The Mane Attraction

Unless there is a food or food group that conspicuously features in your daily diet, I always recommend hair analysis testing. This will determine the substances that cause adverse reactions for you.

While The Elimination Diet and Food Challenge¹ is highly reliable (and free), the clients I work with usually don’t have the time or the inclination to perform this somewhat daunting self-analysis. Also, hair testing is affordable, simple, and non-invasive. I like to think of hair analysis testing as the ‘cheats way’ to perform The Elimination Diet and Food Challenge.

Note: I would never recommend someone completely take a particular food/s out of their diet for a few months duration without some form of evidence.

Food and Environmental Testing can even be done with dyed hair². Previously, if you had dyed hair and wanted to have a hair test performed, we would have had to resort to drastic measures. We’d have to ‘whip off’ some of your pubic hair (assuming your beautician hadn’t gotten there first!) Thankfully for everyone concerned, this is no longer the case. Unless of course you have no hair on your head, or you like to keep a very short hair style. In which case, might I suggest you consider growing a wee mullet (2.5cm in length) for the purposes of this procedure?

I find that providing a ‘head-hair’ sample is more accurate than providing pubic or underarm hair. I have clients who experience severe itchiness, irritation/inflammation, or dryness in the region of the head that I take the sample from (indicating that it is a high metabolic area). My clients don’t tend to complain of these chronic issues in their groins or underarms — or tell me about it at least!

Interestingly: The hair on your head grows for approximately 7 years before falling out — which is why some people are able to grow their hair down to their bums. Fortunately, the pubic hair only grows for 7 months…😜

Find out exactly what your food  intolerances and sensitivities are³
The Food and Environmental Sensitivity Assessment will also establish any environmental compounds that will be affecting your health⁴. You’ll also discover any past or present infections such as Candida albicans, ‘Staph’, or ‘Strep’.

You will be tested for over 200 different substances
Make no mistake, you won’t be disappointed if you get a hair analysis test done. It’s not a matter of will you or won’t you have any allergens — because you most definitely will! It’s more a matter of discovering how many you have, and to what degree they affect you. (You may have severe intolerances, mild intolerances, sensitivities, or a mixture of them all.) Everyone has a range of foods that don’t suit them. Most people come back with an average of 12 allergens on their results list!

Note: Obviously then, it’s not just the gluten & dairy you should be focused on (or worried about). Please see my previous article on this: Food. Inglorious Food!

You’ll need to spend one hour with me!
(The charge for this ‘results’ appointment is $185.)

My job will be to teach you how intolerances ‘work’ (there is a grading system). I’ll teach you how you did this to yourself, and how you can undo it through better dietary choices. I’ll also teach you how to prevent yourself from developing food intolerances in the future!⁵

Note: This time doesn’t allow me to discuss your specific health objectives or concerns. To discuss these with me, you would need to book in for an initial appointment at the beginning of this process ($235). I generally recommend this approach as it’s more comprehensive.

Who would want to get a hair test done?

Anyone who can’t quite figure out what’s going on with their health, or is having difficulty determining the cause of their health concern.

Note: Finding out your intolerances and sensitivities is particularly helpful for gastrointestinal disorders, skin disorders, respiratory disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, and allergic/inflammatory type reactions.

Anyone who suspects they may have a health issue with a certain food or environmental compound but wants to know for sure before they modify their diet and lifestyle.

Anyone who has reduced or removed the usual suspects from their diet (gluten, dairy, and sugar) but still doesn’t feel quite right.

Who can get a hair test?

Anyone with at least 2.5 cms of hair in the occiput region of the head (the part where the base of the head meets the neck). The sample is taken with scissors from as close to your scalp as possible (it is not pulled from your head, like some people believe!)

Note: You can use pubic hair or underarm hair if you prefer!

How often can you get a hair test done?

You could get a hair test every 3-4 months if you wanted to – to determine how your body is reacting to certain foods. Your body is dynamic and is constantly changing in response to things such as your diet, stress, the environment, and to your circumstances. Therefore, any hair test you’ve had performed in the past has a limited ‘shelf-life’.

The hair test reading gives us an idea of what’s been happening in the body over a  period of approx. 4-16 weeks. (It will depend on your hair growth rate.)

Note:  I would never work with someone’s hair test results from more than 6 months ago (unless I had already been working with them, and instructed them to stay off certain foods for a longer period of time). I would commission a new test.

You have a remote chance of winning!

Your results appointment can be done in person, on the phone, or via ZOOM. Therefore feel free to enter if you currently reside in Australia, The UK, Yemen, or the like!

Note: I can send you the instructions for taking a hair sample, and you can mail this to me.