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Hair Relaxers under Fire: Women Across the Nation File Lawsuits Against Makers of Hair Relaxer Products for Cancer Risks

Meagan Cline

Meagan Cline. Author

Women across the nation who developed ovarian cancer are filing lawsuits against the makers of hair relaxer products claiming these companies knew their products were dangerous and with ongoing use could cause cancer.

The hair is made up of protein chains held together by a series of physical and chemical bonds that give the hair its shape and strength. Chemical relaxation is a treatment that has been used for years on curly hair to loosen the natural curl pattern and create a variety of looks, from soft waves to completely straight hair.

common hair straightening products

During a chemical relaxing procedure, a process called lanthionization occurs. In lanthionization, hydroxide relaxers break the disulfide bonds in the hair by removing one atom of sulfur from the disulfide bond and thereby converting it into a lanthionine bond. When a hydroxide relaxer breaks a disulfide bond the bond is permanently broken and can never be reformed.

Hair relaxers are used by up to 70% of females with afro-textured hair. The most commonly used permanent hair straightening products are:

  • Relaxers
  • Keratin/Brazilian straighteners
  • Japanese heat straighteners (also known as thermal reconditioning)

What are the Risks of Using Hair Relaxers? 

The chemicals in hair relaxers and straightening products can have harmful effects on the body and may lead to a number of adverse effects. These chemicals can enter your body in various ways, including:

Skin and Eye Contact

  • Absorption into your bloodstream and/or direct harm to your skin.
  • Splashing of chemicals into your eyes.
  • Accidental touching of your eyes with chemicals on your hands.
  • Chemical vapors in the air making contact with your eyes.

Breathing

  • Breathing chemical vapors in through your nose or mouth.

Swallowing

  • Contamination of your food or drinks through the chemicals on your hands or in the air.

Recent studies have shown that the long-term use of chemicals in hair straighteners and relaxers may cause cancer and other hormone-related health conditions. Women across the nation who developed cancer are filing lawsuits against the makers of hair relaxer products claiming these companies knew their products were dangerous and with ongoing use could cause cancer.

These claims come after a series of recent studies have shown that the long-term use of chemicals in hair straighteners and relaxers may cause cancer. Some of these studies include:

  1. A new study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where women from the Sister Study were followed for almost 11 years and during that time 378 uterine cancer cases were diagnosed. 
  • The researchers in this study estimated that 1.64% of women who never used hair straighteners would go on to develop uterine cancer by the age of 70; but for frequent users, that risk went up to 4.05%.
  • This means that women who reported using hair straightening products frequently (more than four times in the previous year) were more likely to develop uterine cancer, compared to those who did not use the products.
  • The findings are consistent with prior studies showing chemical hair relaxers may increase the risk of hormone-related cancers in women.

2. In a different study published by the International Journal of Cancer, scientists at the NIH found that women who use permanent hair dye and chemical hair straighteners have a higher risk of developing breast cancer than women who do not use these products.

  • The study suggests that breast cancer risk increased with more frequent use of these chemical hair products.
  • In this research, scientists examined information from 46,709 women in the Sister Study and discovered that those who frequently utilized permanent hair dye and chemical hair straighteners in the year before joining the study had a 9% greater likelihood of contracting breast cancer when compared to women who did not use these hair-care products. Moreover, African American women, who use chemical hair straighteners and permanent dyes on a frequency of every five to eight weeks or more, have an increased risk of 60% of developing breast cancer at some point in their lives.
  • The study did not find that the relationship between the use of chemical hair products and breast cancer incidence was different by race as the adverse health effects may be greater for Black women due to a higher prevalence of use.

Hair Relaxer Lawsuits: Women Claim Cancer and Other Hormonal Health Problems from Chemical Exposure

Women nationwide are filing lawsuits against well-known manufacturers of hair-relaxing products claiming cancer and other hormonal health problems were caused by their ongoing exposure to chemicals in hair relaxer products and these companies did not warn consumers that they carried such risks.

Learn More About Your Legal Rights and Options

Women who used hair relaxer products long-term (at least four times a year) and were diagnosed in 2005 or later with one of the following may have a legal claim for financial compensation:

  • Ovarian Cancer
  • Clear Cell Ovarian Cancer
  • Endometrioid Ovarian Cancer
  • Mucinous Ovarian Cancer
  • Serous Ovarian Cancer
  • Undifferentiated Ovarian Cancer
  • Uterine Cancer

If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with ovarian or uterine cancer after long-term use of chemical hair-relaxing products, you may be entitled to compensation. At the National Injury Center, we are here to help and offer FREE legal consultations. To learn more about your rights and options, fill out our form today.

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