Hair Relaxer

Hair relaxers are lotion or cream products used to straighten tightly curled hair. As the name suggests, these products “relax” hair curls and make the hair easier to straighten out. These products use chemicals to break down the protein bonds in hair strands, straightening the strand. The strand will keep its straight texture until new growth causes the hair to curl up again.

Hair relaxers use one of two types of chemicals to alter the texture of hair:

Some hair relaxer products may contain formaldehyde, a known carcinogenic product that may absorb through the skin or give off vapors that cause eye and respiratory issues.

According to the American Cancer Society, researchers found links to cancer from hair relaxer products. A recent study identified a potential correlation between using hair relaxers and the risk of uterine cancer in women. National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers used data collected from over 33,000 women who participated in a Sister Study, which is researching potential risk factors for breast cancer or other diseases. The NIH researchers found that women who reported using hair relaxers developed uterine cancer by age 70 twice as often as women who did not use relaxers.

Medical experts have raised concerns that chemicals in hair straightening products might absorb through the skin and have hormone-like properties in the body. These chemicals may increase the risk of developing cancers linked to hormones, such as breast, ovarian, and uterine cancers. A previous study cited by the American Cancer Society that used data from the Sister Study found a potential link between hair relaxer use and a higher risk of breast cancer.

The NIH study found no statistical difference in the link between hair relaxer use and uterine cancer risk based on race. Still, researchers noted that the potential adverse health effects of hair relaxers might have a more significant impact on Black women, who tend to use hair relaxer products more frequently than women of other races. About 60 percent of the women in the NIH study who reported using a hair relaxer in the previous year self-identified as Black.

A federal court in Illinois consolidated approximately 60 lawsuits filed against manufacturers of hair relaxer products into federal multidistrict litigation (MDL). These lawsuits alleged that manufacturers sold hair relaxer products despite knowing they contained dangerous chemicals that could increase the risk of developing cancer and other health conditions. Dozens more lawsuits have since joined the multidistrict litigation.

Consolidating cases into an MDL helps streamline the discovery and pre-trial process. After the MDL, each case in the litigation gets tried separately.

The lawsuits currently in the MDL have named multiple manufacturers, including the following:

Products named in the lawsuits include:

As more lawsuits get added to the MDL, the case will involve additional manufacturers and products not already named.