Our Eligibility & Screening Criteria for Toxic Hair Relaxer Cases
Our experienced team has the resources and skills to manage your marketing campaign and deliver signed contracts. We are the right company for you if you need a strategy tailored specifically to your needs. This is how we will approach your toxic hair relaxer campaign:
- Pre-screening. We have the knowledge by virtue of which we can obtain the best contracts for you. Atraxia Media understands that each law firm is unique and has specific requirements. We also know that not every potential client might be a good fit for you, which is why our team places a strong emphasis on the pre-screening step of the process.
- Screening each case. Our team will carefully screen each potential client and thoroughly interview those seeking legal action. The vast experience we have accumulated over the years allows us to quickly spot a bad case before it becomes a problem for you.
- Following up with potential toxic hair relaxer consumers. With follow-up schedules that consider people's time, as well as our time, Atraxia Media is able to keep the intake process efficient for everyone involved. By following up with every potential client, we ensure they are still interested in pursuing a claim or lawsuit with a law firm specializing in defective product cases.
- Delivering signed contracts to your law firm. Atraxia Media is committed to providing ideal contracts for you that meet your law firm's requirements. We consistently deliver results for all of our clients, so you can rest assured that we will keep you up to date with the progress of your campaign and that you will have a constant influx of contracts.
- Connecting you with a greater volume of prospective toxic hair relaxer claimants. Our two decades of experience in the marketing field have helped us understand what each law firm needs to get its practice off on a solid footing with potential clients for outstanding results.
- Running in-house marketing strategies that generate cases. We can provide a streamlined approach for you by leveraging our in-house marketing strategy to generate cases. Signed cases stem from leads that come to Atraxia Media as soon as possible through our internal intake department before being sent directly to you.
- Signing potential toxic hair relaxer plaintiffs exclusively for your law firm. Our team knows that toxic hair relaxer plaintiffs are currently in high demand. Therefore, we will find the best clients solely for you, so feel free to contact us at your earliest convenience.
Individuals are eligible to file a toxic hair relaxer claim if they:
- Have used hair-strengthening products with endocrine-disrupting chemicals at least 7 times per year for 10 years or longer
- Have been diagnosed with one of the following diseases, which have a strong association with those chemicals:
- uterine cancer
- ovarian cancer
- Do not have a family history of uterine cancer or ovarian cancer.
If you are a defective product attorney looking for a marketing partner, look no further! Atraxia Media has the necessary resources and a proven track record of success in advertising and managing a law firm's specific needs. From extensive services to exceeding expectations with guaranteed results, our team will effectively assist you in attracting and securing the best possible clients for your practice. We offer a wide range of services, regardless of how complex your requirements are. If you are looking for volume or low costs, Atraxia Media is perfect for you.
Toxic Hair Relaxer Facts & History
In October 2022, a study assessing the connection between using certain hair products and uterine cancer was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The participants were over 33,000 women between the ages of 35 and 74 who had been using various hair products, including hair dyes, bleach, highlights, relaxers, and perms, for nearly 11 years. Of the participants, 378 came to struggle with uterine cancer, which was associated with chemical hair relaxers.
Approximately 60% of the women who used these products regularly were Black. While the average uterine cancer risk is 1.64%, the uterine cancer risk for women who frequently use chemical hair straightening products is 4.05%. The incidence rate of uterine cancer has recently been rising in the United States, particularly among Black women.
Still, the regular use of hair relaxers might also be responsible for ovarian cancer, as a large number of these products contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals. These substances can interfere with the hormonal systems, causing irreversible reproductive effects.
While some hair relaxers have a strong alkali as the main ingredient, others are based on highly toxic chemicals such as formaldehyde and might also contain some of the following endocrine-disrupting substances:
- parabens
- diazolidinyl urea
- phthalates
- heavy metals
- bisphenol A
- glyoxal
HAIR RELAXER MARKETING, SALES PRACTICES AND PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION MDL NO. 3060
Location:
- Northern District of Illinois
Presiding Judge:
Plaintiffs:
- Plaintiffs include women who used hair relaxer products and later developed uterine, endometrial, or ovarian cancer. The plaintiffs include many Black women who frequently use hair relaxer products.
Defendants:
- AFAM Concept, Inc. d/b/a JF Labs, Inc.
- Avlon Industries
- Beauty Bell Enterprises LLC f/k/a House of Cheatham, Inc.
