Table 3.

Hair collection issues and problem solving strategies

Category	Exemplary field notes
Hair style (e.g. braids, ponytails)	Child’s hair in two braids, was able to take hair from scalp from pieces hanging out without removing braids.
	Hair in braids, mother undid one of the braids in the back of the head for hair sample.
	Child’s hair in multiple ponytails, mother would prefer not to take them out. Collected hair from stray strands in between ponytails.
	Mother did not want to remove braids in posterior vertex area of scalp because she doesn’t know how to put them back in, asked to cut hair towards the nape of neck.
Hair length/texture	Hair collected from scalp area slightly above posterior vertex due to longer hair length.
	Mother states she avoided getting a haircut for child this week in preparation for sample collection, but hair was still very short; collected small amounts from 4 spots on head.
	Hair was very light; collected small amounts from 5–6 different locations until adequate weight reached on digital scale.
Child refusal	Child very upset by the idea of someone cutting his hair; child continued to refuse after taking a break, so hair not collected.
	Child was hesitant about hair collection until mother offered to have her hair collected first.
	Mother reported that child gets very upset during haircuts and requested that hair be cut while he was distracted; attempted collection while child was sitting on mother’s lap and looking at phone, but stopped when child became upset.