Chemical Hair Straighteners & Uterine Cancer

Chemical hair straighteners (also called hair relaxers) were linked to a doubled risk of uterine cancer in a major study involving over 33,000 women.

What You Can Do & How We Can Help

The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting uterine cancer induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been diagnosed with uterine cancer after using chemical hair straightening products or hair relaxers, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Product Liability Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.

UPDATE: L’Oreal Sued by Woman With Uterine Cancer

In October 2022, a woman with uterine cancer who was forced to have a hysterectomy at the age of 28 filed a hair relaxer lawsuit against L’Oreal and other beauty companies, blaming their chemical hair relaxer products for causing her cancer.

The lawsuit was filed by Jenny M., a black woman from Missouri who alleged that her uterine cancer “was directly and proximately caused by her regular and prolonged exposure to phthalates and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in defendants’ hair care products,” according to the lawsuit.

Her lawsuit was filed on October 21, 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois — Case Number 1:22-cv-05815.

Chemical Hair Straightening Linked to Uterine Cancer

In October 2022, a study of more than 33,000 women found that 4% of women developed uterine cancer after using chemical hair straighteners at least 4 times per year, which was double the risk of uterine cancer for women who did not use hair-straightening products.

What is the Risk?

Hair relaxers have been linked to severe, life-threatening side effects for women, including:

Study Finds 2X Risk of Uterine Cancer From Chemical Hair Straighteners

In a report published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, scientists are warning that the toxic chemicals in hair-straightening products may increase your risk of uterine cancer.

The researchers looked at data on nearly 34,000 women in the U.S. between the ages of 35 and 74 years old who were quizzed on their use of hair products.

After following up 10 years later, the researchers found that women who used hair-straightening products had the highest risk of uterine cancer compared to women who used other hair products.

Overall, around 4% of women who used hair-straightening products at least 4 times per year (or every 3 months) would be diagnosed with uterine cancer by the time they were 70 years old, compared to just 1.6% of women who did not use chemical hair straightening products.

The researchers noted that the conclusions of the study “could be more consequential for black women,” because over 60% of women who said they used chemical hair straighteners were black.

The study was published on October 17, 2022 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in October 2022 — “Use of Straighteners and Other Hair Products and Incident Uterine Cancer”

What is the Problem?

The problem is that hair-straighteners and relaxers often contain chemicals that are carcinogenic (cancer-causing) or hormone-disrupting. Some of these chemicals mimic the effect of estrogen, which may explain why studies have linked these products to uterine cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and reproductive diseases.

List of Popular Hair Straightening Products

Ultra Precise
Dark & Lovely
Bantu
Optimum
Motions
Just for Me
ORS Olive Oil
African Pridev
TCB Naturals
Luster’s
Africa’s Best
Creme of Nature
TCB
Mizani Rhelaxer
Soft & Beautiful
Ultra Sheen Supreme

What Chemicals Are In Hair Straighteners?

Very few chemical hair-straightening products list all of the ingredients on the label. Because the FDA regulates these products as cosmetics, the manufacturers are not required to list the ingredients on the label.

However, chemical hair-straighteners and similar products may contain the following chemicals:

Formaldehyde
Sodium hydroxide
Parabens
Phthalates
Cyclosiloxanes
Benzophenone-3
Diethanolamine
Triclosan
Metals
And more

How Do These Chemicals Get Into the Body?

Hair straighteners may be riskier than other hair products because the chemicals commonly cause burns and abrasions on the scalp, which could possibly increase the absorption of the toxic chemicals.

What is Uterine Cancer?

Rare and aggressive uterine cancers are becoming more common in the U.S., especially among women of color. The most common type of uterine cancer is endometrial cancer, which is caused by cells growing uncontrollable in the inner lining of the uterus.

Symptoms of Uterine Cancer

The symptoms of uterine cancer may include:

Unusual vaginal discharge
Vaginal bleeding or spotting
Abnormal bleeding (very heavy, between periods, or after you have gone through menopause)
Pelvic pain or pressure
Pain during sexual intercourse
Abnormal weight loss
And more

How Do Hair Straightening Chemicals Work?

Many hair relaxer products are do-it-yourself at home kits, similar to hair dye kits. There are also professional hair straightening products that stylists use in a salon.

For the professional hair straightening treatments in a salon, there is a three-step process. First, the stylist applies a relaxing chemical solution to the hair, which breaks down the protein bonds. Then, the stylist uses a flat iron with extremely high heat to make the hair straight and smooth. Finally, the stylist applies a neutralizer to re-bond and stabilize the hair into the desired texture.

Uterine Cancer Lawsuits

Thousands of lawsuits have already been filed by women with uterine cancer who used talcum powder products, and women who had hysterectomies in which doctors used devices called morcellators. It is possible that more lawsuits could be filed for women who were injured by hair straightening chemicals and other highly toxic hair products.

How Can a Lawyer Help Me?

If you were diagnosed with uterine cancer, our lawyers may be able to help you seek justice and financial compensation. There is no excuse for manufacturers who sell products that cause cancer, or fail to warn women about the risk of cancer when studies find evidence of a risk.

Do I have a Uterine Cancer Lawsuit?

Attention Lawyers: We consider a referral from another law firm to be one of the greatest compliments. If your firm is interested in referring us a case or for us to send you a list of previous award judgments and/or average referral fees, please visit the Lawyer Referral section of our website.

Chemical Hair Straighteners & Uterine Cancer Lawsuit