My Approach to Health

Hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA) tests for crucial minerals like magnesium, potassium, sodium, calcium, zinc and copper. It also tests for toxic metals like mercury, arsenic, cadmium, and aluminum- all of which can create massive health issues. HTMA’s main focus is on the ratios of the main minerals. The ratios show us trends in metabolism, thyroid health, adrenal health, hormonal balance, blood sugar balance, and cardiovascular health.

A properly read HTMA can help you to determine your gut function, liver health, if you’re using up nutrients due to stress (like infections, mold, etc), and more! If you are not sure where to start your healing journey, HTMA is your answer. It’s the best test to determine overall strength of the body, and can set up your foundation before you move on to work on underlying infections, mold illness, or heavy metal detox.

I believe in helping the body to gain strength FIRST before jumping into heavy detoxing. This way you can reduce the severity of detox reactions, prevent the wasting of minerals, and know exactly what needs the most work at this point in time.

 Hair is formed from clusters of specialized cells that make up the hair follicle. During the growth phase the hair is exposed to the internal environment such as blood, lymph and extra-cellular fluids. 

• Fixing Mineral Imbalances and Deficiencies
• Increase Nutrient Absorption
• Supporting Overall Detox of Heavy Metals and other Toxins
• Overall Health and Wellness
• Supporting Adrenal Health
• Strengthening Your Immune System
• Supporting Women’s Health During Preconception, Pregnancy, or Postpartum

 HTMA Vs Bloodwork: 

• Hair testing is an affordable, simple & non-invasive test that can be done at home for all ages.
• Mineral levels are accurately detected in hair as compared to in the blood.
• Hair results are reliable. They do not change hourly or daily like blood does.
• Blood serum testing can be misleading because excess minerals & heavy metals are not stored in the blood, they are stored in tissues and inside the cells.
• The body deposits excess minerals & dangerous heavy metals in other tissue areas of the body. As hair is formed it is exposed to blood and intracellular fluids & the hair shaft hardens it preserves this information of what is really happening in the body.

Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis is much more accurate and reliable method of testing. Hair testing will show the precise tissue levels of minerals and heavy metals as compared to blood tests. 

The blood is designed to be the body’s system for transporting nutrients. Therefore it will always try to maintain a homeostatic blood environment, while the body absorbs the toxins internally to tissues, thus altering essential mineral balances.

• Digestive support to help with nutrient absorption and assimilation.
• Food and herb recommendations to help with increasing mineral levels.
• Ideas to get better sleep (if you need help with this).
• Adrenal healing ideas based on your HTMA pattern.
• Nervous system support to help with anxiety, headaches, body pains, and more.
• Detox support (depending on if one is ready for detox)

HAIR SAMPLE FAQs 

Hair Hair vs Pubic Hair

Head hair is always going to be the best & most accurate hair to sample due to it being clean, fast-growing & grows evenly. All of the values have been established based on head hair samples.

However, pubic hair is still a viable source with some minor differences.

While the mineral ratios tend to be the same from head to pubic hair, individual levels such as phosphorus, sodium & potassium tend to be higher in the public hair sample.

This difference is usually due to the slower rate of growth with public hair & that it is more protected from the elements.

It is important that you do NOT MIX head hair & pubic hair for your sample.

Using Other Body Hair

If neither head or pubic hair are not an option for you, as a last resort, you may use beard, chest or underarm hair.

While we expect there to be high accuracy with these hair types, the lab has not performed extensive comparison testing so there is no guarantee or data shown for these like there is head & pubic hair.

Regardless of hair taken, hair shaved off by an electric razor is NOT accepted.

The metal particles from the blades may become mixed with the hair & distort the results.

Hair Quantity

The lab needs 125 milligrams of clean, dry & untreated hair from the ROOT.

Hair sample should be .5 - 1.5 inches long.

NO longer than 1.5 inches.

When taking head hair, I always recommend cutting multiple small samples from different locations around the middle - nape., rather than one large one to prevent a bald spot.

Be sure there is enough hair. Once the hair sample has tipped the scale, I recommend cutting one extra sample just to be extra sure.

If the sample does not meet the weight requirements, it will not be accepted.

Hair Quality

The hair sample closest to the scalp must be clean, dry & untreated with no after styling products such as oils, hairsprays or volumizers.

It is okay if the hair past the sample is treated/oiled/sprayed as that part of the hair will be discarded by you.

If you blow-dry your hair, please wait 4 hours before taking the sample.

Do not take a sample if you have been sweating after washing the hair.

If hair is very short or using pubic hair & you need to take multiple samples over time to get the amount needed, store in a clean, dry PAPER envelope until you have enough.

Cost

$220 which includes the test kit, shipping to/from, our one hour review of the results, a 10-14 page report of my analysis including recommendations. Supplements are purchased separately however you will give a discount on supplements recommended by me. 

How long does the process take?

Once you send the sample in, it is about 2-3 weeks turnaround time for me to get the results. Not including holidays which can take longer. Once I have the results back in hand, I will reach out to you to schedule our review. I can typically get you on the schedule within 7-12 days from then. Review appointments can be done in the office or virtually over Zoom.