Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis(HTMA)

Discover the Hidden Secrets of Your Health

At Essence Medical Thermography, we are proud to offer HTMA — a safe, non-invasive wellness test that provides a detailed look at your body’s mineral balance and potential exposure to toxic metals.

Unlike blood tests, which offer a snapshot of current levels, HTMA reveals 1–3 months of stored mineral activity, giving you deeper insights into your body’s long-term patterns.

Our goal is to help you restore balance, energy, and resilience through precise, personalized mineral analysis.

HTMA vs. Blood Tests — A Deeper Look Into Your Health

Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) provides a long-term record of mineral storage and metabolic trends — revealing insights that blood tests often miss.

Blood is Tightly Regulated: The body maintains mineral balance in blood through homeostasis. Even when tissues are depleted or overloaded, blood results can appear “normal.”

HTMA Shows Tissue Storage: Hair captures minerals and metals stored in tissues over 2–3 months — identifying chronic patterns and toxic accumulation.

Different Tools, Different Purposes: Blood tests are ideal for acute issues and organ function, while HTMA excels at showing long-term nutritional patterns and toxic metal burden.

Frequently Overlooked Factors That Affect Mineral Balance

Many common habits and lifestyle factors can disrupt mineral balance:

• Birth control pills – Deplete zinc and B vitamins, increase copper storage
• Intense exercise – Depletes sodium, magnesium, potassium
• Excessive caffeine – Depletes calcium and magnesium, increases stress response
• Vegetarian or vegan diets – May lack zinc, iron, and B12
• Reverse osmosis or distilled water – Removes beneficial minerals
• Regular alcohol use – Depletes magnesium, zinc, and B vitamins
• Chronic stress – Depletes nearly every essential mineral, especially magnesium and zinc
• Dental amalgams – Continuous low-level mercury exposure
• Smoking or secondhand smoke – Major source of cadmium accumulation
• Regular swimming in chlorinated pools – Can affect mineral readings and increase chlorine exposure

HTMA reveals these patterns and helps you understand how lifestyle factors influence your mineral status.

What is HTMA?

Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) is a non-invasive analytical test that measures the mineral content of hair to assess your body’s mineral levels and metabolic activity over the past 2–3 months.
HTMA reveals:

• Long-term mineral storage patterns in tissues
• Chronic exposure to toxic metals
• Metabolic and stress response trends
• Key mineral ratios related to energy, hormones, and detoxification

Because hair provides a stable record of stored minerals, HTMA is ideal for identifying chronic imbalances that blood work may overlook.

Why Minerals Matter

Minerals are the foundation of wellness — fueling energy production, hormonal balance, detoxification, brain health, and immune function.

When minerals are out of balance, every system in the body struggles to function properly. Toxic metals such as mercury, lead, and arsenic can even replace minerals at receptor sites, blocking normal processes and creating hidden imbalances.

Minerals create the energy, resilience, and vitality your body needs to thrive. When they’re out of balance, your health can’t function at its fullest.

What Makes HTMA Unique

• Long-Term Window Into Health – Hair offers a 2–3 month record of mineral metabolism and toxic exposure — patterns that other tests miss.
• Non-Invasive & Convenient – Requires only a small hair sample; no needles, fasting, or lab visits.
• Cost-Effective – Provides data on 35+ elements (essential minerals and toxic metals) in one test.
• Ideal for Monitoring Progress – Retesting every 3–6 months tracks your response to nutritional or detox programs.

What HTMA Analyzes

HTMA measures 17 essential minerals and 18 toxic metals, including mercury, lead, aluminum, cadmium, and arsenic.

Additional Insights:

• Mineral Ratios – Key relationships (Ca/P, Na/K, Ca/Mg, Zn/Cu) reveal thyroid activity, adrenal function, cardiovascular balance, and stress resilience.
• Oxidation Rate – Identifies your metabolic type and energy production efficiency.
• Toxic Metal Burden – Highlights potential toxic interference with mineral function.

What HTMA Reveals: The Five Pillars of Health

HTMA provides insights into five key areas of wellness:

• Thyroid & Metabolism – Reveals metabolic rate (fast or slow) even when thyroid labs appear normal.
• Digestion & Absorption – Shows patterns linked to enzyme activity and nutrient absorption.
• Stress Response & Vitality – Sodium/potassium ratios indicate how well your body manages stress.
• Blood Sugar Balance – Chromium and zinc levels reveal glucose metabolism patterns.
• Mineral Ratios & Hormonal Balance – Demonstrates mineral interactions that influence inflammation, mood, and metabolism.

