Arizona Sues L’Oreal for Masking Cancer Risks in Hair Relaxers

Arizona has sued L’Oréal SA and its ⁠U.S. subsidiary, accusing the cosmetics company of hiding evidence that its hair relaxer products could cause cancer in women.

Arizona Attorney General Kristin Mayes filed the lawsuit in state court, ⁠making Arizona the first state to ‌sue over alleged cancer risks ⁠linked to hair relaxers. 

The lawsuits name L’Oreal, as well ​as Revlon and other makers of the products. Revlon has also denied a connection between cancer and the products.

The lawsuit accuses L’Oréal of violating state consumer protection laws by marketing the products, which are used predominantly by African American women, without warning consumers ​about the alleged ​risks of ovarian and uterine cancers.

The accused products have been marketed under the names Dark and Lovely, Optimum, and other brands, and promise to permanently straighten textured hair.

The lawsuit claims that L’Oréal and associated companies “exploited centuries of social pressures and discriminatory beauty standards affecting people of African descent, all while ‌prioritizing profit over consumer safety.”

The lawsuit comes as L’Oréal faces over 12,000 similar lawsuits filed by ‌women or their families that have been consolidated in a Chicago federal court as part of a multidistrict litigation proceeding, a procedure designed to more efficiently manage lawsuits filed in multiple jurisdictions.

A spokesperson for L’Oreal USA said the company is confident in the safety of its products and believes the claims are without ​legal or scientific merit.

The lawsuits seek damages to compensate the women for their pain and suffering and economic damages for medical bills and the cost of the products, ‌among other things.

The multidistrict litigation continues to move forward, court records show, and trials could begin next ‌year.