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Omega Laboratories is a state-of-the-art facility providing hair and oral fluid testing for drugs of abuse to over 6,000 clients worldwide. Omega’s reputation for performing accurate, timely and cost effective testing, coupled with superior client service has positioned Omega as the leader in the alternative specimen testing industry.

Hair testing is a process in which hair specimens are analyzed for the use of illicit drugs.  Omega Laboratories uses detection levels and confirmation methods that follow government recommendations.

While some laboratories may take over a week to report a confirmed positive, Omega consistently achieves the same results in three business days. Omega’s turnaround time is based on laboratory-proven proprietary testing methods, which are part of the intellectual property that is unique to Omega. This intellectual property includes a proprietary specimen wash method, which has been approved by multiple accrediting agencies as an effective means for removing external contamination. Unlike other longer washes, Omega’s proprietary wash method does not inadvertently remove metabolites, which can lead to false negatives. Omega Laboratories is one of only three hair testing laboratories in the world to have obtained FDA 510(k) clearances

When compared to other forms of testing, hair samples can detect a much longer period of drug use.  For example, urinalysis can only detect most drugs within 2-3 days of use. After this period, a donor will be free of the drug, test negative and slip through the screening process.  By comparison, the industry standard is to test 1.5 inches of head hair for approximately 90 days of history.  This is important in pre-employment testing where most candidates are aware that a drug test might be required and can otherwise abstain accordingly.  

Over the past twenty-five years, there has been dramatic growth in the development, validation, and application of hair analysis to detect drugs in human hair. Hundreds of studies and syntheses on hair drug testing have been published since its infancy in the mid-1950's up to present day. These studies have examined how hair drug testing is best utilized, the physiological intricacies of this matrix, and the ability of laboratories to perform forensically sound and legally defensible hair drug tests.

The support of hair testing includes studies from FBI laboratories and the U.S. Department of Defense. Additionally, the The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime published Guidelines for Testing Drugs under International Control in Hair, Sweat and Saliva as far back as 2001. Thousands of hair tests are performed worldwide each day for companies that have successfully implemented hair testing programs. These employers recognize that it is an accurate and reliable test that deters drug use among workers. The nearly three decades of hair testing’s real world usage has lead to studies and publications by researchers performed on large populations in diverse settings of workplace, court, and school drug testing programs.

Hair testing has been proven as acceptable evidence in Court systems throughout the U.S. and worldwide. Hair testing is currently used as evidence in criminal, civil and military courts and has passed the admissibility of expert testimony known as the Frye Rule, the Federal Rules of Evidence, and the Daubert Rule.