HTMA

Functional mineral testing · For women whose labs keep saying "normal"

Your bloodwork came back normal. You're still exhausted.

At-home hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA) + a recorded video walkthrough of your results from a functional practitioner.

Find what standard labs miss.

Hair collection at home · Results in 2–3 weeks · No appointment required

"

After only a couple months being on my protocol, I have new hair growth, my afternoon energy levels have increased and my anxiety is almost nonexistent. Learning to listen to what my body needs has been life changing!

— S, in NC

You've done the work

And you're still feeling off.

You eat well. You take your supplements. You've cut back on caffeine, tried magnesium, gone to bed earlier. Maybe you've gotten bloodwork — maybe more than once — and been told everything looks "normal."

But you don't feel normal.

Some of these might hit close to home...

  • You're exhausted by mid-afternoon, no matter how well you slept
  • You wake up between 1 and 4 a.m. and can't get back down
  • Your stress tolerance has dropped — small things feel like big things
  • Your hair is thinning, your nails split, your skin feels different than it used to
  • Your blood sugar swings — you crave sugar or salt constantly
  • PMS, perimenopause, or postpartum changes feel harder than they should
  • You feel depleted from a stressful season your body never quite bounced back from
  • You're preparing for pregnancy and want to know what's actually going on
  • You're not sure if it's burnout, hormones, or something else entirely

You're not imagining it. Your body's been compensating for a long time — and standard bloodwork doesn't capture what it's been doing in the background.

Here's what most labs miss

Minerals aren't just nutrients.
They're the electrical regulators of your body.

When your doctor runs bloodwork, they're seeing what's circulating in your blood today. That's a snapshot — useful, but limited. It tells you very little about how your body has been coping over the last several months. It doesn't explain the pattern.

But your body doesn't run on snapshots. It runs on minerals — magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium, zinc, copper, and the ratios between them. They drive thyroid signaling. Adrenal response. Blood sugar regulation. Mood and nervous system tone. Hormone production. Detox pathways. Cellular energy.

When minerals are out of balance, your body compensates. It pulls from reserves. It shifts its strategy. It adapts in ways that eventually show up as symptoms — but not before months or years of quiet adjustments.

That's where Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA) changes the conversation. By analyzing a small hair sample, HTMA reveals what your body has been doing behind the scenes for the last 3–4 months — your mineral reserves, your stress adaptation, your metabolic patterns, and trends in heavy metal exposure.

Not what's circulating today. What your body has actually been living through.

And instead of getting back a confusing chart you have to interpret alone — or stacking guess-based supplements that may fight each other — you get a recorded video walkthrough of your specific patterns, what they mean, and a personalized 3+ month plan to gently rebalance.

What you'll actually see

A complete picture of how
your body has been functioning.

HTMA isn't about chasing one mineral at a time. It reveals the patterns underneath your symptoms — the ratios, the compensations, the long-term trends that explain why you feel the way you do.

Mineral Status

Your levels of magnesium, calcium, sodium, potassium, zinc, copper, and more — the foundation for everything from energy to mood to hormones.

⚖️

Critical Ratios

The relationships between minerals — often more telling than any single value. Calcium-to-magnesium, sodium-to-potassium, zinc-to-copper, and others reveal how your body is actually functioning.

🌡️

Metabolic Pattern

Are you a slow oxidizer or a fast oxidizer? This pattern shapes how your body uses energy — and dictates what your body needs to feel balanced.

🧠

Stress Adaptation

Your nervous system's history written in your hair — how your body has been handling stress over the last 3–4 months, including patterns common in burnout and prolonged depletion.

🛡️

Heavy Metal Trends

Trends in exposure to mercury, lead, aluminum, arsenic, and other metals — and how your body has been managing the load.

🌱

Cellular Function

What your minerals are doing at the cellular level — thyroid signaling, blood sugar regulation, adrenal output, and the building blocks of how your body produces energy.

The difference: you're not getting back a chart with numbers and color codes you have to figure out alone. You get a recorded video walkthrough of your specific patterns — and a personalized plan to gently rebalance them.

A few things you might not know

Why minerals matter more
than most people realize.

PMS headaches are often influenced by elevated copper relative to zinc — a ratio standard labs don't measure.

Zinc status plays a key role in hormone balance, immune function, and skin healing — yet most adults are deficient and don't know it.

Magnesium deficiency is extremely common due to modern farming and soil depletion — even when your diet looks "good on paper."

Stress alone can significantly shift mineral balance over time — meaning a stressful season three years ago can still be showing up in your symptoms today.

Ready to see what your body has been telling you?

See the Package →

What you'll receive

Here's what a real
HTMA report looks like.

No mysterious chart you have to decode alone. You'll get a detailed, personalized breakdown of your patterns — with a recorded video walking through what your specific results mean, and exactly what to do next.

The Package

Everything you get —
delivered on your time.

