7 Reasons Why A Hair Follicle Drug Test Is More Accurate
Employee drug use is higher than it’s been at any point in the last 14 years. While most employers use urine testing, this method is both invasive and inaccurate. Instead, you should consider a hair follicle drug test for your employees.
Why are hair follicle drug tests more accurate than urinalysis? Here are seven reasons that make this testing method more accurate.
1. More Than a Temporary Snapshot
Urine tests only detect drug use within the past few days. Blood tests can only detect within a week. But hair follicle tests can detect drug use within the past 90 days.
And because hair grows about 1/2 an inch per month, you only need hair that’s about 1.5 inches long.
In theory, you could look even farther back than the last 90 days depending on the person’s hair length. But because of chemicals and weathering, these long-term results aren’t as accurate.
2. Frequency of Use Doesn’t Matter
These tests aren’t dependent on the amount of drug use. They work even if the individual is an infrequent user. Whether they used one time or once per day, the test will be able to detect drug use.
3. Quickly Testing “Clean” is Impossible
This test is great for pre-employment screening because it’s impossible to get clean results quickly. With other types of drug tests, employees can abstain a week before applying for a job and the test results will come up clean. With this type of test, employees have to abstain for at least 90 days prior.
4. No False Positives from Second-Hand Smoke
Despite the rumors, second-hand smoke will not cause a false positive on this test. There is not enough THC in marijuana secondhand smoke to cause a false positive on this test. So participants don’t need to worry about failing due to passive exposure.
5. Checking for a False Positive is Easy
If an employee claims that the test was a false positive, retesting is easy. All you need to do is take another strand of hair close in time to the original. The tests should be very similar if it is the same individual’s sample.
6. Cheating is Almost Impossible
Cheating on a urine drug test is not easy, but it is possible. Drinking a lot of water may dilute the sample enough to make recent drug use undetectable. Or individuals can bypass this by sneaking in another person’s urine.
These methods are not possible with a hair follicle drug test. Because the sampling method is noninvasive, you can watch the sample collection process. And despite rumors, there are no special hair products that can wash out the evidence of drug use.
7. Even Shaving Your Head Won’t Work
If your employee gets wind of possible drug testing, they might try to shave off their hair to avoid detection. But this technique won’t work. Instead, body hair can be used.
In fact, shaving one’s head might backfire. Because we don’t regularly cut our body hair, it might reveal drug use even farther back than 90 days. Evidence suggests it can show drug use up to one year in the past.
Order a Hair Follicle Drug Test Today!
Order a hair drug test today from ReliaLabTest! Our hair follicle drug test will provide results in 1-3 business days.
Don’t go with outdated urinalysis testing. Instead, choose a reliable, accurate hair follicle drug test for your next pre-employment screening.
