Hair Drug Test Kit at Walgreens: What's on the Shelf, What Isn't, and Where to Buy Instead

Updated 18 Oct 2026 · By the DrugTestAnswers Editorial Team

If you walk into a Walgreens looking for a hair drug test kit, there's a good chance you'll leave with nothing. The drug testing shelf at most pharmacies is built around urine cups, dip cards and the odd saliva test, because those give an answer in minutes. A hair test can't do that. It has to be mailed to a lab, so hair kits are sold mostly online and only sometimes show up in stores. Here's what to expect at the pharmacy, how to check before you drive over, and the simplest ways to get a hair kit if the store doesn't have one.

The short answer

• In store: Walgreens and similar chains mainly carry instant urine tests. A hair kit on the shelf is the exception, not the rule, and stock varies by location.
• On the website: availability changes. When we searched Walgreens' site for "drug test with hair" while writing this, the results were mostly hair color and hair regrowth products rather than hair drug test kits.
• The reliable route: buy a mail-in hair kit online, cut your own sample at home, and ship it to the lab named on the kit.
• Price: hair kits cost far more than urine cups because the lab work is included. Expect a price in the tens of dollars to around a hundred, not the few dollars a dip card costs.

Why pharmacies rarely stock hair kits

A urine cup is a finished test. You open it, use it, and read the lines. A hair kit is really a prepaid lab order in a box: a few envelopes, foil or a collection card, instructions for cutting a sample, and a return mailer. The actual analysis happens in a laboratory with screening equipment and, for positives, confirmation testing. That makes hair kits more expensive, slower to sell and harder to explain on a shelf next to a three-dollar test strip. Many stores simply don't bother, and the ones that do often keep a small stock that sells out and isn't replaced quickly.

Hair kits have been sold through drugstores before. When the Hair Confirm kit from Confirm BioSciences launched, news coverage reported it going on sale at Walgreens for about $90, alongside other retailers and Amazon. Retail placement for niche products like this comes and goes, though, so an old article or a years-old forum post is not proof your local store has one today.

How to check before you make the trip

1. Search the store's website with several phrases. Try "hair drug test", "hair follicle test" and the brand name, such as "Hair Confirm". Retail search often buries the one product you want under unrelated hair care items.
2. Set the store filter. Many pharmacy sites let you pick a store and see whether an item is available for pickup there. "Shipping available" doesn't mean it's in the building.
3. Call the pharmacy counter. Ask whether they carry a hair follicle drug test kit and where it would be shelved. It may be behind the counter or in the family planning or home testing aisle.
4. Check the box before you pay. Make sure it says hair, not urine or saliva, and look for the lab mailer and the list of drugs covered.

What you'll find on the shelf instead

A urine test won't tell you what a hair test will show. The two measure different things over different windows, which is why someone can pass a urine cup and still test positive on hair. If your employer told you the test is a hair test, a urine kit from the pharmacy shelf is the wrong tool for checking where you stand. We explain the difference in more detail in hair follicle drug test vs urine.

Where to buy a hair drug test kit if Walgreens doesn't have one

• Directly from a testing retailer online. This is the most dependable option because the seller ships the full kit, including the lab mailer, and the product page lists the drug panel. TestClear sells the Hair Confirm kit, which you can see through the middle button on this page.
• Large online marketplaces. Hair kits are often listed there, but read the listing closely. Some sellers ship old stock or kits whose prepaid lab processing has an expiration date.
• Other pharmacy chains. CVS, Walmart and regional drugstores have the same issue as Walgreens: mostly urine tests in store, a hit-or-miss online selection for hair.
• A lab collection site. If you'd rather not cut your own sample, you can pay for a hair test at a patient service center or occupational health clinic. Our guide to where to get a hair follicle drug test lists the main options.

How a mail-in hair kit works, step by step

1. Read the whole insert first. Kits differ on how much hair they need and how to package it.
2. Cut hair from the back of the head, close to the scalp, using clean scissors. The part nearest the root is the newest growth.
3. Gather enough hair. Kits usually ask for a bundle roughly the thickness of a pencil and about an inch and a half long from the scalp end. Short hair means you need more of it.
4. Keep the root ends lined up and marked as the insert describes, then seal the sample in the foil or envelope provided.
5. Fill in the ID form. Many kits use a code number rather than your name, which keeps the result anonymous.
6. Mail it to the lab and follow the kit's instructions for getting results, usually online or by phone with your code.

Our page on minimum hair length for a hair follicle test covers what to do if your hair is very short.

What a home hair kit can and can't tell you

A home hair test is useful for one thing above all: seeing privately whether drugs show up in your hair before an employer test does. It typically screens for common drug groups such as marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines including methamphetamine, opiates and PCP, though the exact panel depends on the kit. Check the box against the drugs your workplace test covers.

It can't promise the employer's lab will get the same result. Different labs use different cutoff levels and may test a different sample length. A negative home result is reassuring but not a guarantee, and a positive is a strong sign that the official test would also flag you. For what the numbers on a report mean, see hair strand test results explained.

Where Old Style Aloe Toxin Rid fits

Many people searching for a hair kit at the pharmacy are also wondering whether anything can change a hair test result. The product most often sold for that is Old Style Aloe Toxin Rid shampoo from TestClear. Here is what is claimed and what is known:

• What the maker says: it's a deep-cleansing shampoo meant to be used over several days and multiple washes before a hair test, following its included directions.
• What is proven: no independent, published study shows Aloe Toxin Rid or any shampoo reliably removes drug residue from inside the hair shaft. Labs also wash hair samples before analysis.
• What that means for you: it may be worth reading about, but no one can promise a pass, and not using during the test window is the only sure way.

You can read the maker's own directions on the Old Style Aloe Toxin Rid product page. Our Aloe Toxin Rid review and how-to-use guide goes through the wash schedule and the common questions. If you're comparing it with other products, our page on where to buy Aloe Toxin Rid explains why it isn't usually a pharmacy item either.

A sensible order is to test first with a home hair kit, then decide what to do with an actual result instead of a guess.

A word on Macujo and Jerry G

Online forums often pair the shampoo with home routines called the Macujo method and the Jerry G method. These layer vinegar, salicylic acid face wash, laundry detergent and, in the Jerry G version, hair bleach and dye. They're unproven, they can burn the scalp and damage hair, and the bleach steps carry a real hazard. Never mix bleach with vinegar, acids or household cleaners, since that can release toxic gas. Our Macujo method step-by-step page describes the routine and its risks without promising results.

Buying tips so you don't waste money

• Check the expiration or processing date on the box. Prepaid lab fees can lapse.
• Confirm the kit is hair, not a urine cup with "follicle" in a marketing headline.
• Compare the drug panel to the one your employer listed. A five-drug panel won't tell you about a drug that's only on a larger panel.
• Allow time. Shipping the kit to you, then mailing the sample to the lab, can add up to more than a week.
• Keep your receipt and your kit code in a safe place so you can retrieve results.

Tests this page does not cover

Don't use any product or method on this page to try to affect DOT-regulated tests (including CDL, rail and transit), FAA aviation tests, federal employee programs, military tests, or court, probation and parole testing. Tampering with those can count as a refusal and may carry legal penalties. Workplace policies often treat tampering as a failed test too.

Disclaimer and support

This page is general information, not medical or legal advice, and product availability at any store can change. We may earn a commission from TestClear links. If you're worried about your own use, the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 is free, confidential and open around the clock. If you're in crisis, call or text 988.