How Long Do Opioids Stay In Your Hair?

Hair follicle testing is the most comprehensive drug screening method available, capable of detecting opioid use going back up to 90 days, three times longer than urine testing and far longer than blood or saliva screens. While urine tests reflect recent use, hair tests reveal patterns of use over time, making them particularly useful in legal, employment, and forensic contexts where a broader picture is needed.

Both prescription and illicit opioids can be detected through hair testing, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, codeine, methadone, tramadol, hydromorphone, and heroin. One important nuance is that hair testing typically can’t detect use that occurred within the past five to 10 days, since it takes time for drug metabolites to become incorporated into the hair shaft as it grows.

Learn more about detecting opioids through various drug tests

How Long Can Opioids Be Detected In Hair?

Opioids can generally be detected by a hair drug test for up to three months, or 90 days, after a person’s last use. However, a hair test may not depict a positive test result directly after use.

Due to how hair is collected for a hair drug test, it may take five to 10 days for opioid use to be detected in the hair.

What Types Of Opioids Can Be Detected In Hair?

Hair drug tests can detect the use of various opioid drugs, including both prescription and illicit opioids.

Common opioid drugs include:

• oxycodone (OxyContin)
• hydrocodone (Vicodin)
• morphine
• codeine
• methadone
• tramadol (Ultram)
• oxymorphone (Opana)
• hydromorphone (Dilaudid)

Heroin, an illicit opioid, can also be detected in the hair for up to 90 days on average. Some drug screens may show a positive result for morphine or codeine among those who use heroin.

What Factors Can Affect Opioid Detection In Hair?

Three months is the standard timeline for how long various drugs—including but not limited to opioids—will remain detectable in a sample of hair. However, some personal and biological factors may affect this average timeline, particularly for people with a history of chronic opioid use or opioid addiction.

Factors that can affect opioid detection times in hair:

• duration of opioid use
• metabolism
• dose taken (e.g. quantity of opioids used)
• amount of melanin in hair

The use of styling products will not affect how long a drug remains detectable in a person’s hair. Hair samples taken for a drug test are generally collected from the head, or from another area of the body if a person has no hair to be collected from the head.

Why Hair Drug Tests Are Used

Hair drug tests can be used to detect a 90-day history of repetitive drug use. They are generally used less often than urine tests, which can be ordered by a judge, employer, or doctor.

Why hair drug tests may be used:

• random testing
• detecting patterns of long-term use
• pre-employment screening
• workplace drug testing

Hair testing is less suitable for post-accident drug testing or reasonable suspicion testing. For these purposes, oral fluid and blood tests are preferred methods.

Can Hair Tests Produce False Positives For Opioids?

False positives for opioids on hair tests are relatively uncommon but do occur. The most well-documented cause is passive exposure, or being in close contact with someone who uses opioids can in some cases lead to trace amounts of the drug being deposited on the hair externally rather than from within the body. Certain medications and foods have also been associated with triggering positive results on initial screening tests.

If a positive hair test result is disputed, a confirmatory test using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry can distinguish between external contamination and actual drug use with a high degree of accuracy. Always disclose any prescription medications to the testing lab before submitting a sample.

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Written by the Addiction Resource Editorial Staff