Hair mineral and heavy metal testing

Hair mineral analysis measures the concentration of minerals and metals deposited in a hair sample using mass spectrometry. A sample cut close to the scalp reflects roughly the last one to three months of growth, so unlike blood or urine — which show what is circulating now — it gives a record spread across that window. The report covers nutritional minerals such as calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper and selenium, a set of additional trace elements, and heavy metals including lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium and aluminium.

No, and this is the most important thing to understand before ordering it. Hair mineral analysis is a screening measurement, not a stand-alone diagnostic test — many factors have to be read alongside the numbers, so it belongs inside a broader health assessment. It is not accepted in mainstream medicine as a way of diagnosing nutrient deficiency or heavy metal poisoning, and published studies have found identical samples sent to different laboratories returning different values and different recommendations. Treat the report as one piece of information a practitioner considers alongside your history, symptoms and any conventional testing — not as an answer on its own.

Say so when you order, because a hair test is the wrong tool to rely on for that on its own — occupational exposure, an old paint renovation, a contaminated water supply. The same goes for any symptom that is worrying you: bring it to a naturopathy consultation rather than waiting on a hair result. Clinically significant heavy metal exposure is confirmed on blood or urine testing, which is what treatment decisions are made from, and the naturopaths here can arrange that pathology — and will refer you on to a GP or specialist where a result calls for it. Pathology ordered by a naturopath goes through a private laboratory and is paid directly to it, without a Medicare rebate, separately from anything you pay here. Do not use a hair result to rule out a poisoning, and do not delay assessment while a report is on its way.

Wash your hair with a plain shampoo first, rinse it well and let it dry, with no gel, oil or cream left in it. Then take small snips from several places across the back of the scalp, starting at the nape of the neck, cutting as close to the scalp as you can with clean stainless steel scissors — thinning scissors work well on short hair. Keep the 4cm closest to the scalp and discard the rest, and if your hair is shorter than 4cm keep all of it. Aim for about a tablespoon — the laboratory can work with as little as a teaspoon, enough to cover a 20-cent coin, but there is nothing to gain from sending the minimum and a short sample has to be collected again. Place it in a clean paper envelope or sachet, clearly labelled with your name, age, sex and sample type — no staples, clips, sticky tape or foil — and seal that inside a second mailing envelope.

Yes, considerably, which is why untreated hair is required. Permanent colour, bleach, perms and straightening treatments alter the mineral content of the strand itself, and mineral-based or anti-dandruff shampoos — selenium sulfide and zinc pyrithione formulations especially — deposit the very elements being measured. The laboratory asks for hair freshly washed with a plain shampoo, rinsed well and free of gels, oils and creams. If your hair is coloured or chemically treated, the laboratory asks you to wait six to eight weeks and sample the fresh growth.

Underarm or pubic hair can be used, but the laboratory treats it as a last resort rather than an alternative: body hair grows at a different rate, so the time window it represents is less certain, and its nutrient readings are less reliable than scalp hair. Scalp hair gives the clearest picture, and a thin sample taken from four or five places across the back of the head still beats body hair. If you do have to use it, note that on the envelope so the laboratory reads the result accordingly — and send one type only, because scalp and body hair cannot be analysed together.

Your report is emailed 3 to 4 weeks from the day we receive your sample, so allow a few days for the post on top of that. Analysis starts once your sample, your completed health questionnaire and your payment are all in — those are steps one to four, in that order, and there is no kit to wait for before you begin, so the clock starts as soon as you decide to.

Complete the health questionnaire

No. Nothing is posted out to you and there is no kit to wait for — you cut the sample at home, post it in, fill in the health questionnaire and pay, all without coming to the clinic. Clinic staff cannot cut the sample for you as part of a normal visit. If you would like help collecting it, or want the report interpreted, book a consultation — Carmen Farrugia is the naturopath at Brunswick Health who works with mineral analysis, in person or by telehealth. Consultation fees apply and are separate from the cost of the test.

It is a short online health history — your medications and supplements, what your hair has had done to it, where on the body the sample came from, and what prompted you to test. It takes about ten minutes and it is required, because the laboratory reads your result against your history rather than against an average. It is step three of the four: prepare your sample, send it in, complete the questionnaire, then pay. The form takes you to payment when you submit it, and the one thing to get right is the name — use the same one on the questionnaire and at the checkout, because that is how your form, your sample and your payment are matched to each other. If the card belongs to someone else, put your own name in at both ends.

Complete the health questionnaire

There is no medical schedule for this, because it is not a monitoring test in the way a blood test is. If you are retesting to see whether something has changed, leave at least three months between samples — anything shorter and you are largely re-measuring the same period of growth, since the sample only represents the last one to three months anyway.

Medicare does not cover hair mineral testing. Private health fund coverage varies and most funds do not pay a benefit for the test itself, although a naturopathy consultation to discuss the results may be claimable if naturopathy is on your extras cover. Check with your fund before ordering.

Yes — dogs and horses have their own version of this test, with their own collection instructions, their own health questionnaire and a slightly different element profile. The report goes to your vet, who is the person qualified to say what it means for your animal; Brunswick Health cannot give veterinary advice or interpret an animal's results.

Hair mineral testing for dogs and horses

Yes, before laboratory analysis begins — a 20% cancellation fee applies at that stage. Once the laboratory has started the analysis the test cannot be refunded, because the work and the laboratory's cost have already been incurred. If you are unsure whether the test is right for you, ask before you order rather than after.