In A Lawsuit Claiming That Chemical Hair Straighteners Can Lead To Uterine Cancer, L’Oreal And Four Other Companies Are Named As Defendants

WGN-TV in Chicago reports On Monday, Against five cosmetic manufacturers in Chicago. St. Louis woman filed a federal lawsuit. It includes L’Oreal, alleging that their hair straightening products cause uterine cancer.

Jenny Mitchell filed the lawsuit in the Northern District of California, United States District Court Illinois, alleging that she was exposed to phthalates and endocrine-disrupting chemicals in hair care products, which led to her uterine cancer diagnosis.

The lawsuit names L’Oreal USA Inc., L’Oreal USA Products Inc., and Soft Sheen Carson (W.I.) Dabur International Ltd., Strength of Nature Global LLC, Dabur USA Inc., and Namaste Laboratories are defendants.

Mitchell began using chemical hair straighteners in third grade when she was about eight years old.

“It’s become socially acceptable to look a certain way to feel a certain way,” Mitchell explained.

At 28, she went in for a fertility appointment and had a routine ultrasound. Three days later, she informed me that she had uterine cancer. She had to have a hysterectomy as a result.

According to the lawsuit, endocrine-disrupting chemicals commonly found in hair straightening products, specifically the highly toxic manufactured chemical DI-2-Ethylhexylphthalate, or DEHP, can cause uterine cancer.

“Millions of little girls, sometimes twice a month or every other month, have this put on their heads at 7, 8, 9 years old,” attorney Diandra Debrosse Zimmerman said.

The lawsuit’s attorneys cite a recent National Institute of Health study that found women who used chemical straighteners had a higher risk of uterine cancer.

Over a decade, 378 of the 33,000-plus women took part in the study of uterine cancer. Those who used chemical hair relaxers were more than twice as likely as those who did not.