V of VI
Since in the past there were no laws regarding food labeling, additives, or health claims this meant that people could not sue with the law on their side. This slowly changed and ideas such as individual lawsuits or class action lawsuits for harm by a for profit company became an option. A quick reminder on lawsuit history: “1848 New York passes the Married Woman’s Property Act. For the first time, a woman isn’t automatically liable for her husband’s debts; she could enter contracts on her own; she could collect rents or receive an inheritance in her own right; she could file a lawsuit on her own behalf. She became, for economic purposes, an individual.” And it wasn’t until 1900 “…every state has passed legislation modeled after New York’s Married Women’s Property Act (1848), granting married women some control over their property and earnings.”34 A reminder that this was white women only: slavery was not abolished until 1865 and human rights for Black people, women especially, were not accessible or followed for some time after. A Black woman would have to be seen as human first to allot the same rights as white women and historically have not been viewed as such. But eventually this attitude of a woman being an individual also made it so we can file lawsuits independently.
Yes, we live in a litigious society here in the United States. People can and do sue. I’m sure you all have heard of the famous McDonald’s hot coffee lawsuit35 in which a consumer sued McDonald’s over spilling hot coffee over herself. This lawsuit was definitely looked at by the general public as trivial or even stupid. She was awarded money but in the end the court found her partially to blame since she spilled it on herself. Or even more recently the more serious Starbucks hot coffee lawsuit36 in which an employee got hot coffee spilled on himself. Suing cases can be very complex and range anywhere from lawsuits like McDonald’s to more life or death situations. And unfortunately, the lawsuits which have been popping up for hair straighteners are life threatening and quite serious.
In 2022, “Jenny Mitchell became one of the first women to file a hair relaxer lawsuit against L’Oréal and other companies after she was diagnosed with uterine cancer.”37 Thousands of lawsuits have followed since. Where the FDA is hesitant to do anything about banning cancer causing chemicals from chemical straighteners; Black women are picking legal battles while they fight for their health. The hope is that if the major companies still selling these chemicals experience a high number of lawsuits and lose money doing so, that they will start to explore other ingredients. Maybe even depart from formaldehyde altogether.
We have options to make changes in society for dangerous chemicals and goods. Drugwatch is one of those resources: “Since 2009, Drugwatch has been the leading resource for people seeking justice and support in the face of unsafe or defective products, ensuring people injured by negligence and wrongful actions have the answers and guidance they need to seek justice, demand accountability and secure a healthier, safer future.”38
There are a bunch of resources on this website but the ones I would like to highlight here are that they do talk about How to Tell if Hair Straighteners Have Affected Your Health39 and
“Actions You Can Take if You May Have Been Injured by Hair Relaxers:
- Make sure you talk to your doctor right away about any side effects you might have suffered. We’ve listed some symptoms to look out for below.
- Consider stopping chemical straightener use and switching to non-chemical straightening methods or leaving your hair in its natural state.
- Seek the advice of an experienced hair relaxer lawyer if you want to file a lawsuit for potential compensation.”
Large, conglomerate companies unfortunately do not have consumers’ best interest at heart; especially Black people. It is time for us to rise up and do what we can, which sometimes means to sue. If you or anyone you know has suffered from uterine, endometrial and ovarian cancer and you have been or are a regular user of chemical hair straighteners, contact Drugwatch and see if you have a case. Every voice will be needed on this to insight change. You just might be that change.
Drugwatch does have a timeline and posts updates periodically.40 The most heartbreaking part of this entire story is the pain of these women who suffer from cancer as a direct result of using chemical straighteners. In one story they speak about how this 38 year old named Michele leading a healthy lifestyle “was diagnosed with breast cancer, despite a lack of any genetic predisposition or family history. The couple never linked Michele’s long-term use of chemical hair straighteners, a habit since her early teens, to her cancer.”41 There are many stories like this.42 She had been using chemical straighteners since she was 8 years old. And the even sadder part for me is that before her passing she continued using hair straighteners even during chemotherapy. “If there were a warning on those products, she wouldn’t have kept using them. She would have stopped immediately. These companies put money before people’s lives, and all they care about is what’s hitting their bank account.” I couldn’t agree more; profit over people has played out time and time again in our US society. But a warning on the products is not enough: the allure of straight hair may be too great for some. At least formaldehyde should be banned entirely.
