What to Expect at Your Visit
Walk-in
Simple Hair Collection
Secure Results sent to you
What Your EtG Results Show
An EtG hair follicle test doesn’t just look at the last few hours; it securely documents up to 90 days of alcohol history. You might be a parent documenting sobriety for a child custody case, someone meeting a strict court or probation condition, or a professional protecting your license. Whatever brought you through our doors, our Mesa team is here to get you the answers you deserve. Collections take less than 15 minutes at our clean walk-in lab on East University Drive, and your verified final report results are delivered securely in 3 to 5 business days.
What an EtG Hair Test Measures
EtG is short for ethyl glucuronide, a metabolite your body only makes after consuming alcohol. As hair develops, EtG is incorporated into the hair shaft, giving a chronology of exposure. The lab performs LC-MS/MS analysis and reports EtG in picograms per milligram (pg/mg) and compares your result to established cut-offs that differentiate abstention from moderate use and from chronic, heavy drinking.
The test is best at documenting recurrent or heavy use over time since it looks at patterns, rather than one single drink.
EtG Hair vs. Urine, Breath & PEth Blood
Not sure which alcohol test you need? It comes down to how far back you have to show. If your court or program only cares about the last few days, a urine EtG test (about 80 hours) or a breathalyzer (a few hours) covers it. Need to reach back a few weeks? A PEth blood test looks back three to four weeks. But when you're documenting months of sobriety — the usual ask in custody and long-term monitoring—the hair test is what you want, capturing about 90 days in one sample. Still have questions? Call us today.
Looking for drug screening instead?
See our hair follicle drug testing options, including the 10-panel hair follicle drug test.
For all options, see alcohol and drug testing in Mesa.
Frequently Asked Questions
How accurate is an EtG hair test? EtG hair testing is highly accurate for detecting repeated or heavy alcohol use, especially when run by a certified lab using LC-MS/MS confirmation. Like any test it has limits with very light or very recent use, which is why results are read against established cutoffs rather than a simple yes-or-no.
Will one drink or occasional drinking show up on an EtG hair test? Usually not. A single drink or rare, light drinking typically doesn't deposit enough EtG in hair to cross the reporting cutoff. The test is built to flag repeated or heavy consumption over about 90 days, so it documents patterns rather than a one-time event.
Can you fail an EtG hair test without drinking? It's uncommon, but heavy external exposure to alcohol-based products — some perfumes, sanitizers, and hair treatments — can raise EtG levels. Certified labs use washing steps and confirmatory cutoffs to reduce this. Tell the collector about any such products so they're noted with your sample.
How far back does an EtG hair test detect alcohol? A standard 1.5-inch hair sample reflects roughly the last 90 days. Because hair takes about 7 to 10 days to grow above the scalp, very recent drinking won't appear yet. Longer hair can sometimes extend the window and be segmented to show month-by-month patterns.