Days after a study from the US National Institute of Environmental Health Safety (NIEHS) suggesting that hair-straightening products might significantly increase the risk of uterine cancer among frequent users, L’Oreal has been sued by a US woman who says she developed uterine cancer after using the French cosmetic company’s products.
Reuters reports the lawsuit was filed last week in a Chicago court by Jennifer Mitchell, who was diagnosed with uterine cancer in 2018 after using L’Oreal's products since about 2000, when she was 10. She is asking the court to order the world’s largest cosmetic company to pay unspecified money damages and for medical monitoring.
Diandra Debrosse Zimmermann, a lawyer for Mitchell, said her firm already has other clients in similar circumstances. She said there would probably be more lawsuits in the future, as “many women will be coming forward in the coming weeks and months to seek accountability”.
L’Oreal did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NIEHS researcher Che-Jung Chang said last week the new study could be particularly relevant to black women because they tend to use hair straighteners more frequently, beginning at earlier ages than people of other races.
Mitchell, who is black, accuses L’Oreal of deliberately marketing its hair-straightening products to black women and girls and failing to warn of risks, despite knowing since at least 2015 that they contained potentially dangerous chemicals.
The company “profited, significantly” from “unethical and illegal conduct that caused plaintiff to purchase and habitually use a dangerous and defective product”, the lawsuit said.
Reuters article – L’Oreal’s hair straighteners caused woman’s cancer, lawsuit claims (Open access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Uterine cancer risk linked to hair-straightening products – US study
Hair products contain dangerous amounts of formaldehyde
Use of permanent hair dye and cancer risk