Hair test coming up - much more than a job at stake

[AmIGonnaFail]

Hey all,

Im in England and have to do a hair strand test in about 9 days. I have had 16 clean days already and by the time of the test will have 25 bud free days.
Im small, about 5'2 and 42kg, i smoked about 2 to 3 grams per day every day up until 20th Sept 2010.

I have bleached and redyed my hair once already, and am going to do that again tonight. I have ordered some Paul Mitchell Shampoo Three which will be delivered tomorrow, as I read it gets chlorine and other nasties out of hair and is apparantly formulated to work from the inside out.

Is anything else worth trying? The Zydot and TW shampoos are expensive and I've heard a lot of people say they are nothing more than a money making scam and a swimmers shampoo would be better. I am also concerned about the lab being able to tell I have used TW or Zydot as I know they test for 'adulterants'. I will be able to excuse the bleach and dye in my hair because I am a girl and have always dyed my hair anyway - and have not been put under instruction not to do so before the test.

What do people mean by baking soda paste/soak? Also what is a tea soak? sorry to sound stupid but is it actually just a case of putting your hair in a bowl of tea??! If so, how is this meant to work?

Im really scared because there is so much hingeing on the results of this test, I have had to quit cold turkey and did not think that would have been at all possible for me, but now the choice has literally been taken away from me. To cut a long story short I'm probably gonna lose my daughter because I was a heavy smoker and it is beyond SS imagination that a smoker can be a good parent.

Im fucked. Im sorry for the negative attitude but I think I am fucked.

[Jerry G]

Relax.

TW and Zydot help reduce levels. I've done tests. With no other treatments each cut my levels in half. TW worked a bit better for me.

Bleaching and redying is the most effective treatment. If you can get 3 more treatments in, I think you will be okay.

I only know of one person who has failed after that many treatments.

If you want to get one specialty shampoo, I'd get TW. If not, use the PM to wash out the bleach and the dye.

Be sure to use powdered bleach and 40 volume developer.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Child custody is my passion. I had a nasty battle a few years ago.

[AmIGonnaFail]

Thanks Jerry,

I don't need top be completeley clear as I admitted to smoking a fair amount on my birthday weekend in early September, they are o.k with this I just can't let them find out I was a daily smoker.

Do you know what people mean about the baking soda and tea stuff? Also will the labs detect baking soda and have suspicions?

Im considering doing a perm as well but if I turn up with no hair and a burnt scalp that is just as bad as hair full of weed isn't it.

I was also wondering if heat can help? I have some very hot hair straightners about 230 degrees I was wondering if it was worth holding them for a while on the section that they want to test at the back middle section of my head? I'm so worried about this I'm even tugging on my hair almost every hour in an attempt to make it grow faster and give the illusion of more clean time...


I will be glad when this is all over and although I really really miss bud I think I've learnt my lesson the hard way now :(

[Jerry G]

Baking soda paste is used prior to shampooing to open the cudicle. It washes out.

Perms help too.

[AmIGonnaFail]

Thanks,

Im sitting here with my second bleach on I feel like my head is on fire and its only been on ten minutes so far..

I'm gonna buy some baking soda from the supermarket tomorow and have a go with that paste, then my swimmers shampoo should arrive and I'll wash my hair daily with that and do another bleach and redye in about 6 days time, I might even do a fourth the day before the test - I read a post where someone said they did it ten times in two weeks and passed without a trace of cannabis (albeit with a peeling scalp and blisters(!)) so it seems like it may be worth the sacrifice.

What sort of time should I leave the baking soda paste on for? Also will heat from holding my hair straighteners on help to mess up the THC or open my hair any more, or is that pointless?

Sorry for all the questions, I will owe this forum A LOT if I get through this test and be eternally grateful!!!!

:)

[Jerry G]

4 times should be plenty of bleach and redyes.

I don't know if heat will help or not.

I left the paste in maybe two or three minutes.

[AmIGonnaFail]

Im gettin panicky, Ive just found some sites that even say bleach and hair dye will have no effect and that extensive chemical treatment will have a minimal effect at best...

