HTMA Test - Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis Profile 2 & Profile 3

Profile 2 vs Profile 3 Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis

Both profiles run the same multi-element assay at Trace Elements, Inc. The difference is where you are in the process: Profile 2 is the initial test that establishes your baseline; Profile 3 is the retest, which adds a side-by-side comparison against your previous results so you can see exactly what changed.

What is an HTMA test?

Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) is a laboratory analysis of a properly collected hair sample, used to measure mineral levels, selected toxic elements and mineral relationships over the period of time represented by the sample. Because hair grows slowly, it records a window of your mineral metabolism — a screening snapshot that blood, which is tightly regulated moment to moment, does not provide in the same way.

The laboratory digests the sample and measures each element with analytical instrumentation, then reports levels and ratios against established reference ranges. The result is a mineral pattern — oxidation rate, ratio relationships, toxic element load — that a practitioner reads as a whole, not as isolated numbers.

Laboratory Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis from Trace Elements, Inc.

Profile 2 and Profile 3 testing is performed by Trace Elements, Inc., a specialized laboratory that has focused on hair tissue mineral analysis for decades and whose testing underpins the Trace Elements supplements for HTMA we stock. This is licensed laboratory methodology with published reference ranges — not a consumer gadget, a cosmetic scalp scan, or an unvalidated mail-order screen.

For clients whose programmes follow the Analytical Research Labs lineage, we offer ARL-based hair analysis kits as well — Eileen trained on ARL charts and works fluently in both systems.

What does an HTMA test measure?

The report also calculates 27 mineral ratios — 7 significant ratios (Ca/P, Na/K, Ca/K, Zn/Cu, Na/Mg, Ca/Mg, Fe/Cu), 9 toxic ratios and 11 additional ratios — delivered in an easy-to-read report of roughly 20 pages.

Why mineral ratios matter in HTMA

Single mineral readings tell you less than you would think, because minerals work in relationships. Sodium and potassium track adrenal activity; calcium and magnesium move against each other; zinc and copper compete for absorption. That is why an HTMA report leans on ratios like Na/K, Ca/Mg, Ca/K and Na/Mg: a ratio can be meaningfully out of balance even when both individual minerals look acceptable on their own.

The ratios are also what connect the test to action. Oxidation rate — read from the ratio pattern — determines which Endo-Met supplements used in Nutritional Balancing fit your chart, and which Trace Elements supplements for HTMA a Trace Nutrients programme would select. The test reveals the pattern; the pattern selects the programme.

How to collect hair for an HTMA

How much does an HTMA test cost?

Pricing is straightforward and listed on every product page:

Interpretation is optional, never forced: the lab-only options give you the raw laboratory report, while the Pattern Report versions add Eileen’s written pattern analysis plus 30 minutes of consultation time. Already have a lab report from elsewhere? A standalone HTMA Pattern Report ($100) or Lab Evaluation and Recommendations ($100) covers that too. U.S. orders of $150+ ship free.

From mineral pattern to programme

An HTMA is not the end product — it is the map. Once your pattern is known, it points to one of two supplement systems we stock as complete lines:

From Eileen

Curated by Practitioner Eileen Durfee, NBS (Nutritional Balancing Science), NASM-CPT — wellness educator, inventor with 10 U.S. and 6 international patents, author, and Nationally Certified Spinal Fitness Specialist

Hair analysis is where my whole practice started, in 2010, under ARNP Julie Walker in Kennewick, Washington — testing family and friends through Analytical Research Labs until I could read a chart properly, listening to every cassette tape Dr. Paul Eck recorded, then training with Dr. Larry Wilson from 2011 and practising independently since 2017. I have read thousands of these charts, and the retests are why I still do it: mineral patterns genuinely shift when a programme fits, and the side-by-side comparison proves it chart by chart.

My advice to first-timers is simple. Order the version with the Pattern Report and consultation the first time — the raw lab report is accurate, but the pattern is the part beginners misread, and thirty minutes of walking through your own chart is worth more than a month of internet searching. Hair analysis clients get text support from me while on the programme, and our Facebook group is free to join whether or not you ever order — years of collection questions and retracing questions are already answered there.

HTMA testing: common questions

Ordering and logistics

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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Hair tissue mineral analysis is a screening tool for nutritional and toxic element status — information is educational and not a substitute for medical advice. Always follow your kit instructions and consult your healthcare provider. Wellness Shopping Online is operated by Nuco Enterprise Solutions LLC.