- Dabur International Ltd. (dismissed)
- Dabur International USA Ltd. (dismissed)
- Dermoviva Skin Essentials, Inc. (dismissed)
- Godrej SON Holdings, Inc.
- House of Cheatham LLC
- L'Oreal USA, Inc.
- L'Oreal USA Products, Inc.
- Luster Products, Inc.
- McBride Research Laboratories, Inc.
- Namaste Laboratories LLC
- Revlon Consumer Products Corporation
- Revlon Group Holdings LLC
- Revlon, Inc.
- SoftSheen-Carson LLC
- Strength of Nature, LLC
Products:
Hair relaxer products like Dark and Lovely, Optimum Salon, Creme of Nature, African Pride, Profectiv Relax and Refresh Kit.
Plaintiff Allegations:
Plaintiffs allege that the defendants were or should have been aware of the risks of hair relaxer products, but failed to warn consumers of the adverse health effects of the products, including high risks of uterine cancer, endometrial cancer, and ovarian cancer.
History:
2025:
- September (scheduled): The court set the closure date for oral fact discovery on September 30, 2025.
- May: Parties have selected a group of 32 hair relaxer product cases for the bellwether trials.
- May: MDL No. 3060 reached over 10,000 cases. There were 10,168 pending cases by May 1, 2025.
- April: The court appointed a Special Master, Ellen K. Reisman, to coordinate negotiations for settlements for hair relaxer cases.
2024:
- October: A wrongful death lawsuit was filed in MDL 3060 by a woman whose mother passed away from uterine cancer after using hair relaxer products from L'Oreal USA, Inc., SoftSheen-Carson LLC, and other companies.
- July: A case management conference was held where plaintiffs' lawyers brought attention to Revlon's lack of responses to the document requests served in December 2023.
2023:
- November: The Plaintiffs' Steering Committee filed a claim against Revlon, wanting to require Revlon to include plaintiff compensation in its bankruptcy plan after the parent company filed for bankruptcy.
- February: All hair relaxer lawsuits had been consolidated to Multidistrict Litigation No. 3060 in the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago. The MDL is officially known as the Hair Relaxer Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation. Similar cases alleged that hair relaxer products from the defendants contained endocrine-disrupting chemicals and increased the risk of developing uterine, ovarian, and endometrial cancers for consumers.
2022:
- November: A group of plaintiffs injured by the use of chemical hair relaxers filed a motion of transfer with the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to centralize all lawsuits brought through the federal court system before one judge. Some of the defendants in these lawsuits are L'Oreal, Strength of Nature, Dabur International, SoftSheen Carson, Godrej Son Holdings, Beauty Bell Enterprises, and Parfums De Coeur. The plaintiffs allege that the products they used contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as phthalates, which are toxic. Furthermore, they claim that while the manufacturers were aware of the health risks associated with using their products, they failed to warn consumers and continued to market the hair relaxers to the public, especially to women of color. According to the motion, at least nine hair relaxer lawsuits are pending nationwide involving claims on behalf of 13 different plaintiffs. It is expected that the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation will decide whether to consolidate the lawsuits in a multidistrict litigation during the upcoming hearing session on January 26 in Miami, Florida.
- October: Jenny Mitchell, a 32-year-old woman from Chicago, filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of Illinois against five hair relaxer manufacturers, including L'Oreal. She alleges her past use of chemical hair-strengthening products is the culprit behind her uterine cancer diagnosis, which she received in 2018. As a Black woman, she began using chemical hair relaxers when she was 8 years old, as these products are often marketed to teenagers. The other defendants in this lawsuit are SoftSheen Carson, Dabur, Namaste Laboratories, and Strength of Nature.
2016:
- September: A class action lawsuit was filed by Sharon Manier, Dorothy Riles, and Lakeytra Nero against L'Oreal. The women, who allege they experienced severe scalp burns due to using SoftSheen Carson's Optimum Amla Legend hair relaxer, represent themselves and others who came to suffer the same injuries. SoftSheen Carson promotes this product as "the safest and most effective" for consumers, yet according to the lawsuit, the hair relaxer "contains hardly any Amla oil at all" and "the ingredients in the Amla Relaxer are a dangerous mix of irritants and potentially toxic chemicals." The plaintiffs seek $5 million in damages for scalp burns and hair loss.