💡 Curious what your results might show?
Book your HTMA today and receive a personalized mineral balance report — a simple, non-invasive test that reveals what’s really happening inside your body.

Heavy Metals: A Hidden Burden

Heavy metals can silently accumulate from:

• Inhalation – Air pollution, smoke, workplace exposure
• Ingestion – Contaminated food, water, cookware, dental materials
• Absorption – Personal care products, cleaners, or chemicals

Why HTMA is Valuable for Heavy Metal Detection

Blood tests show recent exposure; HTMA shows long-term accumulation and total body burden, providing a more complete picture.

Possible Symptoms of Toxic Metal Presence

Chronic fatigue, mood changes, headaches, brain fog, joint discomfort, skin issues, or immune dysregulation.
(Note: These symptoms can have many causes; HTMA identifies patterns, not diagnoses.)

Common Heavy Metals Detected:

• Mercury (Hg): From large fish, dental materials, pollution — may relate to cognitive or mood changes, tremors, fatigue.
• Lead (Pb): From old paint, plumbing, soil — may affect memory, blood pressure, and energy.
• Aluminum (Al): From cookware, antiperspirants, processed foods — may relate to cognitive and bone concerns.
• Cadmium (Cd): From smoking, batteries, contaminated foods — may influence kidney and blood pressure regulation.

A Note on Detoxification

Not all detox programs are safe. Generic cleanses may mobilize metals without fully eliminating them, potentially worsening symptoms. Always follow a practitioner-guided, targeted detox approach that safely supports your body’s natural elimination pathways.

Our wellness plans include:

• Targeted nutritional support
• Mineral rebalancing
• Lifestyle strategies to reduce exposure
• Gentle detox support customized for your needs

 Metabolic Types: Personalized Nutrition

HTMA identifies your unique metabolic oxidation rate — how efficiently your body converts food into energy.

• Fast Oxidizers: Burn fuel quickly; benefit from more protein, fats, and complex carbs.
• Slow Oxidizers: Convert food slowly; benefit from lighter proteins and more vegetables.
• Mixed Oxidizers: Show balanced metabolism and flexible nutritional needs.

Your results guide a personalized nutrition plan tailored to your unique biochemistry.

Before Collection

To ensure the most accurate results:

• Use at least 1.5 inches of untreated scalp hair.
• Wait 8 weeks after dyeing or bleaching before collection.
• Avoid anti-dandruff and hormone shampoos for two weeks prior.
• Avoid public pools for one week before collection.
• If you shower in hard or softened water, wash with distilled water for two weeks prior.

Collection Steps

1. Collect your sample the day after shampooing.
2. Cut small sections (about one tablespoon total) from 3–4 areas at the nape of the neck.
3. Trim each section to 1.5 inches from the scalp end — discard the longer ends.
4. Use the provided paper scale to measure the correct amount.
5. Place the sample in the provided envelope and mail it back using the instructions included in your kit.

How HTMA Works

• Collection: A small hair sample (about 1 tablespoon) is collected from the nape of the neck — quick and painless.
• Laboratory Analysis: The sample is analyzed for 35+ minerals and metals using advanced spectrophotometry.
• Comprehensive Report: You receive a detailed report with graphs, mineral ratios, and metabolic insights.
• Professional Consultation: Your practitioner reviews your results, explains the findings, and helps you implement a personalized plan.

Who Should Consider HTMA?

• Individuals with fatigue, mood changes, hormonal fluctuations, or digestive concerns
• Athletes seeking performance optimization
• Pregnant or postpartum women seeking nutritional balance
• Children with developmental or behavioral concerns
• Anyone wanting to identify hidden mineral or toxic metal patterns

Ready to Take the Next Step?

Balance your minerals. Reduce your toxic load. Reclaim your energy and wellness.

📅 Book your HTMA consultation today and uncover the hidden story your hair can tell.

For Practitioners

We welcome collaboration with healthcare and wellness professionals interested in offering HTMA testing to their clients.

Partnering with us allows you to integrate functional mineral testing into your own practice while receiving expert guidance on interpretation and application.

Disclaimer

Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) is a wellness screening tool and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. It is not FDA-approved. Results are provided for educational purposes only to guide nutrition and lifestyle recommendations. Always consult your healthcare provider for medical concerns.

At Essence Medical Thermography, we believe knowledge is power. HTMA provides insights into your unique biochemistry, empowering you to make informed decisions about your wellness journey. When interpreted by trained practitioners, HTMA transforms health from guesswork to personalized precision.