Dozens of lawsuits have been filed against L’Oreal and other companies, alleging their hair straightening products cause cancer.
We’re here to bring you all the info and news about this case.
In the world of beauty and personal care, hair relaxers have long been a staple for millions of women, particularly those of African descent.
Renowned for their ability to tame and straighten textured hair, these products have been a part of women’s grooming routines for decades.
However, recent lawsuits and scientific studies have revealed a worrying link between their usage and an increased risk of cancers such as uterine and ovarian cancer.
250+ lawsuits have been filed against prominent cosmetic companies, including industry leaders like L'Oreal, SoftSheen Carson, Strength of Nature, and Godrej Consumer Products.
These legal proceedings, initiated by women who developed uterine cancer after years of using hair relaxers, allege that the manufacturers were aware of the potential harm their products could cause but continued to market and sell them without providing adequate warnings to consumers.
One of the plaintiffs, Alicia Smith, a 46-year-old woman from Ohio, was diagnosed with uterine cancer in 2019, despite having no familial history of the disease. Since the age of 13, she had been using products to straighten her hair. Her lawsuit, along with others, claims that the manufacturers knowingly exposed their customers to dangerous endocrine-disrupting chemicals, such as phthalates, which are associated with reproductive problems, cancer, and other health issues.
"For too long, the cosmetics industry has failed to warn consumers of the presence of harmful chemicals in hair relaxers," said Ashlie Case Sletvold, Smith's attorney. "This has led to devastating consequences for women like Alicia Smith."
Jenny Mitchell, another plaintiff from Missouri, received a diagnosis of uterine cancer when she was 28 years old. She had been using hair-straightening products since grade school. She is also suing L'Oreal, SoftSheen Carson, Strength of Nature, Dabur, and Namaste Laboratories, alleging that these companies misrepresented their products as safe and provided no warnings about the risks involved.
These lawsuits were sparked by a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which found that women who frequently use hair-straightening products had a 150% higher risk of developing uterine cancer, and a 50% higher risk of developing ovarian cancer.
Uterine cancer ranks among the most common gynecologic cancers. Elevated estrogen exposure and imbalances in estrogen and progesterone are recognized as key risk factors. Hence, the role of synthetic estrogenic compounds like endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is hypothesized to cause uterine cancer risk because of their ability to alter hormonal actions.
Hair products might include harmful chemicals that can disrupt the endocrine system and even lead to cancer. Past research linked these products to higher chances of hormone-sensitive cancers like breast and ovarian cancer. Nevertheless, no study had yet explored their potential connection with uterine cancer.
This was the first epidemiologic study examining the correlation between straightener use and uterine cancer.
Called the Sister Study, this was conducted by the National Cancer Institute, and involved over 50,000 women. It was originally aimed to identify factors which increase risk of breast cancer.
The Sister Study was a prospective cohort that enrolled 50,884 women between 2003 and 2009. Eligible participants were breast cancer-free women aged 35-74 with at least one sister diagnosed with breast cancer. Baseline data included interviews, self-administered questionnaires, and physical measurements. Annual health updates were collected, with response rates near 90%. Data for analysis spanned through September 2019. After exclusions, 33,947 eligible women remained for the study concerning uterine cancer.
The study population comprised 7.4% Black/African American, 4.4% Hispanic/Latina non-Black, 85.6% non-Hispanic White, and 2.5% other races/ethnicities. Participants completed a questionnaire on hair product use in the past year, including frequency and type of products used. Data were grouped for analysis based on usage frequency and categorized for color and duration of hair dye use.
However, study data on 33,974 participants from the Sister Study found 378 cases of uterine cancer, and identified use of hair straighteners as a major risk factor.
Women who frequently used hair straightening products (defined as more than four times in the previous year) were over twice as likely to develop uterine cancer compared to non-users, according to the researchers' findings.
It estimated that women who never used hair straighteners had a 1.64% chance of developing uterine cancer before the age of 70. In contrast, women who frequently used straighteners had a higher estimated risk of 4.05% of developing uterine cancer.
The study did not specify particular brands or ingredients in the hair straighteners but mentioned that chemicals such as formaldehyde, parabens, bisphenol A, and metals are found in these products.
According to Alexandra White, Ph.D., head of the NIEHS Environment and Cancer Epidemiology group and lead author on the new study, the chemicals in hair straighteners and other hair products may disrupt hormone balance and have carcinogenic properties, posing a significant health risk. While she emphasised that uterine cancer is relatively rare, the findings of the study are particularly worrying for Black women, who tend to use hair relaxers more frequently and from an earlier age compared to other racial or ethnic groups.
Furthermore, these chemical compounds have also been linked to a higher incidence of uterine fibroids, preterm deliveries, and endometriosis.
Several lawsuits have highlighted the societal pressure that led many women, particularly Black women, to start using hair straightening products from an early age.
Participants who used straighteners were predominantly African American/Black (59.9%) and generally younger with higher BMI and lower physical activity compared to those who never used them.
They felt compelled to conform to societal norms that reinforced straight hair as the standard of beauty and professionalism.
In response to these lawsuits, cosmetic companies like L'Oreal have come forward to defend the safety of their products.
L'Oreal, in an October 2022 statement, expressed confidence in the safety of their products and dismissed the lawsuits as having no legal merit. They insisted that all their products undergo a rigorous scientific evaluation to ensure they adhere to the highest standards of safety and comply with all regulations in every market they operate in.
Similarly, the Personal Care Products Council, representing about 90 percent of the beauty-products industry, refuted the NIH study's findings, arguing that the study failed to account for other factors that might be associated with increased uterine cancer risks.
The researchers found no associations with uterine cancer for other hair products that the women reported using, including hair dyes, bleach, highlights, or perms.
Ben Crump, one of Mitchell's attorneys, expressed that the lawsuit aims to send a powerful message to Black girls and young women. Their worth and beauty should not be tied to having straight hair if it puts their uterus at risk.
Diandra Debrosse Zimmermann, another attorney representing Mitchell, expects that more lawsuits will be filed as more women come forward with similar experiences.
As the legal battle continues, stay tuned for further updates.
