Anatomically-related variations in trace-metal concentrations in hair

Scalp-hair analysis is used as an indicator of trace-metal concentrations in the human body. The major shortcoming of this approach is the inability to differentiate between endogenous and exogenous trace metals. Our analyses show no correlation between the concentrations of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, or zinc in scalp hair and pubic hair in 67 donor-matched hair samples. We interpret this as a strong indication that exogenous trace metals make a significant contribution to the results for trace metals in human hair.