ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Hair analysis

Ok kiddo, so let's talk about hair analysis. Our hair is made up of a substance called keratin, and it grows from a special part of our skin called the hair follicle. Hair analysis is when scientists take a small piece of our hair and study it to learn more about our body.

You see, as our hair grows, it can trap different things inside of it, like drugs or chemicals. So, by looking at our hair, scientists can figure out if we have come into contact with certain things or if we have used certain drugs.

They can even look at the patterns of our hair growth, and figure out if we experienced high levels of stress or malnutrition.

Hair analysis can help us understand more about our bodies and our environments, and it can even help people stay healthy or get better if they are sick.

So, even though it might seem like just a bunch of hair, our hair can actually tell us a lot about our bodies and our lives. Pretty cool, right?