Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA)

What is a hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA)?

Everything is done online. We can work together no matter where you live: you mail in your hair sample, your lab report arrives by email, and consultations are done by Zoom.

What does an HTMA test measure?

An HTMA test measures the levels of minerals and metals in a small sample of your scalp hair. The lab reports each level in milligrams percent (mg%), which means milligrams per one hundred grams of hair.

The sample lab report on this page groups the results like this:

• Nutritional elements: calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, copper, zinc, phosphorus, iron, manganese, chromium, selenium, boron, cobalt, molybdenum and sulfur.
• Toxic elements: antimony, uranium, arsenic, beryllium, mercury, cadmium, lead and aluminum.
• Additional elements: germanium, barium, bismuth, rubidium, lithium, nickel, platinum, thallium, vanadium, strontium, tin, titanium, tungsten and zirconium.
• Ratios: calculated comparisons of one mineral to another, such as calcium to phosphorus (Ca/P) and sodium to potassium (Na/K).

The lab uses these mineral levels and ratios for the nutritional guidance in your report, and in a consultation I use them for my own observations and recommendations. The test is a nutrition tool. It does not diagnose any disease.

Which lab processes the sample?

Most hair samples are analyzed by Trace Elements, Inc. of Addison, Texas, U.S.A., which its report describes as an H.H.S. Licensed Clinical Laboratory. The sample HTMA report on this page was produced by Trace Elements.

Trace Elements does not accept hair samples from some countries. If you live in one of those countries, your sample goes to CanAlt Health Laboratories in Canada instead.

The address of your lab is sent to you by email after you order, together with your instructions.

How do I cut and mail a hair sample?

You cut a small amount of scalp hair from the back of your head, and mail it to the lab with your lab submittal form. No kit is mailed to you. Within 24 hours of your purchase, you receive an email with:

• Instructions on how to collect a proper hair sample and where to send it;
• Your lab submittal form;
• A health intake questionnaire;
• An informed consent form.

When you collect the sample:

• Take scalp hair from the rear of the head between the ears. Snip small amounts from several places so your hairstyle is not disturbed.
• Wash your hair first. Write the name of your shampoo on the lab submittal form, because some shampoos contain selenium, zinc, iron or lead.
• Use hair that is not permed, dyed or bleached, and free of gels, oils and hair creams. Natural dye or henna is fine.
• Cut pieces no longer than 1.5 inches. Shorter is fine.
• Send at least 150 milligrams (0.15 grams), about one full tablespoon. Sending more is safer, because the lab cannot test a sample that is too small.
• If a scalp sample is not possible, hair from other parts of the body or nails can be used, though results will be less accurate.

You mail the sample to the lab yourself, and you pay the postage. If your sample goes to CanAlt, follow the collection instructions in your email, because each lab's requirements can differ slightly.

How long do results take?

Once the lab receives your hair sample and submittal form, it usually takes about seven business days for the lab to email its report. If you mail your sample from outside the United States or Canada, it will take longer to arrive.

As soon as the lab's report arrives, my assistant forwards it to you by email, so you get the full lab report with the lab's nutritional guidance right away.

With the Value, Premium and Premium Plus packages, I also go over your HTMA results with you in a 1-hour consultation by Zoom and share my personal observations and recommendations.

What does the report include?

You receive the full lab report by email, in PDF format, as soon as the lab sends it. The sample pages at the bottom of this page show what each part looks like:

• Lab charts (page 1): your nutritional, toxic and additional element levels against the lab's reference ranges.
• Lab charts (page 2): your mineral ratios, with the lab's notes on how levels and ratios are reported.
• Diet guidance: the foods recommended for your results.
• Supplement guidance: the supplements recommended for your results.
• Mineral levels: a summary of your mineral levels.

My personal observations and recommendations are not part of the emailed report. They come in the 1-hour Zoom consultation included with the Value, Premium and Premium Plus packages.

Supplements are not included in the price. You can buy the recommended supplements directly from T.E.I. Labs, from your local health food store or online.

What can't HTMA tell you?

HTMA can't diagnose a disease, and on its own it can't tell you whether you have a medical condition. It is a screening tool for nutrition planning, and its results should be read alongside your symptoms, your history and any tests your doctor orders.

It is also fair to know that scientists disagree about how reliable hair mineral testing is:

• In a 2001 study published in JAMA, researchers sent split samples of the same person's hair to 6 U.S. commercial labs. The labs reported very different levels for many minerals, used different reference ranges, and gave conflicting diet and supplement advice. The authors concluded that the results were unreliable for judging an individual's nutritional status (Seidel et al., JAMA 2001, PubMed 11150111).
• A 1985 study in JAMA that sent identical hair samples to 13 labs found similar disagreement between labs (Barrett, JAMA 1985, PubMed 4021042).
• A 2011 scientific review explains that hair mineral levels can be changed by factors such as age, sex and hair pigment (melanin), which makes them harder to interpret (Kempson and Lombi, Chemical Society Reviews 2011, PubMed 21468435).
• A 2012 study found that the washing methods labs use to clean hair before testing are not standardized and can lower the mineral levels measured inside the hair (Kempson and Skinner, Biological Trace Element Research 2012, PubMed 22639387).

So treat your HTMA as one piece of information, not a final answer. The lab report itself says its reference ranges should be considered guidelines, not absolute limits for determining deficiency or toxicity, and a retest after 4 to 6 months shows how your levels change over time. Please don't stop or change any medication or treatment because of an HTMA result. Talk to your doctor first.

How much does it cost?

The Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis costs $159 USD and includes the hair mineral test, lab charts and an HTMA-based nutrition program (foods and supplements from your lab report). Three larger packages add a consultation and other services (see the package cards at the top of this page):

• Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis: $159 USD.
• Value Package: $359 USD. Adds the analysis of your HTMA and intake questionnaire during a 1-hour consultation, and 10% off all future HTMA retests.
• Premium Package: $899 USD. Adds a 1-hour nutrition and detox consultation, 15% off all future HTMA retests, the Gut Detoxification Program and a 3-month membership in the Telegram Detox Support Group.
• Premium Plus: $1,697 USD. Adds a 1-hour nutrition and detox consultation, 15% off all future HTMA retests, all detox programs (Gut Detox, Oxidation Therapy, Vaccine Detox) and a 6-month membership in the Telegram Detox Support Group.

All prices are in US dollars and include tax. Supplements and herbs are not included.

Can I order HTMA from outside the United States?

Yes. We can work together no matter where you live, because you mail in your hair sample and everything else is done online. Samples mailed from outside the United States or Canada take longer to reach the lab, so allow extra time for your results.

Trace Elements does not accept hair samples from some countries. For clients in those countries, samples go to CanAlt Health Laboratories in Canada instead, and your instructions email tells you where to send yours.

How often should I retest?

I recommend a hair analysis retest after 4 to 6 months. Your body's mineral pattern can change as you follow your program, so I generally don't recommend following the same program for more than six months at a time without retesting and adjusting it.

The Value Package includes 10% off all future HTMA retests, and the Premium and Premium Plus packages include 15% off.

Who goes over my results with me?

With the Value, Premium and Premium Plus packages, I do. I'm Nabil Moghaddam, a Clinical Nutrition Therapist and Detoxification Specialist, and a graduate of Homeopathy from the Canadian College of Homeopathic Medicine, Toronto. In a 1-hour consultation by Zoom, I go over your HTMA results with you and share my personal observations and recommendations.

With the Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis on its own ($159 USD), you receive the full lab report with the lab's nutritional guidance, without a consultation. Have a question before you order? Send me a message.