Sheila Bush, a cosmetologist, was in her St. Louis-area residence last winter, comfortably seated in a recliner when an advertisement from a law firm appeared on her television screen, urging viewers to call a toll-free number if they or their loved ones had used hair relaxers and had been diagnosed with uterine cancer.
After seeing the advertisement multiple times, Bush, who disclosed that she had used hair relaxers every six weeks for most of her life and had been diagnosed with uterine cancer around a decade ago, decided to pick up the phone.
The ads that Bush came across, both on television and her social media feeds, were part of a nationwide initiative by law firms to recruit Black women to participate in lawsuits alleging that a dozen cosmetic companies, including L’Oreal and Revlon, sold hair relaxers containing chemicals that elevated the risk of uterine cancer and neglected to warn consumers.
This recruitment campaign was launched in October of the previous year, shortly after a study by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) found an association, though not a direct causal link, between frequent use of chemical hair relaxers and uterine cancer. The lawsuits are predominantly concerned with hair straighteners marketed primarily to women of color, such as L’Oreal’s Dark & Lovely and Revlon’s Creme of Nature.
Some of the advertisements feature Black women applying hair products before presenting a summary of the NIH study’s findings.
Both L’Oreal and Revlon informed Reuters that their products undergo rigorous safety assessments. They pointed out that the authors of the NIH study stated they did not reach definitive conclusions about the cause of women’s cancers and called for further research.
Revlon stated, "We do not believe the science supports a connection between chemical hair straighteners or relaxers and cancer." L’Oreal added that it is dedicated to offering the finest products for individuals of all skin types, hair types, genders, identities, cultures, and ages. It emphasized that its hair relaxers have a rich heritage and history originating with Black inventors and entrepreneurs.
Namaste, which markets ORS Olive Oil relaxers, affirmed that all ingredients in their products are approved for cosmetic use by US regulators. They stated, "We do not believe the plaintiffs have shown or will be able to show, that the use of Namaste hair relaxer products caused the injuries that they allege in their complaints," as conveyed by a lawyer representing Namaste and its parent company, Dabur India, in an email response to Reuters.
The other companies named in the litigation either refrained from commenting or did not respond to requests for comment.
The success of the legal claims hinges on proving that the products were harmful and that the companies were aware or should have been aware of the risk but failed to warn customers. However, these cases face obstacles: In addition to the potential limitations of the NIH study, plaintiffs are suing multiple companies, and those without receipts may have difficulties providing evidence that they used specific products.
Ben Crump, who represented the family of George Floyd, a Black man murdered by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020, along with another lawyer, Diandra “Fu” Debrosse Zimmerman, filed the initial hair relaxer lawsuit on behalf of a Missouri woman named Jenny Mitchell shortly after the NIH study was published.
Since then, over 7,000 similar lawsuits have been filed by numerous plaintiffs’ lawyers. These cases have been consolidated in a Chicago federal court as part of a multidistrict litigation proceeding (MDL), designed to more efficiently manage lawsuits filed in various jurisdictions.
Even though the legal claims in the lawsuits do not allege racial discrimination, Crump believes that they should be viewed as "essentially civil rights issues."
For Black women, the pressure to conform to a European standard of beauty is projected onto them, said Crump, who represents plaintiffs in high-profile racial discrimination cases and is frequently featured on cable news.
Bush, now 69, recounted being taunted by white children in the schoolyard of her St. Louis school due to her "cotton" hair, a derogatory term commonly used for Black hair texture. She expressed how it made her feel as though she didn't belong or wasn't as good as they were. Bush was born in 1954, the same year that a landmark US Supreme Court decision declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
According to Jayne Conroy, a lawyer whose firm has filed at least 550 hair relaxer cases, the overwhelming majority of the plaintiffs are women of color. She added that attorneys don't have complete demographic data on their clients.
In the court proceeding consolidating the lawsuits, a master complaint contains numerous examples of advertisements that plaintiffs argue exploited historical racial discrimination improperly. One L’Oreal ad promoted "how beautiful Black hair can be," as stated in the complaint.
The complaint seeks unspecified damages.
Presenting the litigation as a civil rights issue could resonate with jurors beyond discussions concerning complex product liability claims, suggested Adam Zimmerman, a professor at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, who specializes in mass tort litigation.
These cases come at a time when Black individuals are increasingly embracing natural hairstyles. At least 23 states have enacted legislation aimed at protecting people from hair discrimination in workplaces and public schools. The US House of Representatives passed similar legislation last year, although it stalled in the Senate.
