FAQ
GENERAL QUESTIONS
What will my kit include?
When you receive your kit in the mail, you will open the box. Inside you will see a polybag. Inside the polybag there will be an anti-static bag, a white parchment paper bag, a leave behind card entitled "Important Information to Keep", and a return shipping label. There should be a unique identifier label on the anti-static bag along with a matching unique identifier label on your leave behind card. The instructions about how to register your kit and collect the hair sample will be indicated directly on the box. We have attached a link to our Youtube video to show you exactly what it looks like:
How do I collect my pet's hair sample?
You can take the hair sample from anywhere on your pet's body. Brush with a clean comb/brush, cut, or gently pull. Whatever is easiest for you and your pet. The root is not required. If the hair is longer than 1 inch, please provide 10-15 strands. If the hair is shorter than 1 inch, please provide 20-25 strands.
Should I change my pets diet prior to taking the test?
If a pet is suffering from noticeable symptoms and you are trying to determine the cause of the symptoms, there is no reason to alter the pets diet prior to taking the test. The purpose of the 5Strands pet test is to help you determine what foods could be triggering an unwanted symptom and remove those food items from their nutrition plan and see if the symptoms lessen or go away.
Does hair dye affect the test results?
Hair dye does not affect the results of the test. You will not have to wait until your natural hair grows in. You can test anytime.
Why does 5Strands use hair samples?
Collecting a hair sample is easy and non-invasive. Hair testing eliminates storage, transportation and usability constraints that are associated with other types of tissue samples. Hair is stable. It's not affected by factors such as recent meals, stress, medications, etc.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
What is the difference between Allergies and Intolerances?
Some of the symptoms of allergies and intolerances are similar, but the differences between the two are very important. 5Strands Affordable Testing only tests for "intolerances," which represent the majority of reactions that people and pets will experience. An intolerance is a response that does not take place in the body's immune system and may appear several hours or days after ingestion or exposure. While intolerances may cause reactions ranging from a mild skin rash to severe abdominal discomfort, they are not normally life-threatening. A true allergy is an immune system response. The adverse reaction is usually immediate and can be life-threatening. 5Strands Affordable Testing does NOT test for this type of immune reaction(IgE or IgG).
Do the items tested need to be in the body or environment for an intolerance to be detected?
With intolerance testing, you do not have to ingest or be exposed to the item for it to register as an imbalance. Our method of testing utilizes bioresonance technology to scan hair samples to determine energetic imbalances between your body and the items being tested. The testing identifies intolerances or imbalances which may cause varying degrees of symptoms if currently being ingested or exposed to, or would be in the future.
Is there a correlation between skin prick, blood testing, saliva, and Bioresonance testing?
Each of these types of tests are different and can produce different results. Skin prick testing and blood testing is measuring an immune system response. Saliva testing typically tests for antibodies which can also show immune responses that are classified as true allergies. Bioresonance testing conducted at 5Strands only tests for intolerances or temporary imbalances. 5Strands does not test for true allergic reactions
What is an elimination plan?
An elimination plan is the Gold Standard to determine whether or not you have a food intolerance. It is almost impossible, and it is not always financially feasible to attempt an elimination plan on your own. 5Strands provides you with an instant elimination guideline from the unique responses. The first steps in conducting an elimination plan is to utilize the master list that is emailed to you with the results. You would cross off your registered level 3 and level 2 food items on the master list. The remaining items would be the items you would want to eat for 6-8 weeks. After eliminating these level 3 and level 2 intolerances out of your diet for 6-8 weeks, you can add back one offending food item at a time. Wait up to 48 hours to see if you experience any noticeable symptoms. Your body may have been able to heal and rebalance itself from this intolerance, and you will be able to eat the food item again without any issues, but only in moderation. If you notice a symptom after eating this offending food item, keep in mind that you can eat this food again, but you may still experience an undesirable symptom. The purpose of this testing is to be more in tune with what your body is trying to tell you and to achieve better health. Rotation and moderation is key. You should never be consuming the same foods every day.
What method do you use to test the hair samples, and how do you obtain the results?
