the cortex only extends so far out from the scalp before it turns into the cuticle of the hair.

so my theory is this:

if the sample of hair it taken a little bit further from the scalp (ie. not shaved off or cut right near the scalp) the hair sample will contain little or NO cortex and therefore very little or NO TOXINS, even if you do or dont do those extreme hair cleansing techniques or buy a hair cleansing product.

so these are the things you may be able to do to pass your test:

1) definitely clean your hair with whatever hair treatment or technique you feel comfortable with, as many times you can. the more the marrier, right? even a little bit might help.

2) if you have thick hair (ie. larger hair cortex which extends further out from your scalp) try to get the sample collector person to collect a sample of hair from the thinnest growth (smallest cortex) of hair possible on your body (ie, balding areas, chest hair, whichever is thinnest) and maybe try to get them not to cut as close to the scalp or skin as possible.

i try being very casual and saying "hey, can i cut my own hair" or "hey, can you be careful cutting the hair so close to my scalp, the last time i had a drug screen the lab accidentally cut my skin and it looked horribly obvious i had a bald patch"

whether or not it works, its worth a try

anyways, my theory as to why some people pass (with heavy chronic use of every drug on the planet) and some people dont (even after multiple washes and very little use) is basically dependent on who is collecting the sample, how close they follow procedures and what the biological make-up of your hair is (thick, thin, dark, light, fast or slow growing hair).

i just had my hair collected a few days ago and am waiting to hear back from my employer as to whether or not i passed.

even though my hair is dark and i've smoked about once every two weeks for the last three months, i washed using that vinegar, clean and clear, and tide technique and used a hair detox shampoo the night and morning of the test (just to make sure my hair was as clean as possible). i have very thin hair and i had my hair sample cut about 1/4 inch away from my scalp... i'm willing to bet i will pass the test no problem.

however, if they actually shaved the hair sample right off my head or closer to my scalp, i'd bet double that amount i would fail the test.

so thats all from me

take it with a grain of salt.

and by all means, if anybody thinks i'm full of it or has information to add to this, please do so...

i would be very interested to find out from an expert how far from the scalp the cortex typically extends, cause my theory is if you dont collect any hair cortex in your sample, you dont collect any toxins, therefore you pass.

hope that helps
good luck to all
i'm outta here

Sec

Well, you could go to a hair testing place, ask to have your own hair tested. Since you are paying for the test, you could cut the hair as close to the scalp as you want. You could even pay for 2 tests. One cut very close to the scalp and one cut not so close. If one passes and one fails, you have bolstered your theory. If they both pass or fail, you have blown your theory.

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1tokeovertheline

I don't know if that would prove anything or not sec3. The closer to the scalp the most recent use history. It takes approx. 5-7 days for the hair to grow above the scalp, so it takes 5-7 days for the usage to show.
The subject would have to smoke exactly the same amount at the same intervals of the same amount of THC concentration etc.. Then that would work just for the specific subject because individual ability to naturally remove toxins from the blood stream before it reaches the follicle varies.

jerkyterk

i think the easiest way to prove my theory is this: take a test subject (ie. somebody with chronic drug use of all or some of the major 5 drugs being tested for) and send out three separate hair samples to a lab without any treatment to hair with shampoos or whatever.

sample #1 - hair shaved right off the scalp (includes a good chunk of cortex)

sample #2 - hair actually plucked out of scalp (includes the entire follicle cortex)

sample #3 - hair cut further away from scalp; maybe 1/4 to 1/2 inch away (includes little or no cortex)

i bet you if sample #1 and #2 fail for something, sample #3 passes it. no shampoo, no nothing.

and i also bet it wouldnt even make a difference if you sent them 5 years worth of hair either. well... as long as the lab actually cleans the hair of external contaminants for 3 hours like they claim to do (which i seriously doubt)

anyways, i could be wrong about all this, but i'm willing to bet on the opposite of that

i just wish i was a chronic user of all those drugs right now so i could put my theory to test and put an end to this whole hair testing scam, but unfortunately i'm not... yet!

peace.

