Hair Relaxer Lawsuit | Uterine Cancer Lawyers

What is a Chemical Relaxer?

A chemical relaxer is a hair product people with tight curls use to straighten their hair permanently. Colloquially in African-American populations, relaxers are called perms. They can be performed by a licensed cosmetologist, in a barbershop, or at home with a home kit. As new growth comes in, retreating the hair every 6-8 weeks is required to maintain a consistent appearance. 

A relaxer is applied directly to a person’s hair and then rinsed off after a certain amount of time has passed. 

There are several different types of hair relaxers, with the most popular for home use being no-lye relaxers. Other types of relaxers include the following: 

• Thio relaxers
• Alkaline and lye relaxers
• Commercial sale (pulled from shelves in the 1990s after a class action lawsuit)
• Down perm (a product used in Asia to curtail hair that sticks out)

If you’ve used any kind of relaxer, contact our Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Lawyers at 800-359-5690. We can answer all of your questions. 

Relaxer Lawsuits

Our Product Liability Lawyers are helping women pursue claims against several relaxer manufacturers, including the following: 

• Loreal USA Products, Inc.
• Loreal USA, Inc.
• Softsheen Carson LLC
• Strength of Nature LLC
• Godrej Son Holding, Inc.
• Dabur International Ltd
• Dabur USA Ltd
• Namaste Laboratories
• Avlon Industries

These companies sell several hair relaxer brands. If you’ve used any of the following chemical straighteners and received a cancer diagnosis, you may be eligible for compensation:

• Optimum
• Dark & Lovely
• Crème of Nature
• ORS Olive Oil
• Just For Me
• Motions
• Soft & Beautiful
• TCB or TCB Naturals
• African Pride
• Hawaiian Silky

Black American women are 60% of hair relaxer customers. As such, these products typically feature images of Black women or girls on the boxes. Relaxers have fallen out of favor among many consumers over health concerns about the product’s ingredients. Research continues to accelerate the decline of relaxers as they pose an increased risk of certain cancers.

What kind of Cancer does the Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Cover?

Currently, the research best supports a link between uterine cancer and hair relaxers. These lawsuits are in the very early stages and still have the potential to include other forms of cancer. If you believe your or your loved one’s hair relaxer caused uterine cancer, our Hair Relaxer Lawsuit attorneys can help. 

Are Hair Relaxers Safe?

Relaxers are harmful. In October 2022, the results of a study on the link between hair relaxers and cancer published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that women who use relaxers are more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with uterine cancer than others. The 10-year study examined the incidence rate of cancer among women who regularly use relaxers vs women who never used relaxers. 

Black women use hair relaxers at a much higher percentage than other races. In fact, the demographic is often introduced to relaxers at a much earlier age than other races or ethnicities. Many were children in their single digits. Hair relaxers were supposed to make life easier by making hair easier to manage. Still, little did many in the African diaspora know the true extent of damage relaxers were doing to not only their hair but their bodies. 

Chemicals in Relaxers Can Cause Uterine Cancer

Uterine cancer, or endometrial cancer, is on the rise. So much so that experts expect the disease to become the third most common cancer among women by 2040. Additionally, the disease is likely to become the fourth leading cause of women’s cancer deaths.  There is strong scientific evidence driving our attorneys’ involvement in uterine cancer relaxer lawsuits.

Cancer of the uterus is the fourth most common type of cancer in women. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2022, there are: 

• About 65,950 new uterine cancer cases will be diagnosed.
• About 12,550 women will die from the disease.

The above cases include both endometrial and uterine sarcoma cancer. 

Black Women uterine cancer prognosis

Black women use hair straightening products more than any other demographic. Alarmingly, as uterine cancer rates and death rise in the U.S., those most likely to die from the disease are non-Hispanic Black women. Approximately 3.1% of all women will be diagnosed with uterine cancer in their lifetime. Black women, however, are significantly more likely than other racial groups to have advanced stages of uterine cancer when diagnosed. Further, they tend to have more aggressive tumor types, such as the following: 

• Clear cell
• Serous
• High-grade endometrioid 
• Malignant mixed Mullerian tumors
• Bleeding after menopause

In addition, research indicates that a cancer diagnosis in Black women has a greater mortality rate. The group is also less likely to receive the proper medical care for the disease than white women. This lack of quality healthcare greatly contributes to the racial disparities in mortality.  

