Testing of samples of the hair has become an important tool in paternity DNA testing. In many cases where the paternity of an unborn child is in question, it is not uncommon to see many alleged fathers refusing to submit themselves for testing using the conventional buccal swab technique. Since consent must be sought from all parties before medical procedures are carried out, hair paternity testing has become one of the so-called “discreet/forensic testing” methods. This is also important when pregnancy has resulted from sexual abuse or sexual assault, and in cases of retroactive testing when the subjects are dead or missing.
Hair paternity testing can therefore be defined as the process of determining the paternity of an unborn child using hair samples from the alleged father, while using other conventionally collected samples from the mother and foetus.
In all cases, hair samples used for hair paternity testing must be complete with the hair follicle or root attached so as to obtain a more complete DNA profile. Cut hair does not have a significant amount of DNA.
Many murder and rape cases have been solved by using hair paternity testing, especially if there was a struggle and the hair of the assailant was pulled on and got lodged in the woman’s nails.
Generally, 6-10 strands of hair are required to build a complete DNA profile for a hair paternity DNA test. Hair paternity test results are usually admissible in court if a legal battle ensues.