Women — particularly black women — who have used hair straightening chemicals, or relaxers, may be at higher risk of developing uterine cancer.

According to Dr. LaTasha Perkins, a family physician based in Washington, D.C., “Frequent and especially long-term use of some hair straightening products can affect long-term health. This is particularly important for Black women to know as the natural-to-relaxer movement gains momentum.”

A study by the National Institutes of Health published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that women who used straightening products were more likely to have uterine cancer than women who didn’t.

The study estimates that among women who did not use hair-straightening chemical products in the past 12 months, 1.6% developed uterine cancer by age 70, but about 4% of the women who frequently use such hair-straightening products developed uterine cancer by age 70.

There was an even greater association for women who used the products more than four times in a year.

The new study includes data on nearly 34,000 women in the United States, ages 35 to 74, who completed questionnaires about their use of certain hair products, including perms, dyes, relaxers, and straighteners.

About 60% of the participants who reported using chemical hair straighteners in the past year were Black women.

According to the National Institutes of Health, studies are also showing a rise in uterine cancer among this group.

Dr. Che-Jung Chang, an author of the study and a research fellow in the NIEHS Epidemiology Branch, said “Because Black women use hair straightening or relaxer products more frequently and tend to initiate use at earlier ages than other races and ethnicities, these findings may be even more relevant for them.”

Using chemical hair straightening or relaxer products has been shown to more than double the risk of uterine cancer in women.

All consumers that were diagnosed with uterine cancer after using chemical hair straightening products may be eligible for compensation from a hair straightener lawsuit.

Consumers may be able to file a chemical hair straightener lawsuit if they:

-Used chemical hair straightening products or relaxers

-Were later diagnosed with uterine cancer

Several factors likely play a role in the frequent use of hair straightening products: Eurocentric standards of beauty, social pressures placed on Black and Latina women in workplace settings related to microaggressions and the threat of discrimination, along with desired versatility in changing hairstyles and self-expression.

On top of that, Black women tend to use multiple products simultaneously, which could contribute to Black women on average having higher concentrations of these hormone-disrupting chemicals in their system.

Companies that manufacture personal care items bring in over $42 billion in revenue each year. 

When a company learns that its product contains a potentially harmful substance, the company has a duty to consumers to inform them.

Rather than pull the potentially dangerous products from shelves and conduct further research—or at least issue a warning to consumers—L’Oréal and other companies continued selling these products.

Product liability claims are one of the only ways consumers have to hold large corporations accountable for the harm their products cause.

Relaxerlawsuit.com is a website that has partnered with renowned Civil Rights Leader and Trial Lawyer Ben Crump to get justice and compensation for consumers diagnosed with uterine cancer after using hair relaxers and straightening products.