Hair relaxers are popular cosmetic products that are primarily used by African American women.

Unfortunately, studies have raised serious concerns about how safe they are. The chemicals within hair relaxers have been linked to a significantly increased risk of uterine cancer, and thousands of women have become ill as a result.

Those who were harmed by hair relaxers have legal rights. However, navigating the justice system to pursue compensation can be very complicated because there are different approaches you can take, including bringing an individual claim or becoming part of a mass tort.

At Canopy Legal, we represent plaintiffs who have been harmed by defective products and we have extensive experience with mass tort claims. We can help you understand your options and develop the right legal approach to getting the funds you deserve.

To find out more, contact our hair relaxer illness lawyers today to schedule your free consultation.

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What are hair relaxers?

Hair relaxers are applied to the hair to permanently straighten curly or kinky hair.

Relaxers work by breaking down the disulfide bonds found in the cortex layer of the hair.  Some hair relaxer products are base relaxers, which require you to apply a protective cream around your scalp before applying them. Others are no-base relaxers and incorporate protective cream.

Hair relaxers of all types contain a variety of different chemicals designed to break the disulfide bonds and permanently alter the texture of the hair. These chemicals include

1. Sodium hydroxide
2. Ammonium thioglycolate
3. Sodium thioglycolate
4. Parabens and Phthalates which are both endocrine disruptors
5. Formaldehyde

These are strong chemicals, which can cause side effects including hair breakage, hair loss, and scalp burns.

Unfortunately, several of these chemicals have been linked to serious and unexpected side effects as well.

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What is the risk of hair relaxers?

The biggest risk of hair relaxers is that some of the chemicals within them have been demonstrated to increase your cancer risk.

For example, Parabens and Phthalates in hair relaxers have been found to promote abnormal cell growth that can cause hormone-sensitive cancers to develop. These chemicals have also been shown to affect fertility and potentially result in developmental issues.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer has also identified Formaldehyde as a human carcinogen and prolonged exposure is linked to an increased cancer risk.

These enhanced risks are not just theoretical. A large-scale study of over 33,000 women released by the National Institutes of Health found that:

1. 378 of the 33,000 female study participants developed uterine cancer.
2. Women who used chemical straighteners at least four times in the prior year were more than twice as likely to develop uterine cancer compared with women who didn’t use hair relaxers regularly.
3. Approximately 4.05% of the frequent hair relaxer users were predicted to develop uterine cancer before age 70, compared with only 1.64% of women who had never used a chemical straightener.

This is a significantly increased risk of a serious cancer that is often difficult to detect.

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What are your rights if hair relaxers made you sick?

If you were a frequent user of chemical hair relaxers and you developed endometrial, uterine or ovarian cancer, you may be able to pursue a claim for compensation.

Thousands of plaintiffs have already filed lawsuits, and many cases have already been consolidated into a multidistrict litigation (MDL). When an MDL is formed, many individual claims are moved before one judge to decide on common issues relevant to all of the cases.

MDLs streamline the process of resolving claims and can help facilitate settlements. While you retain your individual claim, unlike in a class action where you are part of a large group of plaintiffs in one lawsuit, you typically don’t have to actively pursue a case in court and present evidence when you join an MDL.

Canopy Legal can help you to determine if becoming part of the hair relaxer MDL is the right course of action for you and, if so, we can assist you in that process. We can also help you to explore other avenues to obtain compensation.

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Why turn to Canopy Legal for help with your hair relaxer claim?

Canopy Legal has extensive experience with claims involving defective and dangerous products. We have represented clients in multidistrict litigation as well as individual product liability claims and we can help you to understand the best path towards pursuing justice.

Throughout your claim, we offer compassionate advocacy and knowledgeable legal representation aimed at getting you the compensation you deserve. And we won’t charge legal fees unless we win.

To find out more about how our hair relaxer lawyers can help you, give us a call or contact us online today.