A complete HTMA assessment from collection to plan, without a single scheduled appointment.

  • At-home hair collection kit mailed to your door — easy collection (about 1 teaspoon of recent growth, cut from underneath layers so it's not visible)
  • A detailed health history + symptoms assessment so your patterns are interpreted in the context of your story — not in isolation
  • Comprehensive written report breaking down your mineral patterns, ratios, metabolic type, and heavy metal trends in plain language
  • Personalized recorded video walkthrough of your results — no live call, ever. Watch on your time, replay, share with your spouse, come back to it later
  • A 3+ month personalized plan — diet, lifestyle, and targeted supplement recommendations matched to your metabolic pattern
  • Option for a custom supplement blend built specifically from your results (great as a personalized prenatal or all-in-one) — available through Vykon if you want it
  • Direct access to me for 48 hours after your results — ask follow-up questions in writing and get real answers, not a scheduling link
  • Up to 25% off Fullscript supplements — ongoing, all orders

No scheduling appointments.
Everything delivered virtually, on your time.

HTMA Test + Practitioner Interpretation

$299

Results in 2–3 weeks after the lab receives your sample

HTMA also works beautifully for kids.

If you're noticing mood swings, focus issues, eczema, sensory sensitivity, or unexplained cavities in your child, HTMA can reveal the foundational patterns underneath — without loading them up with guess-based supplements. The same package and process applies.

If you've been telling yourself "I'll figure this out eventually," every week is another week your body keeps compensating. The sooner you collect, the sooner you have a real plan.

Is this worth it?

$299 sounds reasonable.
Here's why it's actually a deal.

If you've been navigating fatigue, mood, sleep, or hormone issues for any meaningful stretch of time, you've probably already spent $299 — and then some — on things that didn't move the needle.

A round of expensive supplements someone in your DM's recommended.

The functional medicine consult that ended with "let's run a panel" — and then another bill.

The thyroid herbs you tried for three months.

The mineral water, the sea salt protocols, the magnesium glycinate, the trace mineral drops, the adrenal support stack.

Some of those were probably fine. Some may have helped. But without knowing your actual mineral patterns — your ratios, your oxidation type, your stress adaptation — you've been guessing. And guessing gets expensive in a different way: time, energy, and the slow grind of feeling almost-better but never quite right.

This package gives you:

  • The test itself — comprehensive HTMA panel from a clinical lab
  • A detailed personalized report translating your results into language you can actually use (no chart-decoding required)
  • A recorded video walkthrough of your specific patterns — yours to rewatch as you implement
  • A 3+ month plan matched to your metabolic type, not generic recommendations
  • Direct access for follow-up questions — instead of waiting weeks to book another appointment, you get quick written answers
  • Ongoing 25% off Fullscript supplements — yours to keep, often saving $100–200+ over a typical 3-month protocol

You're not paying for a hair test. You're paying to stop guessing.

Why interpretation matters

A chart full of numbers
isn't a plan.

A HTMA report on its own is missing a crucial piece of the puzzle: someone who knows what to do with the data.

Mineral balancing isn't about chasing individual numbers — it's about:

  • Understanding your metabolic type (slow vs. fast oxidation) — different types need distinct support, and getting this wrong is the most common mistake
  • Supporting your ratios in the right order — minerals influence each other, so the sequence of what you support first matters
  • Avoiding the trap of stacking supplements that fight each other — well-intentioned protocols often slow each other down
  • Moving the system gradually — overcorrecting causes its own symptoms, even when the intention is right

I interpret your HTMA in the context of your symptoms, history, diet, stress load, and goals — so you're not left alone with a chart. After hundreds of mineral panels, I've seen what works, what doesn't, and where the patterns lead. That's the part you can't get from an AI summary.

"

I can't believe it, but I'm sleeping through the night for the first time in decades.

— Mary

Honesty check

Is this right for you?

This is for you if...

  • You've been dealing with fatigue, sleep issues, mood shifts, or hormonal changes that don't show up clearly on bloodwork
  • You want data-driven answers, not another guess-based supplement
  • You'd rather watch a recorded video on your time than sit through a scheduled appointment
  • You're preparing for pregnancy, postpartum, or recovering from a depleting season of life
  • You're willing to make gradual diet, lifestyle, and supplement changes based on your results
  • You're a parent looking to understand what's underneath your child's mood, focus, or skin issues
  • You want a clear plan, not a stack of supplements someone in your DM's said you should try

This is probably not for you if...

  • You're looking for a one-size-fits-all supplement recommendation
  • You want a fast, dramatic protocol — HTMA work is intentionally gradual and gentle
  • You want weekly 1:1 live calls with your practitioner (this is intentionally low-touch)
  • You're not in a position to make any changes right now (HTMA only helps if you're ready to act on what we find)
  • You have significant concerns about removing a small hair sample for testing

About the practitioner

Kelly Shea, FDN-P

Kelly Shea

FDN-P · Health by the Numbers

I'm a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner who works with women navigating exactly what you're navigating right now.

