Understanding the Hair Straightener Lawsuit

Women with a history of utilizing chemical hair straighteners frequently may be entitled to monetary or financial compensation if they have been afflicted by uterine or breast cancer. In this instance, frequently is generally defined as using the product more than four times per year.

Women or even family members of women diagnosed with uterine, breast, or other cancers with a history of use can participate as a plaintiff in a hair straightener lawsuit. Recent multiple legal actions are in response to the National Institutes of Health’s October 2022 scientific report that indicates that women who use hair straightening/relaxing products have a higher risk of cancer.

What are Chemical Hair Relaxers/Straighteners?

Hair straighteners and relaxers have been primarily sold/marketed to Black and Latin for decades. They have been designed to break down the hair’s disulfide bonds – the strongest bond that creates the coil, curly, or actual shape of the hair. These products contain an alkali agent that breaks down the bonds. The result is that the hair is softer, flatter, and significantly easier to comb and style.  

These hair-relaxing products, which are often infused with perfumes or fragrances, may include several known cancer-causing agents –

• Phthalates
• Parabens
• Estrogen, etc.

Yet, these hair-relaxing products have been marketed without appropriate labels that warn users of the risk of uterine or breast cancer. And while safer alternatives have been available for some time, the reality is that –

• Women using hair straighteners were never notified as to the cancer risks of the perfumed hair straightening products they were using – or –
• The possibility of using safer options or alternatives.

Scientific evidence points clearly to the potential danger of the above-noted chemicals for several decades. Yet, large manufacturers continue to market these products to retail customers and wholesale to professional hair salons. And the products have no labels that warn of the real risks created by using the chemicals in these products to relax or straighten your hair on a regular basis.

Medical Conditions Related to Hair Straightener Lawsuit

Scientists have known for decades that certain chemicals (like phthalates and other hormone disrupters) cause breast cancer. Yet it is noted that those who regularly used hair straightener products were not sufficiently warned. As a result, they may be eligible for financial recovery and compensation. If you have regularly used hair straightener products and been diagnosed with one of the following, you may be eligible.

• Breast Cancer
• Uterine Cancer
• Ovarian Cancer
• Endometrial Cancer
• Uterine Fibroids

Products That May Contain Cancer-Causing Ingredients

• Dark & Lovely
• L’Oréal
• Dabur
• PDC Brands
• Strength of Nature
• Soft & Beautiful
• Softsheen Carson
• Motions
• Parfums d Coeur
• Namaste
• Just for me
• Optimum, among others

Hair Straightener Lawsuits are the Most Effective Way to Hold Manufacturers Accountable

In 2022, the global market for hair relaxers and straighteners is estimated to exceed $700 million – with expectations nearing $840 million by 2028. Many estimates reveal that nine in ten black women have used hair-relaxing products during their life – many having begun to do so as young women.

Because safe alternatives are available, accountability has continued to elude those responsible. Countless innocent women have been afflicted with cancer – many of whom lost their lives to the disease and many of whom may have made different choices if they had been appropriately warned of the risks.

If you, a close friend, or a loved one has received a cancer diagnosis – and has a history of using hair-straightening products, you may be entitled to damages.