Hair Analysis

Hair analysis may refer to the chemical analysis of a hair sample, but can also refer to microscopic analysis or comparison. Chemical hair analysis may be considered for retrospective purposes when blood and urine are no longer expected to contain a particular contaminant, typically a year or less. Its most widely accepted use is in the fields of forensic toxicology and, increasingly, environmental toxicology. Several alternative medicine fields also use various hair analyses for environmental toxicology but these uses are controversial, evolving and not standardized.

Hair analysis can refer to the forensic technique of assessing a number of different characteristics of hairs, usually consisting of hairs from "known" sources and those recovered during forensic examinations or "questioned" hairs in order to determine whether they have a common source; for example, comparing hair found at the scene of the crime with hair samples taken from a suspect. Typically, examinations of this type are conducted using stereo-microscope(s) for initial preparation, and a comparison microscope for detailed analysis (comparison).