I hope these people are just trying to put us off

I'm worried as well because I know my test is costing £700 GBP so it must be pretty damn thorough

I guess only time will tell...

[Jerry G]

Relax, you'll be fine...

[AmIGonnaFail]

Thanks Jerry,

I've been reading a lot of posts from people who have passed using the Majuco method aswel, was wondering if there are UK alternatives to the products mentioned, like Tide laundry detergent etc..?

[AmIGonnaFail]

OK just posting an update, I'm off to Boots to buy some household ammonia 9.5% ammonia solution. Also gonna get some sort of brush so I can try to apply it to my hair and not my scalp, theres warnings on it saying don't let it touch your skin...hahaha am I mad?!

I think the ph level is about 11 or 12 so its highly alkaline and should open hair cuticle very effectively, Im just wondering whether to dilute it with water, I dont really want to weaken it too much as I want the hair to open and then use my Paul Mitchell 3 shampoo, but on the same token I dont really want to kill myself either... and as its a risk to respiratory systems I think that the steam from the hot water could be a problem..guess I'll have to open all my windows and hope for the best!

If anyone has any advice on this ammonia business let me know, I think I'll be trying to do something with it in about 2 hours

[AmIGonnaFail]

Why do I have disabled reputation what have I done wrong lol?!

I'm about to do some experimenting with my ammonia now, I'll post later

[Jerry G]

The mac has a poor record for regular users with little clean time(like you).

It worked better before cut off levels were lowered(go figure)...

[AmIGonnaFail]

Yeah i just thought I'd try everything,

I know bleach and redye is my best bet - I just wanted to try other stuff on top. Particularly anything that will open the cuticle prior to bleaching/shampooing. I've put some of the household ammonia and boiling water on the back sections of my hair, im gonna go and wash it now with the PM shampoo and then put a lot of heat on my hair and probably do a third bleach tonight and the redye tomorrow, unless you think I should apply the redye straight after the bleach..?

I am sorry for all the repetitive questions and I am grateful that you read my thread and give advice, obviously you know what is at stake I would rather do too much than not enough :)

I think I'm going to do 5 bleach and redyes now just to be on the safe(r) side. I still don't have an exact date for my test but Court is on 1st Nov so I will definately know the results by then and I'll definately let you know

[AmIGonnaFail]

Just another quick update..bleach number 3 is on and ooooh my gosh my head is on fire

[bikeTripper]

Just another quick update..bleach number 3 is on and ooooh my gosh my head is on fire

Sounds awful, hope it works for you.

Made me think of this:


My First Conk
By Malcolm X
from The Autobiography of Malcom X, 1964

Shorty soon decided that my hair was finally long enough to be conked. He had promised to school me in how to beat the barbershops' three- and four-dollar price by making up congolene, and then conking ourselves.

I took the little list of ingredients he had printed out for me, and went to
a grocery store, where I got a can of Red Devil lye, two eggs, and two medium-
sized white potatoes. Then at a drugstore near the poolroom, I asked for a large
jar of vaseline, a large bar of soap, a large-toothed comb, and a fine-toothed
comb, one of those rubber hoses with a metal spray-head, a rubber apron, and a
pair of gloves.
"Going to lay on that first conk?" the drugstore man asked me. I proudly told
him, grinning, "Right!"

Shorty paid six dollars a week for a room in his cousin's shabby apartment. His cousin wasn't at home. "It's like the pad's mine, he spends so much time with his woman," Shorty said. "Now, you watch me â??"

He peeled the potatoes and thin-sliced them into a quart-sized Mason fruit jar, then started stirring them with a wooden spoon as he gradually poured in a little over half the can of lye. "Never use a metal spoon; the lye will turn it black," he told me.

A jelly-like, starchy-looking glop resulted from the lye and potatoes, and
Shorty broke in the two eggs, stirring real fast â?? his own conk and dark face bent
down close. The congolene turned pale-yellowish. "Feel the jar," Shorty said. I
cupped my hand against the outside, and snatched it away. "Damn right, it's hot,
that's the lye," he said. "So you know it's going to burn when I comb it in â?? it
burns bad. But the longer you can stand it, the straighter the hair."

