The Drop
A level or ratio that falls to a third or less between two tests
The pattern workbook defines the drop as a decrease of at least three-fold on a retest, in one mineral or several at once. ARL's retest documents record why levels fall, and which falls follow elimination.
The pattern workbook Eileen reads charts against defines the drop as a mineral level or ratio that decreases at least three-fold on a retest, and records that it can occur in more than one mineral at the same time. A three-fold decrease means the retest value is one third or less of the first: a reading of 3.0 mg% falling to 1.0 mg% or below. The workbook classes most drops as favorable changes that indicate quick progress, and records that a new program is often needed after one.
Retests are taken every 3 to 5 months, so a drop compares two separate windows of hair growth. Analytical Research Labs' (ARL) retest document records that a sample cut too far from the scalp will not show recent changes.
ARL's glossary defines every hair reading as a sum of metabolic events. Mineral loss, mineral excretion and displacement each elevate the reading. A bio-unavailable mineral generally reads elevated, unless it is locked up in tissues other than hair, in which case it may read very low. A defender mineral may be held high or low to protect another level, ratio or pattern.
A drop therefore arrives by one of two routes. Either a raising component has ended, so a mineral that was being lost or excreted has stopped leaving, or a displacing metal has gone. Or a ratio falls because its lower term rose: in the case below, the Ca/Mg fell from 13.2 to 1.8 because magnesium rose from 5 to 31 mg%.
An ARL case history records a retest four months into a program for a three-year-old. Aluminum fell from 3.66 to 1.10 mg%, about one third of the first level, which meets the three-fold definition. Lead fell from 1.54 to 0.84 mg%, about one half, and manganese from 0.123 to 0.078 mg%. ARL called these "all excellent changes".
The calcium/magnesium (Ca/Mg) ratio fell further. Calcium went from 66 to 56 mg% and magnesium from 5 to 31 mg%, so the Ca/Mg moved from 13.2 to 1.8, a seven-fold drop. Potassium rose from 16 to 59 mg% over the same four months. ARL's explanation: a body on a corrective program breaks down poor-quality tissue holding metals, chemicals or infection, and because potassium and magnesium are the primary intracellular minerals, the breakdown releases them, raising those readings and lowering both the sodium/potassium and Ca/Mg ratios.
Not every fall is favorable. ARL's Stress Document records that a continuing drop in the sodium/potassium (Na/K) ratio is indicative of a profound exhaustion. In the case above, the Na/K read about 0.27 on the retest, and with the Ca/Mg at 1.8 ARL named the combination a double inversion: a low Ca/Mg with a low Na/K, which reinforces the low Na/K pattern. Of the Ca/Mg change, ARL wrote that it "looks worse, but usually resolves itself on later tests". A falling ratio is therefore read against the direction of the next test.
ARL's retest document describes a zinc reading that is normal on the first test while the classic zinc-deficiency picture is present. On the second or third test, zinc drops precipitously. ARL's explanation is displacement: cadmium had raised the hair zinc reading, and as cadmium is eliminated, zinc replaces it in the tissues and less zinc is excreted into the hair. The hair zinc falls while tissue zinc improves.
ARL's ratio document states the mechanism in general form: cadmium toxicity can elevate the zinc reading. The zinc ideal is 20 mg% at both Trace Elements, Inc. and ARL.
Cadmium has an aldosterone-like effect: it raises sodium. ARL's retracing document describes a slow oxidizer carrying excess cadmium. As the program raises the oxidation rate, cadmium begins to leave, sodium drops, and the oxidation rate slows again. The cycle repeats with each further release of cadmium until it is eliminated. A sodium that falls sharply on a retest is read with the cadmium line beside it.
ARL's ratio document lists the same group of sodium-raising metals for the adrenal ratio: cadmium, mercury, copper, iron and nickel. Any of them leaving the tissues can take the sodium reading down with it.
ARL's 1989 reference text Toxic Metals in Human Health and Disease describes lead stored in at least five tissue reservoirs. As lead leaves one reservoir and is eliminated through the hair, the hair lead level rises and then falls, which gives the impression that all stored lead is gone; a year later another reservoir may empty and the level rises again. A drop in a toxic metal is therefore compared across more than two tests.
The pattern workbook records a separate case for a toxic metal that falls to an extremely low reading: the poor eliminator range, where a very low reading indicates the mineral is sequestered rather than absent. The low toxic metal reading article covers it.
| Reading | First test | Retest | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminum | 3.66 mg% | 1.10 mg% | About one third | ARL case history |
| Lead | 1.54 mg% | 0.84 mg% | About one half | ARL case history |
| Ca/Mg | 13.2 | 1.8 | About one seventh | ARL case history (calculated from the levels) |
| Zinc | Normal | Drops precipitously | Cadmium displacement ending | ARL retest document |
| Sodium | Raised by cadmium | Drops as cadmium leaves | Aldosterone-like effect ending | ARL retracing document |
Each row is a trend read across tests. ARL's principle from the case history: always ask about symptomatic change, because test results can lag symptomatic changes, or at times anticipate them.
A hair tissue mineral analysis is a screening test for nutritional and toxic-element patterns. It reports mineral levels in milligrams percent (mg%) and the ratios between them, and it measures soft tissue rather than blood. Each reading averages roughly 2 to 3 months of hair growth, and samples are analyzed unwashed, because washing removes over 90% of the sodium and potassium in hair (Trace Elements). Where the laboratory literature describes a trend, that trend belongs to the mineral pattern rather than to any person reading about it.
The earlier test comes first: each level and ratio on the earlier chart is divided by the same reading on the retest, and a result of 3 or more marks a drop. Toxic metals, zinc and sodium are checked first, because elimination and displacement move them most.
Next: potassium and magnesium, which rise when tissue breakdown releases them and pull the Na/K and Ca/Mg ratios down. A toxic-metal drop is checked again on a third test 3 to 5 months later.
The pattern workbook defines it as a level or ratio that falls at least three-fold, to one third or less of the first reading.
The workbook classes most drops as favorable changes indicating quick progress, and records that a new program is often needed after one.
ARL records that cadmium raises the hair zinc reading. As cadmium leaves, zinc replaces it in tissue and less zinc is excreted into hair.
Yes. ARL describes lead stored in at least five tissue reservoirs, so the hair lead level can fall and then rise a year later as another reservoir empties.
A retest hair tissue mineral analysis reports every level and ratio again, which is what makes a three-fold change between tests visible.
Published 2026-10-17 · Updated 2026-10-17
By Eileen Durfee — Practitioner, NBS (Nutritional Balancing Science), NASM-CPT; wellness educator, inventor and author.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Hair tissue mineral analysis is a screening test and is not diagnostic. This article is for educational purposes only. Wellness Shopping Online is operated by Nuco Enterprise Solutions LLC.
