Hair follicle drug testing is one of the more recent forms of drug testing, and it is fast becoming the preferred method for employers and court-ordered probation testing.
Hair testing can identify drugs of abuse such as opiates, marijuana, cocaine, barbiturates, and amphetamines. If a positive hair drug test result is obtained, it can be determined if a person has consumed drugs in the previous 90 days.
In contrast to urine or saliva tests, which look for recent drug use, hair follicle tests look for long-term use. And here is the harsh reality: regular weed use makes passing a hair follicle drug test very difficult.
However, there are strategies you may do to increase your chances of passing. Understanding how the test—and your hair—works is essential to passing a THC hair follicle drug test.
How does THC end up in the hair?
There are two main methods for THC to get into your hair. A hair test detects the presence of THC-COOH. This is a metabolite that is produced when THC is broken down. It is formed when THC in your blood travels through your liver and is stored in your fatty tissue (including body fat deposits and organs such as your lungs, kidneys, and heart).
THC-COOH also ends up in your hair after passing via your sebaceous gland. On the skin and scalp, this gland secretes natural oils (also known as sebum). THC-COOH is then secreted in your body’s natural oils, as well as perspiration, which coats the hair strands.
Second, THC and other cannabis-related chemicals can get up in the hair of non-consumers. Cannabinoids can be transmitted to non-users’ hair simply by contact with the cannabis plant or persons who have smoked cannabis.
Therefore, do not allow someone who has recently rolled a joint to brush their fingers over your hair.
How does hair follicle testing work?
It is a bit of a misnomer to term it a hair follicle drug test. Sure, the test looks for evidence of THC in the subject’s blood by looking for the illegal cannabinoid in the follicle’s cells and fatty tissue, but a hair follicle drug test does not look at the follicle itself.
Instead, it looks for THC in the individual hair strands. A positive-strand result necessitates the presence of the substance in the follicle and, ipso facto, the person’s bloodstream, indicating that the subject ingested cannabis.
As a result, professionals are only interested in your hair, not your hair follicles. Hair closest to the scalp is, of course, the newest growth and would suggest more recent THC usage.
That is why drug testers use the 1.5 inches of hair closest to the follicle and remove around 100 strands of hair.
Human hair grows at a pace of around 0.5 inches each month on average. As a result, 1.5 inches equals a 90-day detection window.
Your hair will test positive if you smoked cannabis regularly within the last few months. And knowing how to pass a hair follicle drug test depends on this. You may design strategies to cheat the test and minimize your chances of failing once you realize that this 1.5 inch of hair is a type of timeline of your cannabis use over the previous three months.
Methods to pass a hair follicle test
The most apparent remedy is to stop smoking cannabis for a while, or until you grow new hair that is free of THC.
Your options are limited if you are a habitual smoker and a hair follicle test is thrown your way at the last minute. There are just a few methods to try but they are known to be rather effective.
Detox shampoos
This is your best choice. However, keep in mind that the most effective shampoos are costly, and the cheap ones may not work. As a result, be cautious about what you purchase.
The Old Style Aloe Toxin Rid Shampoo is one of the best detox shampoos on the market.
Start by washing your hair with the detox shampoo at least 3-10 days before the drug test. Also, if you find out about the test at the last minute, take as many showers as you can before the test.
Step by step directions:
- Begin by using a standard shampoo to wash your hair.
- Rinse well and add a dime-sized amount of Toxin Rid Shampoo to your hair.
- The shampoo should be lathered and left on your scalp for 10–15 minutes.
- Rinse and condition your hair well.
- Repeat the entire process every time you wash your hair before your drug test.
To achieve an effective and positive result, you must use the shampoo at least 15 times before the test. It would be even better if you could combine the Toxin Rid Shampoo with Zydot’s Ultra Clean. It will, without a doubt, be a touch pricey. However, money should not matter if it saves your career and reputation.
The Macujo method
While the Macujo Method may appear unusual at first, it has a long history of success. For over a decade, people have been using it to pass hair follicle tests, and the vast majority of them have been successful.
It has been noted that repeating the procedure makes it more successful. Many individuals advocate using this approach to wash your hair at least 5 times before your exam.
Items needed:
- Shower cap
- Goggles to protect your eyes (highly recommended)
- Disposable gloves (to keep your hands from chemical exposure)
- White vinegar
- Clean & Clear deep cleaning astringent
- Old Style Aloe Toxin Rid Shampoo
- Tide laundry detergent
- Zydot Ultra Clean
Step by step directions:
*If you do not have goggles, try to keep your eyes free from the chemicals!
- Begin by thoroughly washing your hair.
- White vinegar should be applied to your hair and massaged into your scalp. Make sure that it reaches your hair’s roots.
- Apply Clean & Clear astringent to your hair, or any other salicylic acid-based acne-treatment product.
- Massage your hair in the same way you did in the previous step. Put on a shower cap and wait for 30 minutes for everything to settle.
- After 30 minutes, take the shower cap off and use Toxin Rid Shampoo twice on your hair.
- After thoroughly rinsing your hair, use a few drops of laundry detergent to wash it.
- Rinse it out and wash your hair with Zydot Ultra Clean.
- Every day before your scheduled hair follicle testing, repeat the entire process once a day. Make sure to also do this on the day of the exam.
The Jerry G method
This technique was created back in 2008 by a well-known online weed user who goes by Jerry G. If your scalp or hair is very sensitive you should avoid this procedure, just as you should avoid the Macujo method. The Jerry G technique, like the Macujo method, can cause hair damage, making it easier to remove drug residues from your hair and scalp.
Items needed:
- Hair dye (with ammonia)
- Old Style Aloe Toxin Rid Shampoo
- Baking soda
- Zydot’s Ultra Clean
Step by step directions:
- For at least 10 days, refrain from consuming THC.
- On the day you quit smoking cannabis, bleach and dye your hair using ammonia-based hair color. This is done in the hopes of breaking apart the hair cuticle and flushing toxins out of it. If you have bleached your hair before with little to no negative consequences, you should be fine in terms of scalp irritation.
- Use the Toxin Rid Shampoo to completely wash your hair after bleach dying it.
- Bleach and color your hair once more after 10 days. After that, reapply the Toxin Rid shampoo. Make sure you continue to abstain from using weed.
- On the day of the exam, in the shower, apply a baking soda paste to your head. Allow the baking soda paste to sit in your hair for around 15 minutes before thoroughly washing it off with Toxin Rid shampoo. This will result in the neutralization of acids in your hair, which will aid in the detoxification of your hair.
- Lastly, use Zydot’s Ultra Clean to wash your hair once more.
Methods that do NOT work to pass a hair follicle test
While the above methods should work for you, there are not many other known methods that can rid your hair of THC. The following are a couple of methods that sound like they would work in theory yet they have been proven by weed-users to be unsuccessful:
Shaving your head
Shaving the head is one of the most frequent techniques that will almost certainly fail. Not only would this strategy work better for males, but a shaven head is unlikely to obstruct any testing professional.
They can just pluck a hair from another region of your body, most likely the armpit or chest. So plan to shave your entire body if you decide to go this route. Of course, this could appear very suspicious to your employer or probation officer.
Hair bleaching or dying
Although bleaching can assist in the removal of drug metabolites, it will not be sufficient to pass the test. Bleaching and dying alone will not rid your scalp of drug residues, which is why the Jerry G method above includes the usage of other cleansing ingredients.
