What Your Hair Knows About Your Health: An Introduction to HTMA
Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis — HTMA — is a lab test that uses a small hair sample to measure minerals and heavy metals in the body's tissue. Registered dietitian Sara Korzeniewski explains what HTMA actually measures, how it differs from a standard blood test, and what the results can tell you about your energy, stress and nervous system.
What HTMA is and what it measures
HTMA stands for Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis. It's a lab test that takes a small hair sample and measures the mineral content stored in the tissue — calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, zinc, copper and others — along with heavy metals like mercury, lead and aluminium. Unlike a blood test, which shows what's circulating right now, HTMA reflects what your body has been holding onto over the previous few months. It's a tissue-level snapshot, not a moment-in-time reading.
How HTMA is different from a standard blood test
A standard blood panel and an HTMA report aren't telling you the same thing. Blood is tightly regulated by the body — it'll pull minerals from elsewhere to keep blood levels in range, so a "normal" blood reading can sit on top of long-term depletion in the tissues. HTMA looks past that regulation and into the tissue itself. That's why someone can have unremarkable bloodwork and still feel exhausted, wired, or out of balance. The two tests answer different questions, and one doesn't replace the other.
The mineral ratios that matter most
HTMA isn't read by looking at single minerals in isolation. The signal is in the ratios — how minerals sit in relation to each other. The calcium-to-magnesium ratio relates to how the body handles stress and rest. The sodium-to-potassium ratio reflects the nervous system and adrenal function. Zinc-to-copper relates to hormone balance and immune function. A practitioner reads the pattern, not the individual numbers — which is why interpretation matters as much as the test itself.
What HTMA can — and can't — tell you
HTMA can show patterns of mineral imbalance, signs of chronic stress on the nervous system, possible heavy metal burden, and how your body is metabolizing energy. It's most useful when you've been struggling with fatigue, hormone shifts, or feeling depleted despite eating well. What HTMA isn't is a diagnosis. It doesn't replace medical testing, it doesn't catch acute illness, and it should be read alongside your symptoms, history and other labs by a practitioner who knows how to interpret it — not as a standalone answer.
About Sara Korzeniewski
Sara Korzeniewski is a Registered Dietitian and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, and the founder of The Organic Dietitian. She works with women experiencing fatigue, hormone imbalance, digestive issues and nervous-system overwhelm, taking a whole-person approach rooted in functional labs and root-cause investigation. She also teaches alongside Jen at Wellness Code Academy, where you can find her at wellnesscodeacademy.com.
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