Women who used chemical hair relaxers like Dark & Lovely and Just for Me and developed uterine or ovarian cancer may have a legal claim. MDL 3060. No settlement yet. Free case review.
Start Your Free Case Review →For generations, chemical hair relaxers were marketed to Black women and girls as safe and necessary — products that offered freedom, beauty, and social acceptance. What was not disclosed was that many of these products contained a cocktail of chemicals known to disrupt the body’s hormonal system, including parabens, phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), formaldehyde, and cyclosiloxanes — and that scientific research had begun to link long-term use of these products to an elevated risk of uterine cancer and other reproductive cancers.
Today, more than 11,000 women have filed lawsuits against the companies that manufactured and marketed chemical hair relaxers, making this one of the five largest and fastest-growing mass tort dockets in the federal court system. If you used chemical hair relaxers for years or decades and have been diagnosed with uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, or endometriosis, you may have the right to seek compensation.
The lawsuits are grounded in a substantial and growing body of peer-reviewed scientific research:
In 2022, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published a landmark study from the Sister Study — one of the largest long-term studies of women’s health ever conducted — that found women who used chemical hair straighteners more than four times per year had a more than doubled risk of developing uterine cancer compared to women who did not use these products.
A subsequent study by researchers at Boston University’s Black Women’s Health Study specifically examined postmenopausal Black women — the population most intensively marketed to by relaxer companies — and found that women who used relaxers two or more times per year had a greater than 50% increased risk of uterine cancer.
The chemicals driving this risk are absorbed through the scalp during application, and because relaxers are often applied with heat, the absorption rate is especially high. The chemicals at issue include:
The lawsuits name a broad range of manufacturers and products that dominated the chemical relaxer market for decades. Defendants include L’Oréal USA and its subsidiary SoftSheen-Carson (makers of Dark & Lovely, Optimum Care, and Creme of Nature), Revlon (Realistic), Strength of Nature (Olive Oil, ORS Olive Oil, Soft & Beautiful), Namaste Laboratories, Avlon Industries, John Paul Mitchell Systems, Wella, and others.
Products specifically named in lawsuits include Dark & Lovely Healthy Gloss 5, Just for Me, Revlon Realistic, Hawaiian Silky, Motions, and many others. If you used a chemical hair relaxer — regardless of the specific brand — contact us to determine whether your product is included in the litigation.
One of the largest MDLs in the country. As of February 2026, MDL 3060 had surpassed 11,000 pending cases before Judge Mary M. Rowland in the Northern District of Illinois, making it the fifth-largest active MDL in the federal system and one of the fastest-growing.
Deep in expert discovery — a critical phase. The MDL held a “Science Day” hearing in January 2026, allowing both sides to present general causation science to the court. General causation expert discovery for 32 bellwether cases closed in March 2026, and Rule 702 Daubert motions challenging experts’ methodologies were due April 1, 2026. Summary judgment briefing is expected to extend through late 2026. These proceedings will determine which expert testimony is admissible at trial — a make-or-break phase for both sides.
Bellwether trials anticipated in 2027. Bellwether trials — test cases used to gauge how juries respond to the evidence — are expected to begin in 2027. Only claims involving uterine, endometrial, or ovarian cancer are eligible for the initial bellwether pool.
No settlement. No settlement has been announced. This litigation is in active development, and filing now protects your place in the queue.
This litigation carries a dimension that goes beyond individual product liability. Chemical hair relaxers were manufactured and marketed almost exclusively to Black women and girls, exploiting cultural pressures around hair texture and social conformity. For decades, these companies profited from products that their own chemists had reason to know posed serious health risks — while directing those products at a community that trusted them. Many advocates and scholars have described this as a matter of environmental justice and racial equity.
The women bringing these lawsuits are not just seeking personal compensation. They are demanding accountability from companies that made billions of dollars selling products to Black women while hiding what they knew about the health consequences.
You may qualify to file a hair relaxer lawsuit if:
Family members may be able to bring claims on behalf of a loved one who passed away from a qualifying cancer linked to chemical relaxer use.
Receipts and packaging help but are not required. Attorneys work with plaintiffs to document product use through other means — including testimony, photographs, and other records. Many women began using relaxers as children, and that is entirely acceptable in this litigation.
No. While Black women are disproportionately represented in this litigation because of targeted marketing, women of any background who used chemical hair relaxers may be eligible to file if they have a qualifying diagnosis.
Not necessarily. MDL proceedings are coordinated in Illinois for pretrial purposes, but individual cases can often be filed in your home state. An attorney will advise on the best venue for your claim.
The MDL is in the expert discovery phase with trials expected in 2027. Mass tort litigation takes time, but cases can resolve through settlement at any stage of the process.
We will review your claim for free. Fill in the information below, and someone will be in touch shortly to discuss your eligibility.
Get a free, no obligation case evaluation here.