The US state of Arizona has taken legal aim at L’Oreal South Africa and its US subsidiary, alleging the cosmetics company hid evidence that its hair relaxer products could cause cancer in women – as it faces thousands of similar lawsuits from users and their families, reports Reuters.
Arizona Attorney-General Kristin Mayes filed the lawsuit last week, making Arizona the first state to sue over alleged cancer risks linked to straighteners.
The lawsuit accuses L’Oreal of violating state consumer protection laws by marketing the products, which are used predominantly by African American women, without warning consumers about the alleged risks of ovarian and uterine cancers.
The state is seeking penalties and damages, as well as a court order forcing L’Oreal to stop selling the products unless it warns of the cancer risk.
In marketing the products to women and children over decades, L’Oreal and associated companies “exploited centuries of social pressures and discriminatory beauty standards affecting people of African descent, all while prioritising profit over consumer safety”, Arizona’s lawsuit claims.
The company faces more than 12 000 similar lawsuits filed by women or their families that have been consolidated in a Chicago federal court as part of a multi-district litigation proceeding, a procedure designed to more efficiently manage lawsuits filed in multiple jurisdictions.
A spokesperson for L’Oreal USA said the company has confident in the safety of its products and believes the claims are without legal or scientific merit.
Established in 1963 and headquartered in Johannesburg, L'Oréal South Africa has a long-standing history of beauty leadership in the region.
Study findings
The products, which have been marketed under the names Dark and Lovely, Optimum and other brands, promise to permanently straighten textured hair.
The first lawsuits hit the docket after the 2022 release of a study done by the National Institutes of Health that found women who used the products several times a year were more than twice as likely to develop uterine cancer.
L’Oreal’s spokesperson said the study made no finding of a causal connection between the use of those products and any conditions alleged by the plaintiffs.
The lawsuits seek damages to compensate the women for their pain and suffering and economic damages for medical bills and the cost of the products, among other things.
The lawsuits name L’Oreal, as well as Revlon and other makers of the products. Revlon has also denied a connection between cancer and the products.
The multi-district litigation continues to move forward, court records show, and trials could begin next year.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
US lawsuit claims L’Oreal’s hair straighteners caused cancer
Uterine cancer risk linked to hair-straightening products – US study
US court to hear 60 consolidated lawsuits over L’Oreal hair straightener claims