Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis
Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis, or HTMA, is a deep look at the minerals and heavy metals that have been quietly stored in your body over the last few months. Because hair grows slowly and reflects what’s been happening at the cellular level, HTMA gives us a more long-range view than a snapshot blood test ever could. It’s a window into how your body has actually been using nutrients, and where it may be holding onto things it shouldn’t.
What you should know about HTMA
What it measures
Essential minerals (magnesium, calcium, potassium, zinc, iron, selenium, and more), the ratios between them (which often matter more than the numbers alone), and heavy metals such as mercury, lead, aluminum, arsenic, and cadmium.
Symptoms it helps explain
Fatigue that won’t quit, brain fog, anxiety, hair loss, slow wound healing, low mood, frequent infections, sluggish thyroid, sugar cravings, muscle cramps, trouble sleeping, blood sugar swings, and that quiet sense of running on empty no matter how much you rest.
What we’ll do with results
We’ll go through your full pattern together — what’s high, what’s low, and what your mineral ratios tell us about your metabolism and stress response. From there, we build a targeted nutrient and lifestyle plan to replenish what’s depleted and gently support clearance of anything your body’s been holding onto.
Why hair, not blood?
Blood is wonderful for capturing the present moment, meaning what’s circulating right now. But your body works hard to keep blood levels of certain minerals stable, often at the cost of pulling them from your tissues. By the time something shows up as low in blood, the deficiency in your tissues can be significant. Hair tells a different story. Because each strand grows over weeks to months, an HTMA reflects what’s been deposited at the cellular level over that time, this includes heavy metals that don’t readily appear in blood at all.
HTMA is a different lens, and a powerful complement to other testing.
Common Questions about HTMA
A small clipping of hair from the back of your head, about a tablespoon’s worth, is all that’s needed. The kit comes with full instructions, and the whole process takes less than five minutes. (Hair color, dye, and styling products are usually fine, but we’ll go through a short pre-test checklist together to make sure your results are as clean as possible.) We will also discuss the testing that should be completed in combination with hair analysis, since this is one tool that can be used to get the overall picture of your body.
We can use other body hair (like beard or chest hair) in those cases, or pubic hair as a last option. We’ll work out the right approach together.
HTMA isn’t meant to replace blood work, urine, saliva or gut testing; it complements it. Hair shows us a trend and is used as one tool in the toolbox. All the tests used together give a far richer picture of your mineral status, your stress response, and any heavy metal burden.
We love making people feel BETTER!
With highly trained practitioners, including a Nurse Practitioner with over 20 years of experience in clinical medicine. We consider the whole person and focus on uncovering the cause of your symptoms.