Chemical hair straighteners are a type of long term poisoning. Hair grows out so you have to re-apply the chemicals at least about four times a year. But there is always the question of how much is going to give you cancer, even if you do less. Even my Thank God I’m Natural book hero Chris-Tia Donaldson was diagnosed with breast cancer. It may not be related to hair products, but what if it is? What danger are we in from routine chemical exposure to straighten our hair multiple times a year for 25, 30, 40 years?
“Chemical hair relaxers are heavily marketed to and commonly used by Black women to straighten curly or tightly coiled hair…Historically, up to 95% of self-identified adult Black women in the U.S. reported ever use of hair relaxers…in a more contemporary cohort queried 2014–2022, 84% of non-Hispanic Black women reported current or past use…”43 And a lot of these products are highly marketed to young women or anyone longing for a certain look. “Researchers found a 30% increased risk of breast cancer in women who used chemical hair straighteners every five to eight weeks.”44
The question for us as consumers will be: is it worth using these chemical straighteners even a little bit in light of this information? And why do people in climbing use or are further persuaded to still use them?
Continued in Part VI
Works Cited
34. Scroptomist. “Women’s Rights History in the U.S.”https://blog.soroptimist.org/blog/womens-rights-history-in-the-us 21 May 2025
35. Hernandez, Jose. “A woman is suing McDonald’s after being burned by hot coffee. It’s not the first time.”https://www.npr.org/2023/09/28/1201421914/a-woman-is-suing-mcdonalds-after-being-burned-by-hot-coffee-its-not-the-first-ti, 21 May 2025
36. Maruf, Ramishah. “Starbucks ordered to pay $50 million to delivery driver burned by hot beverage.”https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/14/business/starbucks-hot-coffee-driver-verdict, 21 may 2025
37. Drugwatch. “Latest Chemical Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Updates.”https://www.drugwatch.com/legal/hair-straightener-lawsuits/#why-are-people-suing, 02 May 2025
38. Drugwatch. “About Drugwatch.” https://www.drugwatch.com/about/, 01 May 2025
39. Drugwatch. “Chemical Hair Relaxers & Their Growing Health Concerns.” https://www.drugwatch.com/chemical-hair-straighteners/, 02 May 2025
40. Drugwatch. “Latest Chemical Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Updates.”https://www.drugwatch.com/legal/hair-straightener-lawsuits/#why-are-people-suing, 02 May 2025
41. Drugwatch. “Florida Woman Developed Breast Cancer After Decades of Chemical Hair Straightener Use.”https://www.drugwatch.com/beyond-side-effects/florida-woman-developed-breast-cancer-after-decades-of-chemical-hair-straightener-use/, 16 May 2025
42. Consumer Reports. “Over 10,000 Women Now Allege That Toxic Chemicals in Hair Relaxers Gave Them Cancer.”https://www.consumerreports.org/health/hair-care-products/women-allege-chemicals-in-hair-relaxers-gave-them-cancer-a1131794450/?itm_source=parsely-api, 23 May 2025
43. Kimberly A. Bertrand, Lauren Delp, Patricia F. Coogan, Yvette C. Cozier, Yolanda M. Lenzy, Lynn Rosenberg, Julie R. Palmer“Hair relaxer use and risk of uterine cancer in the Black Women’s Health Study.”https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935123020327, 17 May 2025
44. Drugwatch. “Latest Chemical Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Updates.”https://www.drugwatch.com/legal/hair-straightener-lawsuits/#why-are-people-suing, 02 May 2025
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