Our staff has helped thousands of women file cancer lawsuits if their diagnosis resulted from a product. Our hair relaxer lawsuit lawyers have the skill to ensure you get the maximum compensation you deserve.

What are the Symptoms of Uterine Cancer?

There is no normal screening for uterine cancer. In fact, uterine cancer is only diagnosed when there are symptoms. If you get hair relaxers, you must pay attention to your body. While uterine cancer symptoms can vary from person to person, these symptoms are typical: 

• Unusual vaginal bleeding, spotting, or discharge
• Abnormal results from a pap test
• Pain in the pelvic area

Vaginal bleeding during or after menopause is often a sign of a problem. 

Why Does the Relaxer Lawsuit Feel Personal to Women of Color?

Many of the women diagnosed with hair relaxer-linked uterine cancer are mothers, sisters, daughters, cousins and good friends of Black women. Historically, Black women have been the demographic targeted by major corporations shilling harmful products with little care for their overall health. The history of Afro-texture hair in America has been fraught with grief, frustration, and pride. Afro hair is deemed as unprofessional, distracting, dirty, or unkempt. Some demographics may even view natural or protective hairstyles as flat-out political. These biases about afro hair make it difficult to move in a society built on exclusion. The over-policing of afro hair is not isolated to headlines. For many in the diaspora, it is a daily occurrence. Natural hairstyles and protective hairstyles have gotten African American men, women and children fired from their jobs, denied jobs, punished in school and prohibited from graduating.

These types of incidents are one of the problematic reasons Black women and Afro-Latinas, particularly in corporate settings, continue to use hair relaxers. 

How much will a Hair Relaxer Lawyer Cost?

With a Carlson Law Firm hair relaxer lawyer, you will not pay any upfront fees to pursue a claim against chemical relaxer manufacturers. Our attorneys work on contingency and will take fees after we’ve successfully resolved your case through settlement or court. 

How much is a relaxer cancer claim worth?

A plaintiff named Jenny Mitchell filed the first hair relaxer lawsuit in October 2022. As such, hair relaxer lawsuits are in the very early stages of litigation. Several factors can potentially affect the outcome of your claim. Be wary of settlement amounts or figures given online that some law firms are quoting to entice you. During a free consultation, our hair relaxer lawsuit team will be able to discuss in depth your injuries and how they may affect the outcome of your case. 

How can I prove I used a hair relaxer?

If this question is stopping you from contacting our team, don’t let it. Our team of investigators knows the documentation you need to prove your claim. Examples of items our team may collect to prove hair relaxer use include the following: 

• Medical records
• Receipts from stores or salons 
• Credit card records
• Other purchase records

When you contact our Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Lawyers, our team will build your case immediately. Consultations are free.

Mitchell v. L’Oréal: The First Hair Relaxer Cancer Lawsuit

Like many Black women, Jenny Mitchell is a Missouri resident who has used chemical relaxers since she was 10. She touched up her hair every 6-8 weeks until 2018, when at just 28 years old, Mitchell was diagnosed with uterine cancer. Mitchell underwent a full hysterectomy and is still under medical supervision. Further, she had no family history of cancer. 

The first hair relaxer lawsuit, Mitchell v. L’Oréal, was filed in federal court in Chicago. Our product liability attorneys expect thousands of women to follow suit. These lawsuits allege that the manufacturers knew, or should have known, about the uterine cancer risks caused by the chemicals in their hair products. 

Why are Relaxers Still on the Market if They Cause Cancer?

Contrary to popular belief, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not approve cosmetic products and ingredients before they go to market. As such, many companies release harmful products to American consumers with little testing about their safety. The FDA cannot force a company to recall its product or pull it from the shelves. In most instances, cosmetic recalls or market removals are voluntary. But there are still laws that regulate and apply to cosmetics placed into the market.

Laws that Apply to Hair Relaxers

The Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) is one of the most important laws regulating cosmetics. The FDCA prohibits marketing “adulterated” or “misbranded” cosmetics. According to the FDCA, adulterated products meet the following: 

• It contains any poisonous or deleterious substance causing injury to the product user. 
• Its container is composed, in whole or in part, of any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render the contents injurious to health.

In other words, while hair relaxer companies don’t have to submit their products for approval, they do have to make sure their products are safe. Further, the FDCA prohibits companies from “misbranding” by giving false or misleading information about their product. Hair relaxer companies are knowingly putting carcinogenic ingredients into their products and selling them to consumers.