He made me sit down, and he tied the string of the new rubber apron tightly
around my neck, and combed up my bush of hair. Then, from the big vaseline jar, he
took a handful and massaged it hard all through my hair and into the scalp. He
also thickly vaselined my neck, ears and forehead. "When I get to washing out your
head, be sure to tell me any-where you feel any little stinging," Shorty warned
me, washing his hands, then pulling on the rubber gloves, and tying on his own
rubber apron. "You always got to remember that any congolene left in burns a sore
into your head."
The congolene just felt warm when Shorty started combing it in. But then my
head caught fire.
I gritted my teeth and tried to pull the sides of the kitchen table together.
The comb felt as if it was raking my skin off.

My eyes watered, my nose was running. I couldn't stand it any longer; I
bolted to the washbasin. I was cursing Shorty with every name I could think of
when he got the spray going and started soap lathering my head.

He lathered and spray-rinsed, lathered and spray-rinsed, maybe ten or twelve times, each time gradually closing the hot-water faucet, until the rinse was cold, and that helped some.
"You feel any stinging spots?"

"No," I managed to say. My knees were trembling.
"Sit back down, then. I think we got it all out okay."
The flame came back as Shorty, with a thick towel, started drying my head,
rubbing hard. "Easy, man, easy!" I kept shouting.
"The first time's always worst. You get used to it better before long. You
took it real good, homeboy. You got a good conk."

[Jerry G]

Just another quick update..bleach number 3 is on and ooooh my gosh my head is on fire

Give your head a rest for a couple of days. You have the time.

You are just now on clean new growth.

[funtimesnbn]

Just wondering if I only have two days before testing..and can't do a bleach is there another option to open the cuticle, another "basic"

Thanks

[AmIGonnaFail]

Why can't you do a bleach and redye?

Other options are baking soda paste, pH level of about 8 or 9, or an ammonia solution with a pH level of 11 or 12 (I advise against this, I tried the other day and had a terrible, terrible throat for the next 2 days it was DISGUSTING and nearly made me throw up)

Anything highly alkaline is supposed to open the cuticle, and heat is also supposed to help. What length is your hair and what are your smoking habits? Also what country are you in?

[AmIGonnaFail]

Just another update, I did a home urine test a few minutes ago (22 days without smoking) and although the line was verrrrry faint it was there just about, so it was a negative test wahooooo!!!!!

I know I am being hair tested but I thought if I provide a urine test they will know I haven't smoked for a while, because a lot of my clean hair growth will still be stuck inside my head so I won't have much, if any, naturally clean hair for the test.

I am doing my fourth bleach tonight so may not have any hair left for the test at all haha :)

[funtimesnbn]

Well I guess I could try and bleach I am expecting the call any day, like to day I thought, but I haven't really smoked in at least 3-4 months, from being a very heavy user, however, I have messed with pain killers on occassion, I konw ur not supposed to discuss other stuff but thats the facts.. so I need to clean that out...I guess I will try baking soda paste, then tw and tide and repeat that several times. I guess most in the know ppl feel vinager is not helpful?

Thanks for all and any additional feedback

[AmIGonnaFail]

I dunno about vinegar because its acidic I thought, and its alkalines that help to open the hair. But I am not really 'in the know' , 2 weeks ago I knew nothing of hair tests I've just been on the net researching.

You can just get a home dye and bleach and do it at home on an evening that's what I've been doing, but like everyone will tell you, hair tests go back 3 months so as far as THC goes you should be absolutely fine.

About the bleach, make sure its 40vol developer and powder bleach, Jerome Russel is a good brand here, not sure about over there but you can ask in the shop they will know. Then put a dye on back to the colour you are now and no one will know.

Good Luck

[AmIGonnaFail]

Heyyy good news guys, my hair test has been put back 2 to 4 weeks so I'll have more clean growth than I anticipated, perhaps 58 days (maximum) :) :) :)

Anyway before I found this out I did bleach number 4 tonight and will redye tomorrow, I'm feeling confident now :D

Will keep updating and won't forget to post results!!

