Arizona has sued L’Oréal, accusing the cosmetics company of concealing evidence that its chemical hair relaxer products could increase the risk of cancer in women.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed the fraud lawsuit Sept. 10 in state court against L’Oréal USA, its parent company L’Oréal S.A. and SoftSheen. The lawsuit alleges the companies advertised and sold chemical hair relaxers without disclosing that the products contained chemicals that could cause cancer or had been linked to an increased risk of cancer, including ovarian and uterine cancers.
The lawsuit makes Arizona the first state to sue over alleged cancer risks associated with hair relaxers, according to Reuters. The state is seeking penalties and damages, along with a court order requiring L’Oréal to warn consumers about cancer risks if it continues selling the products.
The products have been marketed primarily to Black women and, in some cases, children. Arizona’s lawsuit alleges the companies used longstanding beauty standards affecting people of African descent to market the products, while prioritizing profits over consumer safety.
A L’Oréal logo is seen on a building in the Jing’ an district in Shanghai on August 18, 2026.
What Arizona alleges about hair relaxers
Chemical hair relaxers are highly alkaline, hydroxide-based products designed to permanently straighten textured hair. According to the Arizona complaint, they work by breaking and reforming the disulfide bonds that give hair its spiral structure.
The state alleges the products contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals, phthalates, parabens and other chemicals that have been classified by federal and international agencies as known or probable human carcinogens.
Arizona also cites multiple epidemiological studies that it says show women who use chemical hair relaxers face significantly higher risks of uterine and ovarian cancer, as well as other hormonal cancers.
“L’Oréal knew or should have known about the dangers associated with these toxic hair straightening products,” Mayes said in a statement. “Yet, instead of warning their consumers, they put profits over the safety of women and children.”
USA TODAY reached out to L’Oréal for additional comment.
What does research say?
The lawsuit cites a 2022 study by the National Institutes of Health that examined the relationship between hair-straightening products and uterine cancer.
Researchers found women who reported using hair-straightening products more than four times in the previous year were more than twice as likely to develop uterine cancer as women who did not report using the products.
L’Oréal faces thousands of lawsuits
L’Oréal faces more than 12,000 similar lawsuits filed by women and their families, according to Reuters. The cases have been consolidated in federal court in Chicago as part of multidistrict litigation.
The lawsuits also name Revlon and other manufacturers of hair relaxers. Revlon has denied a connection between its products and cancer.
L’Oréal has said its products undergo rigorous safety reviews and that it is confident the claims against the company lack legal or scientific merit. The company has also said the 2022 study did not establish a causal connection between hair relaxer use and the health conditions alleged by plaintiffs.
The litigation is ongoing, with trials possibly starting in 2027.
Contributing: Reuters
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@usatodayco.com, or on X @athompsonUSAT
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Arizona sues L’Oreal over alleged cancer risks in hair relaxers
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