5Strands uses Bioresonance technology to test the hair sample and obtain the results. Bioresonance technology is a safe, non-invasive form of assessment for energetic alignments in the human body. Bioresonance works by scanning a hair sample to create a profile of the energies that radiate from a person or pet. This is called their energetic blueprint or profile. With this created profile, it can now be compared to all of the energetic profiles of all of the other items we test for. If the created profile from the hair sample does not harmonize with the items tested, the energy is distorted and the intolerance or imbalance is detected. The stronger the distortion, the higher the intolerance or imbalance.
ORDER PROCESS & SHIPPING
How do I register my kit?
Enter the unique identifier number provided on the information card inside the kit and on the anti-static bag. -Follow the prompted instructions
What happens if my sample gets lost in the mail?
If you have not received a confirmation email within 7 days of mailing your sample back, please contact our customer service team via email at info@5Strands.com or call 1-833-600-8378. You will need to provide them the unique identifier number, your order number, purchase date, name, and email address.
How do I mail back my completed test kit and hair sample?
Place the antistatic bag (with the hair sample) inside the box. Close the 5Strands box and place into the provided poly bag. Secure the provided shipping return label on top of the poly bag. Place the bag inside the mailbox and wait to receive your confirmation email upon your sample's arrival at our processing center.
Can I track my package?
The return label provided in your kit has its own unique tracking number on the label. 5Strands does not have access to this number. You must write this number down on the leave behind card in order for you to be able to track the package. The average return shipping time is 3-5 business days.
W Do you offer testing in other countries?
5Strands Affordable Testing is happy to announce that we can offer our testing anywhere in the world. While we can only ship the testing kit in the U.S. and Canada, we can offer a downloadable option to other countries. You can contact our customer support team at info@5Strands.com or call 1-833-600-8378. Your payment information can be submitted via a PayPal invoice or over the phone. A special testing form with a unique identifier code will then be emailed to you with instructions on how to submit the hair sample.
UNDERSTANDING MY RESULTS
How do I apply these Deluxe test results to my everyday life?
Maybe your goal for taking this test was to learn more about your general vitality. Maybe your goal was to reduce & remove unwanted discomforts.The Deluxe Package provides a complete overview of how your body is responding to your current dietary intake and lifestyle decisions. These 4 individual reports should either provide you confirmations of what you thought might be an issue or point you in a direction to assist you in accomplishing your desired transformation. Because this is our most inclusive package, there is a lot of information to take in. Take a step back, be sure to read all the provided information, watch the FAQ videos available, and know that we are here to help ensure your success. We encourage you to use these results as a guide to become more conscious of your food and lifestyle choices. Putting in the work now will help you achieve your desired results.
How do I apply these Standard test results to my everyday life? Package?
Maybe your goal for taking this test was to learn more about your general vitality. Maybe your goal was to reduce & remove unwanted discomforts.The Standard Package provides a complete overview of how your body is responding to your current dietary intake and lifestyle decisions. These 3 individual reports should either provide you confirmations of what you thought might be an issue or point you in a direction to assist you in accomplishing your desired transformation. Because this is one of our most inclusive packages, there is a lot of information to take in. Take a step back, be sure to read all the provided information, watch the FAQ videos available, and know that we are here to help ensure your success. We encourage you to use these results as a guide to become more conscious of your food and lifestyle choices. Putting in the work now will help you achieve your desired results.
How do I apply these Food Intolerance test results to my everyday life?
Food provides fuel for our bodies. The 5Strands Food Intolerance results provide a snapshot of how your body is responding to your current dietary decisions. A few years ago, I was eating unconsciously. I believed everything was good for me and my body could process anything. However, I was experiencing discomforts at such a young age to where I recognized this could potentially cause long term health issues. After I received my Food Intolerance results, I took a step back from what I thought I knew about myself and general nutrition. I recognized that I am unique and there is no one size fits all diet. My 5Strands results provided me with a custom elimination guideline to optimize my health. Foods that I believed to be generally healthy, were not healthy for me. Foods that were staples in my diet, were causing my body noticeable symptoms. I learned that rotation and moderation is key. At the end of the day we all have the decision to make on what food we put into our body. The results are not a magic pill. You will only achieve results if you decide to put the work in. Many of our customers have tried traditional testing, done research, and still have not found solutions to their everyday discomforts. I ask you to look at these results with an open mind and give it your all for 6-8 weeks. If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact us. We want you to be our next big success story!
