The state of Arizona officially filed a case against cosmetics company L’Oréal, accusing the corporation of hiding the fact that its chemical hair relaxer products can increase the chances of cancer among women.
Filed on Sep. 10 in state court by Democratic Attorney General Kristin Mayes, the case names L’Oréal USA, its parent company L’Oréal S.A., and SoftSheen as defendants. The lawsuit says that the hair company sold chemical hair relaxers primarily to Black women and children. They did, however, not disclose that there are chemicals in the products that could increase the chances of developing cancer, particularly ovarian and uterine cancer.
The chemicals contained in the products include parabens, phthalates and other human carcinogens that affect the endocrine system.
The lawsuit says that they used beauty standards pertaining to Black women and children to sell the products, disregarding health risks for the sake of profit. As part of the case, Arizona is seeking penalties and damages. The lawsuit will also seek to require the hair company to be more transparent about the dangers that come with its products if it keeps them on the shelves.
As of now, L’Oréal faces over 12,000 lawsuits with similar claims. The lawsuits primarily come from Chicago.
The hair company, however, denies the claims and maintains that it reviews all its products for potential health effects.
For years, scientists have been highlighting the negative side effects of long-term use of hair relaxers, particularly amongst postmenopausal Black women.
In 2023, the first large-scale study of their effects found that women who regularly used hair relaxers more than two times every year or for over five years had a 50% increased chance of developing uterine cancer when compared to women who never used them.
They are also more likely to get more aggressive forms of the cancer and are nearly two times more likely to pass away once they develop the disease. The conclusions came from a study that followed 45,000 women in the Black Women’s Health Study over 22 years. Prior to the start of the study, all the women confirmed that they had no history of cancer or health issues pertaining to their uterus.
“Black women are often underrepresented in health research and may have unique exposures that contribute to disparities in disease,” said epidemiologist Kimberly Bertrand to the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. “This study fills an important gap in knowledge about the potential health effects of hair relaxer use, which is very common in Black women.”
With the latest case against L’Oréal, the state of Arizona is aiming to get the company to address its role in uterine cancer cases among Black women.
The trial is expected to begin sometime in 2027.
