L’Oreal, Other Beauty Brands Urged to Remove Hair Relaxers from Market in Light of Cancer Risk

A women’s health group is calling for L’Oreal and other big beauty brands to recall toxic hair relaxer products like Dark & Lovely, due to evidence that the products may cause cancer, particularly among Black women who have been targeted by chemical hair-straightener ads for decades. If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with uterine cancer or another serious medical condition and you have reason to believe the cancer was caused by a chemical hair straightener or hair relaxer, contact Consumer Safety Watch as soon as possible. Women across the country are suing L’Oreal and other major manufacturers for developing, marketing, and selling harmful hair relaxers containing toxic endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and you may be entitled to financial compensation for the harm you have suffered. 

Calls for Manufacturers to Remove Toxic Ingredients from Products

Chemical hair straighteners and relaxers like Dark & Lovely, African Pride, and Just for Me have been used by women for years to tame curly, kinky, or textured hair and make it easier to manage. Black women in particular have been targeted by aggressive advertisements encouraging them to artificially straighten their hair with dangerous chemicals that may increase their risk of cancer and other serious health problems. In light of these issues, the UK-based gender justice group Level Up has filed a petition for manufacturers like L’Oreal to pull from shelves Dark & Lovely and other lye-based hair relaxer products, which the group says cause breast cancer. “Lye, also known as sodium hydroxide, is a heavy-duty chemical used to unblock drains,” states the petition, which already has more than 6,000 signatures. “Brands including L’Oreal, Revlon and Motions all sell products that include lye – and some of these products are targeted at young girls.”

Hair Straightening Chemicals Linked to Uterine Cancer Risk

Growing concerns have been raised about the potential link between chemical hair-straightening products and cancer, in light of recent research warning that the chemicals used in many popular hair relaxers may significantly increase the risk of uterine cancer. A study of 33,497 women published last year in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that those who frequently used hair straighteners containing potentially carcinogenic chemicals like parabens, phthalates, bisphenol A, and formaldehyde had more than double the risk of developing uterine cancer compared to those who did not use the products. The researchers also noted that “the adverse health effects associated with straightener use could be more consequential for African American and/or Black women because of the higher prevalence and frequency of hair product use, younger age of initiating use, and harsher chemical formulations (ie, higher concentrations of EDCs and chemicals being regulated or banned) than other races and ethnicities.”

Taking into account these and other concerning findings pertaining to the potential health risks associated with hair relaxer use, a growing number of women are claiming that L’Oreal and other hair relaxer manufacturers withheld information about the harmful chemicals in their products and failed to warn that they can cause cancer. Hundreds of product liability lawsuits have already been filed over cancer and other potential chemical hair-straightener injuries in courts across the United States, and given the widespread use of these products, it is estimated that the litigation will grow to include tens of thousands of lawsuits filed nationwide. Earlier this year, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) consolidated all chemical hair straightener lawsuits in a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the Northern District of Illinois. 

Call Consumer Safety Watch Today for Help

“As long as these [hair relaxer] products are still being sold, Black women are at risk of serious health conditions,” the Level Up petition states. “It’s time to demand that all beauty brands remove lye and other harmful hydroxides from their hair products.” If you used a chemical hair straightener like Dark & Lovely, TCB Naturals, Just for Me, African Pride, or Motions, and you have since been diagnosed with uterine cancer, endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, or another serious health condition, do not hesitate to consult an experienced hair straightener cancer attorney to discuss your legal options. You may have grounds to file a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer, in order to pursue financial compensation for your medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other related losses. Call Consumer Safety Watch today to see how we can help.