1tokeovertheline

If it were possible to do that test. I would take you up on that bet and I think you would lose. You are going basically on the assumption that the collectors don't know what they are doing. I would admit there might be a few. Collectors are trained to do their job and most take their job seriously, if they want to keep it.
Look at the Results and MacCujo threads and see for yourself how many failed their hair test. At the chance of being attacked for my opinion, here it is. There are some people that think a hair test is a joke. It is probably the hardest drug test to beat. When you fail a hair test like alot of people have, you will see it isn't a joke.
In order for a drug test to be used for pre-employment, etc. it has to go through controlled tests and approved under gov't. regulations. Anything has it's faults, but hair tests are the most accurate way to detect drug use. That is why so many companies are starting to use them.
I will get off the soap box now.

jerkyterk

hey there,

i certainly understand the point your making, and yes, i am incorrect in trying to claim that the cortex ends shortly after the scalp, but you have to remember that these labs that are doing the drug testing and the companies that are making the shampoo products are making a HUGE profit on them. why **wouldnt** they make people believe what they want?

yes, hair tests are way more accurate than urine tests, but the labs doing the hair tests can only claim so much... you just have to read their websites and do a little research to find those little inconsistencies in their techniques and procedures and what they can claim to be able to do.

the drug metabolites get trapped in the cortex of the hair and over time i would think a good amount would either break down through prolonged washings over time... at least on the scalp

i'd like to see any lab advertise that they can ACCURATELY provide a chronological account of drug usage after the initial few months of hair supply on a website or in a scientific paper... the only reason they want to collect a 90 days worth sample of hair is because they cant **accurately** screen any further than that even if they wanted to. especially not with cut-off levels. besides the fact that if they really wanted to get the best sample of hair, it would include the whole follicle, including the root and entire cortex. the hair would essentially have to be plucked out.

if somebody quit smoking or doing drugs 6 months ago, i cant believe they wouldnt get caught, even if they did have a sample of hair a foot long...

why?

well these companies are offering a product that is sold to paranoid corporations and executives that think "drugs and pot are the devil" and that drug users working for them will kill their profits... nevermind the years of LSD-trips those same executives and CEOs went through and all the pot they smoked in their own college years!!

the labs could care less if you pass or fail... what do they care? you are anonymous to them. you passing or failing has no impact on them... the only thing that has an impact on them is their corporate clients consistently coming to them to help find "the bad guys"... every employee screen is money for a lab. pass or fail.

if a lab REALLY wanted to find absolute drug users, they wouldnt even do a pre-screen of the hair samples before they did the more accurate "confirmation" hair testing for drug use.

this is off an FAQ i found from: http://www.craigmedical.com/Hair_Drug-Test_FAQ.htm

Q: Does the lab perform GC/MS, GC/MS/MS or LC/MS/MS confirmation of all positive results?
A: The lab provides automatic confirmation for cocaine, opiates, PCP, methamphetamine, and marijuana on all pre-employment or employee tests which screen positive. Therefore, no positives are reported without a confirmation test.

the pre-screen they do is a rough guestimate as to whether or not theres enough drug present for a positive reading. is it accurate? hell no it isnt, but it is cheaper... they probably let thousands of drug users go undetected cause theyre only doing inaccurate pre-screens right off the bat and only doing confirmation tests to be sure and save their a$$es... thats also why they typically dont release the exact ng/ml levels with all tests... why not?

why wouldnt they do the confirmation test first and have a more accurate picture to present to their clients with the second confirmation re-test?

why not be able to tell your client, "well, heres what we found for the employee... they smoked a few weeks ago and did blow about 2 months ago... do you still wanna hire him/her?"

doing a pre-screen costs a few bucks or less and the other GC/MS, GC/MS/MS or LC/MS/MS accurate confirmations costs closer to $80.

if the charged $150 for a test that would be either $148 or $70 in gross profit. its all about the money, baby.

anyways, sorry i'm getting on a bit of a rant here... its actually more of a healthy debate i would say.

this drug testing stuff is definitely an interesting topic worthy of discussion.

thanks to everybody contributing and adding their thoughts to this forum.

keep'em coming.

bye, bye!