How Do Detect Possible Substance Abuse Through Hair

I remember when one of my daughters was in junior high. I was cleaning her room and found a note unfolded on her night stand. I just glanced at it, I like to give my kids their privacy. However, when I glanced at it I saw the word “Pot”, so I decided to read more. In the note she asked her friend if she was going to join another friend and try some pot. I was just floored, my worst fears were coming true. My daughter had tried pot. I didn't panic though, I calmly waited for her to get home and then asked her about it. She told me that she had not tried it and wasn't going to. We had a long talk and everything was ok. I was convinced that she had not tried it.

Three years later I was trimming her hair and when I got the bottom I felt these little bumps on her hair. I stopped and leaned forward, whispering in her ear, “So do you want to tell me again that you didn't try pot a few years ago?” Her face turned red with embarrassment. Then I said, “I can't tell you how often you smoked it, but I had warned you that eventually I could tell through your hair.” Her head dropped and she admitted she had tried it once right before I had found the note but that she had not done it again. I sectioned her hair off and told her, “I will be able to tell, I told you that.” I ran my fingers slowly down her hair shaft checking for more bumps and found none. Then I told her that she lucked out. Had it not been for me feeling it on her hair shaft I would have never known. That is why I decided to write this article.

I have been a trained stylist since 1987 and I have touched millions of heads of hair. I have told my clients that everything you eat, drink and do all comes out your hair. It is like your bodies natural waste product. Everything your body does not use to run itself that can not be disposed of through your urine comes out your hair and nails. I am sure you know that they can take a hair strand and test it to see if you have used drugs, but you yourself can learn to detect some of the visual signs of substance abuse.

1. The easiest one is a change if the luster of the hair. The hair becomes dingy looking and lifeless. This happens because the substance itself inhibits or uses up the vitamins and protein you have in your body. If your body doesn't have enough to run itself it is surely not going to send it out to the hair and nails. Your hair and nails are not needed to run your body so they will go first. Then it will move to skin, teeth and eyes, eventually working its way through your system until the last and most important organs needed to stay alive are beginning to be affected.
   
2. You can see visible signs of hair loss, such as, a more than usual amount of hair in the shower drain, on the furniture, in the brush or anywhere your hair seems to collect. Like I said above, when there is nothing left over for the hair it will start to fall out. Some of this is natural hair loss not related to the substance abuse. Each hair shaft replaces itself about every four years and with substance abuse the new hair that was suppose to replace it hasn't grown, the hair becomes even thinner the longer the substance abuse goes on.
   
3. The substances attach to the outside of the hair shaft and effect growth from the inside. These signs are harder to detect unless you knew what it felt like in the first place or some idea. The little balls on the hair shaft feel like be-bees and come from the inside. Taking a lot of protein can cause the same effect, or steroidal, body building products, so don't just assume that is what is causing. You need to communicate what you have found and seek professional help. The coating on the hair shaft can feel like a wax coating but some products do the same thing, so don't assume.
   
   
   If you feel any of these signs you should communicate with the person in question, look for the other signs and seek help.
   
4. There can be a change in hair growth. Like I said above there can be hair loss, but with substance abuse or any body that is in trouble there can be visible signs of the actual structure of the hair shaft. Besides the above mentioned you can look for signs like these that are the effects of the interior damage.
   
   • Naturally curly hair may become brittle and broken, it may loose some of its curl and change to waves.
   • Coarse hair may become finer and loose it bounce.
   • Fine hair may fall apart or break when anything touches it.

All of the above symptoms are caused by the lack of extra vitamins and proteins that make up the hair and run your body. These are all just signs that concerned people can look for. There are also kits now that you can get at your local drug store to check for the use of some of these substances. Substance abuse is a problem that needs to be handled by a professional. If you suspect abuse because you see some of these signs, please seek professional help or call your local health department.