Chemical hair relaxer
Various manufacturers of chemical hair-straightening / relaxer products
Last checked Sep 14, 2026 · LawyerUnc editorial. Educational only, not legal advice.
Docket. MDL 3060 (N.D. Ill.)
Window LawyerUnc is tracking. 1990-01-01 → open
General causation
Plaintiffs point to epidemiologic work associating frequent use of certain chemical straighteners with uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, and endometrial cancer. Defendants dispute general causation, product identification, and alternative explanations. Product identification (which brand, for how long) is a leading screen-out.
Specific causation / screening
Long-duration, frequent use plus a qualifying gynecologic cancer. A single salon visit is not the inventory. Medical records and a brand history are required before a file is useful to counsel.
Injuries currently screened
- Uterine cancer
- Ovarian cancer
- Endometrial cancer
- Uterine fibroids (in some firm inventories; often declined)
Timeline
2022
NIH / Journal of the National Cancer Institute paper
Widely reported study finds an association between frequent straightener use and uterine cancer.
2023
MDL 3060
JPML centralizes in the Northern District of Illinois.
2024–2026
Science and product ID
General causation and product-identification discovery dominate. Many no-brand files are declined.
Sep. 11, 2026
Arizona AG consumer-fraud suit
Arizona sued L'Oreal USA over alleged failure to disclose cancer risk. That is a state consumer-fraud case. It is not MDL 3060, and the State is the plaintiff.
Sources
- JPML MDL 3060
- Chang et al., JNCI 2022 (association study, not legal causation)