[funtimesnbn]

Ok thanks again for the info I guess I'll try that home bleach and dye idea, never really done that but guess I'll give it a try...

Thanks and good luck to you

[AmIGonnaFail]

My scalp is hurt at the back and the nape of my neck, my hair is disgusting and its so hard it makes plasticy noises when rubbed and just snaps, I'm not happy.

I'm going to give my hair some SERIOUS love when this is over. I don't think bleach number 5 is a good idea and from feeling the state of my hair I don't think theres anything left in it at all, never mind THC. From what I've put it through the last 3 weeks I'm lucky it's still in my head, I hope it hasn't been in vain, I had nice shiny long hair before this, it was my best feature..oh well.

[AmIGonnaFail]

Still no confirmation of test date, was supposed to be today but has been put back :)
I've cut a fair few inches off my hair (did I say hair, I meant wire)
Feeling kind of ok about it, everything I've done must have had some effect its certainly changed how my hair feels.
Don't know why I'm updating, got no new information, just like the support of these boards. Where r u jerry g?? I miss you :D

[catarata]

did the test?

[Xyz505]

cut ur hair

[AmIGonnaFail]

No still haven't taken it,
But have had word that it will be next week sometime. If it is done on Friday next week I will have had 81 days more or less clean. I had about 7 hits off a spliff the other day when I had had a drink and thought for some reason it would be too small to show up.. I hope it is! None the less I've got a lot of clean time and if my result comes back with minor THC then I will be ok, it just can't show daily usage, which it certainly wont now :D soo happy :)

[AmIGonnaFail]

Tested positive, 0.52ng THC in my hair, cutoff levels 0.5 ng.
wtf man seriously

0.02ng ! arghhh!!!!

[chapman1]

Hey all,

Im in England and have to do a hair strand test in about 9 days. I have had 16 clean days already and by the time of the test will have 25 bud free days.
Im small, about 5'2 and 42kg, i smoked about 2 to 3 grams per day every day up until 20th Sept 2010.

I have bleached and redyed my hair once already, and am going to do that again tonight. I have ordered some Paul Mitchell Shampoo Three which will be delivered tomorrow, as I read it gets chlorine and other nasties out of hair and is apparantly formulated to work from the inside out.

Is anything else worth trying? The Zydot and TW shampoos are expensive and I've heard a lot of people say they are nothing more than a money making scam and a swimmers shampoo would be better. I am also concerned about the lab being able to tell I have used TW or Zydot as I know they test for 'adulterants'. I will be able to excuse the bleach and dye in my hair because I am a girl and have always dyed my hair anyway - and have not been put under instruction not to do so before the test.

What do people mean by baking soda paste/soak? Also what is a tea soak? sorry to sound stupid but is it actually just a case of putting your hair in a bowl of tea??! If so, how is this meant to work?

Im really scared because there is so much hingeing on the results of this test, I have had to quit cold turkey and did not think that would have been at all possible for me, but now the choice has literally been taken away from me. To cut a long story short I'm probably gonna lose my daughter because I was a heavy smoker and it is beyond SS imagination that a smoker can be a good parent.

Im fucked. Im sorry for the negative attitude but I think I am fucked.never say never my brother smoked about the same amount right up to the day he was jailed and he passed a test the next day without any help he had been taking mdma and cocaine aswell and it all come back negative. chin up girl and good luck

[chapman1]

Tested positive, 0.52ng THC in my hair, cutoff levels 0.5 ng.
wtf man seriously

0.02ng ! arghhh!!!!could u not blag uv been dam recently

[AmIGonnaFail]

lol not really....
fuk it i told em i smoked on my bday they will just have to acept that, even though it was more than 3 months before the test....
oh well it's dun now can't do nefin else can i

life goes on

[Tax Esq]

This might be a dumb question, but when you say bleach and redye - that means hair bleach that you buy from the drug store and a hair color to get you back to the same color, correct? Not laundry bleach or something.

[donnachris]

Tax - yes she means hair bleach and AmI - what happened with your child??