"How do I apply these Environment Intolerance test results to my everyday life?
Have you ever heard the saying that we are products of our environment? Sometimes it is easy to play victim to our environment. There are subtle symptoms or issues that we start experiencing everyday that we eventually consider to be normal. But they are not! Headaches, skin irritations, runny noses are just a few examples as to how our body tries to communicate that an item in our environment can potentially be causing an intolerance resulting in unwanted symptoms. The 5Strands Environmental report will allow you to discover the items that you may be encountering everyday that could be causing those unwanted symptoms that you have just accepted as normal. I encourage you to look at this report with an open mind. Think about the fabrics you wear, the cleaning solutions you use, the shampoos or soaps you wash with, the trees and grasses in your yard. You might be surprised to see how many of these items are listed on your results. While it is impossible to eliminate all of your environmental triggers, use these results to be more aware and try to reduce your exposure as best as you can.
MANAGING MY ACCOUNT
Is my account on the app the same as the account on the portal?
If you registered your hair sample with the unique identifier code and then downloaded the app, your email login and password should be the same for both your portal and app account access. If you had originally downloaded the app before purchasing a new test and are now registering with a unique identifier code, you MUST use the same email address and password when registering that sample in order to view your information on the app.
How will I receive my results?
Once the hair sample has been received at the processing center and logged into the system, it will be immediately sent to the lab. Once the results have been completed, they will automatically be uploaded and available on the portal and your app. You will also receive an emailed copy of the testing results to the email you provided.
Will I be notified when you receive my hair sample?
-Once the hair sample has been received at the processing center and entered into the system, you will receive a confirmation 'Sample Received' email from testresults@5strands.com. -You can also log into your portal account and see if the order status has changed from 'awaiting sample' to 'sample received.' (see example below) Adult Deluxe. Subject: Jane Doe. Purchased: Jun 24, 2020. Order Status: Awaiting Sample. Reference Number: CD8C9K8Z. Adult Deluxe. Subject: Jane Doe. Purchased: Jun 24, 2020. Order Status: Sample Received. Reference Number: CD8C9K8Z.
What do I do if I purchased the wrong test?
If you realize that you have purchased the wrong test, please contact our customer support team for further instructions at 1-833-600-8378. Sometimes it may be able to be rectified over the phone instead of having to return the kit for a refund.
How long will it take to receive my results?
The average turnaround time at the lab is between 7-10 business days. Please be aware that the completion of the results can vary around the holidays.
POLICIES
What is your refund policy?
Customer satisfaction is our goal and we want you to be happy with your decision to purchase from 5 Strands® Affordable Testing. If you change your mind after purchasing, we will offer you a full refund provided that you notify us of your decision to cancel your order within 7 days of placement and before mailing in your hair sample. Once you've mailed your hair sample and it has been received in our office for processing, NO refunds will be issued.
To claim your refund, please email our customer service team at info@5Strands.com with the following details:
-Name used to purchase
-Email address used to purchase
-PayPal Transaction ID, website order number, or Amazon transaction number
-Transaction amount
-Date of purchase
-You will need to return the box and the entire contents to the following address:
-5Strands Affordable Testing
-Customer Service Department (Returns)
-595 Old Norcross Rd, Suit D
-Lawrenceville, GA 30046
If you have any questions or would like to discuss your concerns, please contact our customer service department at 1-833-600-8378, Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm EST. We are happy to help!
What is your privacy policy?
We collect several types of information from and about users of our Site, including information
-by which you may be personally identified, such as name, mailing address, email address, telephone number, or any other information defined as "Protected Health Information" under HIPAA/HITECH laws and regulations ("personal information");
-that is about you but individually does not identify you, such as, time and date of visits to our Site; and/or
-about your internet connection, the equipment you use to access our Site and usage details.
We collect this information:
-Directly from you when you provide it to us.
-Automatically as you navigate through the site. Information collected automatically may include usage details, IP addresses and information collected through cookies, web beacons and other tracking technologies.
