A blood test measures what is in your blood on the day it is taken. Your body keeps blood levels inside a tight range, so a normal result tells you your blood is in range. It does not show what has been happening over time. A hair test measures minerals taken up over the last 3 months, so it shows a pattern a single blood draw does not. Normal bloods and real symptoms are both true.

HTMA stands for hair tissue mineral analysis. You post a small sample of hair to a laboratory and the lab measures the minerals in it, including magnesium, zinc and calcium. Hair grows 1 cm a month, so the sample holds a record of the last 3 months. It is a screening test. It does not diagnose a condition.

A blood test measures minerals in the fluid outside your cells (extracellular) and shows how things look on the day it is taken. A hair test measures minerals taken up inside your cells (intracellular) and shows a pattern over the last 3 months. They answer different questions, so they work together.

Yes. We see women, men and children from age 3. Each person has their own appointments, and a parent or guardian attends every appointment for anyone under 18. When you get started, you tell us who the test is for.

No, and you do not need a referral. GPs order tests through Medicare-listed pathology labs, and hair mineral analysis is not one of those tests. So the test does not come through your GP. You book with us directly and post your sample to the lab. If you have worrying symptoms, see your GP first. Your GP checks for disease, and that always comes first.

No. Medicare pays for the tests and appointments listed on the Medicare Benefits Schedule, and hair mineral analysis is not on it. The schedule lists tests used to diagnose and monitor disease. A hair test is a screening test, so it sits outside that list. Female Fundamentals does not bill Medicare, so you pay the $500 AUD yourself.

No. Female Fundamentals does not bill private health funds, and a hair mineral test is not an item that private health policies cover. There is no claim to make. You pay $500 once, or $275 twice, 14 days apart.

Yes. The appointments are online, so you meet your practitioner by video wherever you live. You post your sample to InterClinical Laboratories. After your first appointment we send you the address for your country: Sydney for Australia and most countries, a Wellington address for New Zealand. In the US, outside New York, the lab emails you a posting address within 1 to 3 business days. The price is $500 AUD. We do not bill Medicare, the NHS or any insurer.

The test is real. Your sample is analysed at InterClinical Laboratories, the same lab every time, so your results compare from one test to the next. A hair test is a screening test and not a diagnostic test. Mainstream medicine does not use it to diagnose a condition, and different labs report different numbers. That is why your practitioner reads your result as a pattern alongside your symptoms and history, and never as a verdict.

Your GP's job is to rule out disease, and that comes first. If you have worrying symptoms and have not seen your GP, see them before anything else. A hair test answers a different question: what pattern sits behind symptoms that do not show on bloods and are not serious enough for medication.

Dye, bleach and perms change the hair itself, so the sample comes from hair that has not been treated. If all your hair is treated, you wait for new hair to grow. Your instructions page shows exactly what to do.

No. Hair tests that claim to find food intolerances use a different method that science does not support, and Australia's allergy experts (ASCIA) advise against them. A mineral hair test does not test for foods or allergies. If a food makes you ill, see your doctor.

No. A hair drug test looks for drugs. A hair mineral test measures minerals such as magnesium and zinc. The sample is the same type and the tests are different. Our hair test does not test for drugs.

No. A hair test does not measure hormones. It measures minerals, and your practitioner reads them alongside your symptoms. Thyroid and hormone conditions are diagnosed with blood tests ordered by your doctor.

It shows whether metals such as lead or mercury are present in your hair. That is a screening result and not a final answer. If one shows up, your practitioner talks through the next step with you and your doctor. Do not start a detox because of a hair result.

You snip a small amount of hair close to the scalp at the back of your head and post it to the lab. After your first appointment we send you a page with every step and the lab's address for your country.

It goes to InterClinical Laboratories. The lab sends the report to us, and your practitioner goes through it with you.

Your results arrive 3 weeks after you post your sample. From the day you pay to your results appointment is 1 month.

A hair test report is full of numbers, and on its own it tells you very little. Your practitioner reads it with your history, explains what it means for you and what to do next. That turns it from another test into a plan.

The Test is $500 AUD, or two payments of $275, 14 days apart. It includes your hair test and 2 one-on-one appointments with a practitioner: one to start, and one to go through your results. Everything is online.

Test something only when the result changes what you do next. That is why The Test includes two appointments with a practitioner, so the result turns into a next step. You will find cheaper hair tests. Here you get a lab we trust and a practitioner who reads your whole story, not only the numbers.

You can paste a report into an AI and get an explanation of the numbers. A practitioner knows your history and how your body works, and applies the numbers to you. You are a whole person, not a set of data points.

Your practitioner shows you your pattern and what it means for your symptoms. You leave with clear next steps and you decide what happens next. If something needs a doctor, we tell you.