Lawyers To Nominate Hair Relaxer Cancer Cases for Early Bellwether Trials Next Week

The first hair relaxer lawsuit bellwether trials are expected to begin in 2027, to gauge how juries will respond to evidence linking the chemical straighteners to uterine cancer, ovarian cancer and other injuries.

As lawyers continue to work on pretrial discovery in thousands of hair relaxer lawsuits brought by women nationwide, the U.S. District Judge presiding over the litigation has ordered each side to identify six representative cases next week, from which the Court will select three claims involving the development of uterine cancer, endometrial cancer or ovarian cancer that will be eligible for the first bellwether trials.

Lawsuits over the risk of cancer linked to hair relaxer side effects first emerged in late 2022, following the publication of a study by the National Institutes of Health, which found that women who regularly used hair relaxer products faced more than double the risk of developing uterine cancer compared to those who did not use the products. 

In the growing number of claims that have been filed since the release of the study, plaintiffs claim those risks stem from chemical ingredients commonly found in hair straighteners, including phthalates, parabens and formaldehyde-releasing agents, which have been linked to hormone disruption and tumor growth in reproductive tissues.

As of this month, more than 11,000 hair relaxer cancer lawsuits have been filed against cosmetics manufacturers such as L’Oreal, Revlon and others, with plaintiffs alleging the companies failed to warn consumers about potential cancer risks associated with chemical hair straighteners marketed under brands like Just for Me, Dark & Lovely and Optimum.

Given common questions of fact and law raised in complaints filed throughout the federal court system, all hair relaxer lawsuits have been consolidated before U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland in the Northern District of Illinois since 2023, for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

In May 2025, Judge Rowland ordered the parties to choose a group of 32 hair relaxer lawsuits to serve as potential bellwether cases, which may be ready to go before juries by the second half of 2027. While the outcome of these early test trials will not be binding on other claims, they will be closely watched to provide plaintiffs and defendants with a view into how juries will digest evidence and testimony that will likely be repeated throughout the litigation.

Over the past year, the parties have conducted depositions and case-specific discovery, seeking to narrow the claims down to just a few representative cases. Fact discovery for the initial 32 hair relaxer bellwether pool claims is expected to be completed by March 18. In addition, Judge Rowland has ordered the parties to turn in a list of 12 cases, six each, from that initial pool that they believe could serve as bellwether trials.

Once the lists are turned in, Judge Rowland has indicated she will select three claims by April 1 to serve as the actual bellwether trial cases. By April 6, plaintiffs will choose one of the cases to be prepared for trial. Defendants will choose another claim by April 10.

Afterward, the Court will select a second group of three potential bellwether cases by April 15, with plaintiffs choosing one of those cases by April 24, and defendants will select another by April 30.

The selections come after a status conference held last week, during which the parties discussed stipulations regarding marketing, advertising, label warnings and instructions, according to court minutes (PDF) issued that day. During the conference, Judge Rowland gave plaintiffs until March 26 to file motions for class action certification and expert disclosures.

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