A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a woman in the US, Jenny Mitchell, after claims that her uterine cancer was caused by the chemicals found in L’Oreal hair products.
The lawsuit was filed in Illinois by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, counsel Diandra “Fu” Debrosse Zimmermann, and others. It claims that the cancer was directly and proximately caused by her regular and prolonged exposure to phthalates and other endocrine disrupting chemicals found in Defendants’ hair care products.”
L’Oréal, along with Namaste Laboratories LLC, Dabur International Ltd., and Godrej Consumer Products, the parent company of the Just For Me brand, are now facing a lawsuit over chemical hair straightening products as they could increase the risk of uterine cancer.
According to the lawsuit, Jenny Mitchell has used hair relaxers for over two decades and was diagnosed with uterine cancer in 2018. Shortly after this, she had a full hysterectomy. She is now seeking compensation of over $75,000.
The lawsuit was filed just days after a study was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, which suggests that frequently using chemical hair straightening products increases the risk of uterine cancer by 4% by the age of 70.
Two other cases have also been filed in New York and California against cosmetics companies, including L’Oreal, over claims that there’s a connection between chemical straightening products and cancer, and it’s expected that more women will come forward.
Attorney Ben Crump said in a news release: “Black women have long been the victims of dangerous products specifically marketed to them. Black hair has been and always will be beautiful, but Black women have been told they have to use these products to meet society’s standards. We will likely discover that Ms. Mitchell’s tragic case is one of countless cases in which companies aggressively misled black women to increase their profits.”
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