This is an exciting NEW addition to my practice and I wanted to tell you a little more about it!
A few years back I had only heard of HTMA. I barely knew what the letters stood for, let alone what it’s purpose was! Now, not only do I know what H-T-M-A stands for, I know it’s purpose…AND, I have it as one of my services! Crazy how life works out! So today I wanted to share with you a little bit about it and how it could help you on your own health journey. Here we go!
What is HTMA?
First things first…HTMA stands for “Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis”. HTMA is a lab test that measures the content of minerals, as well as toxic heavy metals, in the hair. Hair contains all the minerals present in your body – pretty cool, huh?!? Most often, this test can give us a really good idea as to how much of those elements are in your tissues; which gives us sort of a window into your body’s environment. It can also help better understand nutritional needs, metabolic events, and more!
A blood or urine test can detect minerals as well, however, they are just a snapshot of information. Since our blood has to stay in a constant homeostatic state, it will only give us a view of the mineral content at the time of the test. A good example of this is if you were to eat a banana prior to your test, the blood test may show that your potassium levels are high, when in reality they may be quite low, and supplementation could be beneficial. Blood tests will show what is flowing around at the time of the test, HTMA will show an overall level of a mineral – what your storage levels were over a longer period of time. The urine test will show minerals….but, only what is being excreted. Not what has been absorbed and hanging around in your body.
How does it work?
Collecting a Sample
It is super important to properly collect the hair sample. Super duper important! Here are the steps:
- Wash hair, preferably with a clarifying shampoo. I will often give my clients samples of Beautycounter Shampoo and Conditioner to use for testing, but most shampoos are just fine. You will have to note which brand you use on the test information. If you use an anti-dandruff shampoo, you must be off of it for AT LEAST 2 WEEKS prior to taking sample.
- After washing and conditioning, you will rinse your hair with distilled or purified water.
- Allow hair to air dry, staying indoors as much as possible during this time before you collect the sample. It is also important to not get sweaty…so no workouts while you wait for your hair to dry!
- Once dry, you are ready to collect the sample! The hair sample needs to come from the back of the head, as close to the scalp as possible. You may want to ask for some assistance for this part. (Or, if you are local to me, I got you!)
- Part your hair and cut (close to the scalp) from several different sections from the back of your head.
- Leaving 1/2 to 1 inch from the root, cut away the excess hair. (The ends of the hair)
- You will need a full teaspoon of hair, or 125 mg (.125 g). When I mail you the kit, I will often send a paper scale that will help you determine if you have enough.
- Place hair into provided envelope, fill out provided form, put hair envelope and form in large envelope and drop it in the mail!
- Practice patience as you await your results! Typically 2-3 weeks.
The Lab
I use the licensed and certified lab Trace Elements, located in Texas. They specialize in hair analysis testing exclusively, and are dedicated to the accuracy of the results. They test over 50,000 samples a year! They use highly sophisticated, state-of-the-art software and equipment while also adhering to CLIA guidelines to ensure precision, reliability and good lab practices.
When your hair sample arrives at the lab, they carefully inspect it and prepare it for the analysis procedure. This includes assigning a special laboratory control number, finely cutting hair, weighing, and placing in a centrifuge tube to go through a “digestion” process. After this process, the analysis process begins. Again, using the highly sophisticated equipment, your results begin to take shape!
Results
Once the lab completes the analysis, they will notify me via email. Then, you and I will set up a time to meet and go over the results. At this session, I will go over the HTMA results as well as other findings from paperwork I have you complete prior. You will get a copy of the results along with personalized recommendations to help you move forward on your health journey. Exciting, right?!?
Are you ready?!?
I am so excited to add this valuable tool to my practice! This is such a big piece to the puzzle when it comes to getting a plan together for my clients. There are so many ways that your body can “talk”, and this one speaks loudly! Are you ready to listen in to your body and take things to the next level?!? Well, I am here for you!
If you are interested in meeting for a quick video chat to determine if we could work together, head on over to the Contact page and drop me a message.
Stephanie