-From third parties, for example, our business partners.
Information You Provide to Us.
The information we collect on or through our Site may include:
-Information that you provide by filling in forms on our Site. This includes information provided at the time of registering to use our Site, subscribing to or purchasing our services, posting material or requesting further services. We may also ask you for information when you report a problem with our Site.
-Records and copies of your correspondence (including email addresses), if you contact us.
-Your responses to surveys that we might ask you to complete for research purposes.
-Details of transactions you carry out through our Site and of the fulfillment of your orders. You may be required to provide financial information before placing an order through our Site.
-Your search queries on the Site.
You also may provide information to be published or displayed (hereinafter, "posted") on public areas of the Site, or transmitted to other users of the Site or third parties (collectively, "User Content"). Your User Content is posted on and transmitted to others at your own risk. We cannot control the actions of other users of the Site with whom you may choose to share your User Content. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that your User Content will not be viewed by unauthorized persons.
As you navigate through and interact with our Site, we may use automatic data collection technologies to collect certain information about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns, including:
-Details of your visits to our Site, including, but not limited to, traffic data, location data, logs and other communication data and the resources that you access and use on the Site.
-Information about your computer and internet connection, including your IP address, operating system and browser type.
We also may use these technologies to collect information about your online activities over time and across third party websites or other online services ("behavioral tracking"). Please email us at info@5Strands.com for information on how you can opt out of behavioral tracking on this website and how we respond to web browser signals and other mechanisms that enable consumers to exercise choice about behavioral tracking.
The information we collect automatically is statistical data and may include personal information, but we may maintain it or associate it with personal information we collect in other ways or receive from third parties. It helps us to improve our Site and to deliver a better and more personalized service, including, but not limited to, by enabling us to:
-Estimate our audience size and usage patterns.
-Store information about your preferences, allowing us to customize our Site according to your individual interests.
-Speed up your searches.
-Recognize you when you return to our Site.
The technologies we may use for this automatic data collection include:
-Cookies (or browser cookies). A cookie is a small file placed on the hard drive of your computer. You may refuse to accept browser cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of our Site. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you direct your browser to our Site.
-Flash Cookies. Certain features of our Site may use local stored objects (or Flash cookies) to collect and store information about your preferences and navigation to, from and on our Site. Flash cookies are not managed by the same browser settings as are used for browser cookies.
-Web Beacons. Pages of our Site and our emails may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags and single-pixel gifs) that permit us, for example, to count users who have visited those pages or opened an email and for other related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of certain website content and verifying system and server integrity).
THIRD PARTY USE OF COOKIES AND OTHER TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES.
Some content or applications, including advertisements, on the Site are served by third parties, including advertisers, ad networks and servers, content providers and application providers. These third parties may use cookies alone or in conjunction with web beacons or other tracking technologies to collect information about you when you use our website. The information they collect may be associated with your personal information or they may collect information, including personal information, about your online activities over time and across different websites and other online services. They may use this information to provide you with interest-based (behavioral) advertising or other targeted content.
We do not control these third parties' tracking technologies or how they may be used. If you have any questions about an advertisement or other targeted content, you should contact the responsible provider directly.
HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION
We use information that we collect about you or that you provide to us, including any personal information: -To present our Site and its contents to you.
-To provide you with information, products or services that you request from us.
-To fulfill any other purpose for which you provide it.
-To provide you with notices about your account, including expiration and renewal notices.
-To carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us, including for billing and collection.
-To notify you about changes to our Site, our policies, terms or any products or services we offer or provide though it.
-To allow you to participate in interactive features on our Site.
-In any other way we may describe when you provide the information.
We may also use your information to contact you about our own and third parties' goods and services that may be of interest to you. If you do not want us to use your information in this way, please email us at info@5Strands.com to opt out.
We may use the information we have collected from you to enable us to display advertisements to our advertisers' target audiences. Even though we do not disclose your personal information for these purposes without your consent, if you click on or otherwise interact with an advertisement, the advertiser may assume that you meet its target criteria.
DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION
We may disclose aggregated or de-identified information about our users, and information that does not identify any individual, without restriction. We may disclose personal information that we collect or you provide as described in this Privacy Policy:
-To our subsidiaries and affiliates.
-To contractors, service providers and other third parties we use to support our business and who are bound by contractual obligations to keep personal information confidential and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them.
-To a buyer or other successor in the event of a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution or sale or transfer of some or all of our assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation or similar proceeding, in which personal information held by us about our Site users is among the assets transferred, and you agree to and do hereby consent to our assignment or transfer of rights to your personal information.
-To third parties to market their products or services to you if you have not opted out of these disclosures. We contractually require these third parties to keep personal information confidential and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them.
-To fulfill the purpose for which you provide it.
-For any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information.
-With your consent.
We may also disclose your personal information:
-To comply with any court order, law or legal process, including responding to any government or regulatory request.
-To comply with any state or local requirements regarding the disclosure of information for public health purposes, including reporting HIV and other sexually transmitted disease results to state public health regulatory bodies.
-If we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of our company, our customers or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.
CHOICES ABOUT HOW WE USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR INFORMATION
We strive to provide you with choices regarding the personal information you provide to us. We have created mechanisms to provide you with the following control over your information:
-Tracking Technologies and Advertising. You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. To learn how you can manage your Flash cookie settings, visit the Flash player settings page on Adobe's website (www.adobe.com). If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this Site may then be inaccessible or not function properly.
-Promotional Offers from Us. If you do not wish to have your email address or other contact information used by us to promote our own or third parties' products or services, you can opt-out by logging into the Site and adjusting your user preferences in your account profile by checking or unchecking the relevant boxes or by sending an email stating your request to info@5Strands.com. If we have sent you a promotional email, you may send us a return email asking to be omitted from future promotional email distributions. This opt out does not apply to information provided by us as a result of a product purchase, warranty registration, product service experience or other transactions.
-Targeted Advertising. If you do not want us to use information that we collect or that you provide to us to deliver advertisements according to our advertisers' target-audience preferences, you can opt-out by adjusting your user advertising preferences in your account profile by checking or unchecking the relevant boxes or by sending an email stating your request to info@5Strands.com.
We do not control third parties' collection or use of your information to serve interest-based advertising. However these third parties may provide you with ways to choose not to have your information collected or used in this way. You can opt out of receiving targeted ads from members of the Network Advertising Initiative via their website.
If you delete your User Content from the Site, copies of your User Content may remain viewable in cached and archived pages, or might have been copied or stored by other Site users. Proper access and use of information provided on the Site, including User Content, is governed by our Visitor Terms of Use.
DATA SECURITY
We have implemented measures designed to secure your personal information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration and disclosure. All personal information you provide to us is stored on our secure servers behind firewalls. Any payment transactions will be encrypted using SSL or other encryption technology, or will use our third party payment processors, who will use appropriate security procedures.
The safety and security of your information also depends on you. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password for access to certain parts of our Site, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. You should not share your password with anyone. We urge you to be careful about giving out information in public areas of the Site like message boards. The information you share in public areas may be viewed by any user of the Site.
Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information transmitted to our Site. Any transmission of personal information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Site.
NOTICE OF CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY
We reserve the right to make changes to this Privacy Policy at any time. It is our policy to post any changes we make to our Privacy Policy on this page. If we make material changes to how we treat our users' personal information, we will notify you by email to the email address specified in your account and/or through a notice on the Site home page. All changes are effective immediately upon posting to this page; the date the Privacy Policy was last revised is identified at the top of the page. You are responsible for ensuring we have an up-to-date active and deliverable email address for you, and for periodically visiting our Site and this Privacy Policy to check for any changes.
What is your disclaimer?
Affordable Testing and this website do not make any medical diagnoses nor are they intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified health provider if you have a medical condition or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition and/or medical symptoms. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or the emergency services immediately. Reliance on any information provided by 5 Strands® Affordable Testing and this website is solely at your own risk. Some of the content on this website may be provided by third parties and we are not in a position to verify this content. We do not warrant that any such third party content is true, accurate or complete. Our method of testing does not test for type IgE allergies. Since these reactions can be serious, you should seek the help of an allergy specialist.