Uterine cancer is the most common type of female reproductive system cancer, and it is on the rise in the US, particularly among Black women, according to the NIH.
The American Cancer Society projects that this year in the United States, approximately 66,000 new cases of uterine cancer will be diagnosed, which is less than a quarter of the number of new cases of invasive breast cancer, totaling 297,790, and more than three times the number of ovarian cancer cases, which amounts to 19,710.
The NIH study, involving more than 33,000 women, revealed that those who reported using hair straightening products more than four times in the previous year were more than twice as likely to develop uterine cancer than those who did not. The study identified a total of 378 women who developed uterine cancer. Black women were found to use these products more frequently than others.
The researchers did not collect data on the ingredients of the specific products used by the women. Nevertheless, the NIH study's lead author, Dr. Alexandra White, responded to written questions by informing Reuters that hair straighteners have been found to contain phthalates, parabens, cyclosiloxanes, and metals. When heated, these products may release formaldehyde. Dr. White, however
, declined to participate in interviews through a spokesperson.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to propose a rule in April of the next year to prohibit the use of formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing chemicals in hair-straightening products. An FDA spokesperson did not provide further details on the timing of this proposal.
Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen and has been linked to nasopharyngeal cancer and leukemia, according to the World Health Organization. The NIH study noted that phthalates and other chemicals are suspected endocrine disruptors, which can interfere with the body's hormones and are believed to contribute to cancer risk.
Namaste, the company that markets ORS Olive Oil relaxers, indicated that formaldehyde is not an ingredient in their hair relaxer products. The other companies either refrained from commenting or did not respond to Reuters' inquiry on whether their products contain or release formaldehyde.
Companies and their defense lawyers have highlighted what they argue are flaws in the NIH study. In July, the companies named in the litigation requested the presiding judge to dismiss the lawsuits, emphasizing that the study was the first to suggest a potential link between hair straightening products and uterine cancer, which undermines the plaintiffs' argument that the companies were aware or should have been aware of any risks related to the products.
The companies also pointed out that the NIH study involved sisters of women previously diagnosed with breast cancer, who may have a genetic predisposition, according to a court filing. Lead author White stated in a statement that there is currently no strong evidence linking a family history of breast cancer to an increased risk of uterine cancer.
The plaintiffs rely on vague allegations that the products, in general, contain 'toxic chemicals,' argued the defense lawyers from the companies, including Paul, Weiss, Rifkind & Garrison, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, and other firms, in a court filing.
Plaintiffs believe that the NIH study will persuade the judge that at least some of the cases should go to trial. Jennifer Hoekstra, an attorney representing Bush, said that plaintiffs can advance their case without proving that the products caused cancer. She added that a study conducted by a reputable government institution like the NIH is likely to be sufficient to get cases before a jury.
An FDA rule proposal wouldn't change the plaintiffs' burden of proving that they were harmed by the chemicals in hair relaxers, said Zimmerman, a law professor at USC. Nevertheless, the evidence used by regulators to support a proposed rule would probably be admissible in court, and FDA actions tend to attract significant attention. This, in turn, would increase the number of people likely to participate in mass litigation.
Moreover, the judge overseeing the litigation approved a short-form complaint this summer, making it relatively easy for plaintiffs to file lawsuits.
Since November of the previous year, plaintiffs' lawyers have spent around $8 million on airing over 40,000 television advertisements across the US. These advertisements were heavily concentrated in Baltimore, Houston, and Washington, D.C., according to an analysis of marketing data conducted by X Ante for Reuters. X Ante is a firm that tracks mass tort advertising for large companies, law firms, and investment analysts.
Lawyers who are seeking plaintiffs for hair relaxer cases have utilized social media platforms and attended community events.
Quiana Hester mentioned that she and her sisters, Ariana and Nakisha, have been meeting with attorneys and are considering joining the litigation after seeing social media ads from plaintiffs' law firms.
The sisters indicated that they wanted their mother's death last year, following a battle with uterine cancer, to have meaning.
Patrice Hester, a former real estate agent, often advised her daughters that wearing natural hair could attract unwanted attention and negatively impact their careers. Ariana, who is 35 years old, revealed that her mother regularly emphasized that they shouldn't do anything to stand out or become targets. She shared a home with her mother and sister Nakisha in the San Diego area.
Sheila Bush, the St. Louis cosmetologist, stated that she joined the litigation in August due to the possibility that hair relaxers might cause cancer. She expressed her desire to see relaxers taken off the market entirely if it is determined that they are indeed a cause of cancer.
