Five Hair Relaxer Lawsuits Over Cancer Risks Selected for Bellwether Trials

First hair relaxer bellwether trial is scheduled to begin in September 2027, but no specific case has been selected.

The U.S. District Judge overseeing all federal hair relaxer lawsuits indicates that attorneys have selected five claims to serve as the final early test trials in litigation alleging exposure to popular chemical straighteners can cause reproductive cancers.

Cosmetics companies such as L’Oreal and Soft-Sheen face more than 12,000 product liability lawsuits filed throughout the U.S. by women who say the manufacturers failed to adequately warn users that regular exposure to hair relaxers like Dark & lovely, Just for Me and Optimum could increase the risk of uterine, ovarian and endometrial cancer.

A National Institutes of Health published study in late 2022 determined that regular chemical straightener use was linked to a significantly increased risk of uterine cancer. Researchers found that women who used the products more than four times per year faced a 156% increased uterine cancer risk, while those who used them between one and four times annually faced a 56% increased risk.

Since 2023, all federal hair relaxer lawsuits have been centralized in a multidistrict litigation (MDL) in the Northern District of Illinois before U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings. The litigation also involves a series of “bellwether” trials designed to present representative claims to juries and gauge how they respond to evidence and testimony expected to be common to many of the hair relaxer injury lawsuits.

Judge Rowland and lawyers for both sides started with a pool of 32 potential hair relaxer lawsuit bellwether trial cases.

Attorneys for both sides then submitted 12 proposed cases for the final bellwether pool, but Judge Rowland declined to adopt their recommendations and instead selected 10 lawsuits herself. Her criteria required each case to name at least three defendants and excluded women reporting memory loss, certain mental health conditions or learning disabilities, as well as those pursuing separate talcum powder cancer lawsuits involving similar reproductive cancers.

Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Bellwether Trials

In a Notification of Docket Entry (PDF) issued on October 22, Judge Rowland announced that the parties had submitted an email identifying the five final bellwether cases. Selected hair relaxer lawsuits include those by:

• Bridget Boatwright (PDF), of New York, who was diagnosed with uterine and endometrial cancer in 2023, following years of using Optimum, ORS Olive Oil and other hair straighteners.
• Carrie Chapman (PDF), also of New York, who received an endometrial cancer diagnosis in 2017 after regular use of ORS Olive Oil, Dark & Lovely, Optimum and Crème of Nature products.
• Charlene Fennell (PDF), of New Jersey, received an endometrial diagnosis in 2022 after years of Just for Me, Crème of Nature and Dark & Lovely use.
• Gloria Ford (PDF), from Maryland, used ORS Olive Oil, Dark & Lovely and others before receiving an ovarian cancer diagnosis in 2011.
• Karla Smith (PDF), of New York, was diagnosed with endometrial cancer in 2018, following 40 years of using Dark & Lovely, Optimum, Luster’s Pink Oil, ORS Olive Oil, African Pride and Crème of Nature.

Judge Rowland previously indicated that the first hair relaxer lawsuit bellwether trial will begin on September 7, 2027. A series of case management conferences are also scheduled for the months preceding the trial. Those conferences will allow the court and parties to address discovery disputes, expert issues, motions and other trial preparations as the first bellwether case approaches. However, the judge has not yet named which claim will go first.

Although the outcomes of these trials will not be binding on other complaints, the verdicts could have significant impact on any negotiations toward securing a settlement agreement to resolve the litigation.

Hair Relaxer Lawsuits

As the first hair relaxer lawsuits get prepared for bellwether trials, hair relaxer lawyers are continuing to review claims for women who regularly used chemical straighteners and were diagnosed with serious reproductive cancers, such as:

• Uterine cancer
• Endometrial cancer
• Ovarian cancer
• Uterine sarcoma and other uterine malignancies

Free consultations are available to determine whether individuals and families of individuals who received reproductive cancer diagnoses qualify to pursue a claim. All claims are handled on a contingency fee basis, meaning there are never any fees or expenses unless a recovery is obtained.

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