I came to this work the same way most of my clients find me — frustrated and depleted. For years I struggled with hormone imbalances, hair loss, insomnia I couldn't fix, and a level of fatigue that no amount of "rest more" or "manage your stress" could touch. My labs kept coming back "normal." My naturopath told me to cut carbs and move more. My OB told me my hormones looked fine. I was working out more, eating clean, taking the supplements everyone said to take — and feeling worse, not better.

When I finally ran the right functional tests — including HTMA — I started to see the pattern. My minerals were depleted in specific ways my bloodwork couldn't show. My body had been compensating for years, and the slow drain was finally surfacing as symptoms I couldn't ignore. From that data, I built a plan that actually made sense for my body — not a generic protocol, not a one-size-fits-all stack of supplements.

The results weren't immediate or dramatic. They were gradual — energy returning in the afternoons, sleep slowly deepening, mood stabilizing, hair growing back. The pattern shifted because the underlying chemistry shifted. That's how mineral work goes. Slow, steady, real.

That's the work I do now. Over the last several years, I've interpreted hundreds of functional lab panels for women looking for the same kind of clarity. The recorded video format exists because most of my clients don't have time for another scheduled call — they need real answers, delivered in a way that fits their actual life.

In health,

Kelly

Questions

What you might be wondering.

What happens after I order?
You'll receive an email inviting you to set up your secure client portal through Practice Better, where all communication will take place. You'll be asked to complete a few short intake forms (health history, symptoms, goals) so your results are interpreted in full context. Your kit collection instructions, shipping and tracking information, and final results will all be sent directly to your portal.
How does the at-home hair collection work?
You will receive full instructions after order for what is needed for preparation. A clarifying shampoo and distilled water rinse is recommended to remove contaminants, and then you'll cut about 1 teaspoon of hair from underneath the back layers (so it's not visible), as close to the root as possible. Recent growth — the couple inches closest to the scalp — is what you'll send.
How long until I get my results?
Typically 2–3 weeks after the lab receives your sample. Once your results are in, I'll send your personalized video walkthrough, written report, and full plan — all delivered through your client portal.
Do I really not have to get on a call?
Correct. Everything is delivered virtually through your client portal — your results video, your written report, and your plan all come to you digitally. You'll have 48 hours of direct access after receiving results to submit follow-up questions in writing.
What if I have more questions after my 48-hour window?
You'll have the option to book additional support if you want it, but most clients find the video walkthrough and written report answer everything they need.
Will this show heavy metal poisoning?
HTMA reflects trends in metal exposure and how your body has been managing them. It's not a diagnostic test for acute toxicity. If you're concerned about a specific exposure event, that's a different conversation with your physician.
Can I do this while pregnant or breastfeeding?
Yes. Pregnancy and postpartum is actually a great window to address mineral depletion. Recommendations are always adjusted for your stage of life, and many parents also run this test for their children at the same time.
Is mineral balancing a huge commitment?
No. Most plans involve strategic supplementation, gentle diet adjustments aligned with your metabolic pattern, nervous system support, and a retest at 3–6 months. The goal is gradual recalibration, not a life overhaul.
Is the supplement blend included?
The personalized supplement blend (through Vykon) is an option I offer based on your results — it's not part of the $299 package. If you want a custom blend built from your specific patterns, we can discuss it after your results. It's especially popular as a personalized prenatal or all-in-one.
Is this test HSA eligible?
Many clients are able to use HSA funds for functional testing, though eligibility depends on your specific plan.

Important: If you'd like to pay with an HSA card, please check out through my Practice Better client portal here instead of the standard checkout — the standard checkout often won't process HSA cards correctly. A receipt is available upon request either way.
What if my results are mostly normal?
In all the HTMAs I've run, I have yet to come across one that didn't reveal some form of pattern worth addressing. Even a relatively balanced report provides valuable information — it rules out specific imbalances, confirms what's working, and helps direct what to focus on next. You'll still receive a full interpretation, written report, and plan based on your results.
Still have questions?
Email me at Kelly.Shea.FDNP@gmail.com and I'm happy to send a recorded video answering them.

One last thing

Your body has been compensating
for a long time.

You don't have to keep guessing at what's underneath. After hundreds of mineral panels, here's what I keep seeing: the women who finally test instead of trying one more thing are the ones who stop cycling through protocols that don't work and start feeling like themselves again.

It doesn't happen overnight. But it happens with a plan.

You can order today and have your kit within a few business days.

HTMA Test + Practitioner Interpretation

$299

Everything delivered on your time. No appointment required.

Order My HTMA →

In health,

Kelly

Already a Practice Better client?
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Find what your
bloodwork misses.
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