Arizona accuses L’Oréal of concealing cancer risks linked to hair relaxers

Key Points:

• Arizona has filed a lawsuit against L’Oréal, accusing the company of hiding evidence that its hair relaxer products may cause ovarian and uterine cancers, making it the first state to sue over these alleged cancer risks.
• The lawsuit claims L’Oréal violated state consumer protection laws by marketing the products predominantly to African American women without warning about the cancer risks, and seeks penalties, damages, and a court order to halt sales without proper warnings.
• L’Oréal faces over 12,000 similar lawsuits consolidated in a federal multi-district litigation in Chicago, with trials potentially starting in 2027; the company maintains its products are safe and denies the claims.
• The lawsuits follow a 2022 NIH study linking frequent use of hair relaxers to more than double the risk of uterine cancer, and seek compensation for pain, suffering, medical expenses, and product costs.
• The products implicated include brands like Dark and Lovely and Optimum, which promise to permanently straighten textured hair, and the lawsuit highlights alleged exploitation of discriminatory beauty standards affecting people of African descent.