Lawsuit Information Center
Our lawyers are reviewing hair relaxer cancer lawsuits for women throughout the United States. These claims involve women who used chemical hair relaxers or hair straighteners for years and were later diagnosed with uterine cancer, including endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, or serious uterine fibroids that led to a hysterectomy.
The federal hair relaxer litigation now includes nearly 12,000 plaintiffs. The cases are moving through expert discovery and bellwether preparation in the Northern District of Illinois. No hair relaxer settlement has been announced, and no plaintiff has received a settlement payout through the federal MDL. The latest hair relaxer lawsuit update is that Judge Mary Rowland has lifted a discovery stay for a group of defendants after concluding that settlement discussions had not produced enough progress to justify keeping those cases frozen.
The strongest cases generally involve frequent, long term use followed by uterine or ovarian cancer, a clear product history, and substantial treatment or reproductive injury.
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Call our lawyers at 800-553-8082 or request a free online consultation. You pay no legal fee unless we obtain compensation for you.
Page reviewed by Ronald V. Miller Jr. of Miller & Zois
Last substantive update: July 27, 2026. This page is for patients and families seeking information about chemical hair relaxer claims, the federal MDL, and potential settlement compensation.
Current status at a glance
- Current status: There were 11,877 plaintiffs in the federal hair relaxer MDL as of July 2026, in addition to cases pending in state courts.
- Settlement status: There is no global settlement, payout program, or established average compensation amount.
- What comes next: Expert challenges, discovery involving additional defendants, bellwether preparation, and trial dates expected to begin creating more serious settlement pressure.
Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Update 2026
Our law firm follows the federal hair relaxer MDL and the related state court cases. The newest updates appear first. Older developments are collected in the closed archive below so mobile readers do not have to scroll through years of docket history.
July 27, 2026
Judge Rowland Tells the Parties It Is Time to Litigate
Judge Mary Rowland has lifted the discovery stay that had protected the Second Wave defendants since December 2025. Those defendants wanted the pause extended while confidential settlement discussions continued. Plaintiffs opposed another delay.
The judge asked whether the parties could report real progress and then gave them a direct answer about what should happen next: “It is time to litigate.” The Second Wave defendants must begin producing documents, answering discovery, and participating in the ordinary pretrial process. The parties must propose discovery deadlines before the August 20 status conference, with Magistrate Judge Beth Jantz supervising that work.
That is the right call. Settlement talks should not become a permanent shelter from discovery. If defendants want more time, they need to show progress. Otherwise, they can produce the documents and put their witnesses in deposition chairs.
July 9, 2026
Louisiana Plaintiff Files Ovarian Cancer Claim
A Baton Rouge woman has filed a new lawsuit alleging that decades of chemical hair relaxer use caused her ovarian cancer. She reports using relaxers from approximately 1979 through 2024 and receiving an ovarian cancer diagnosis in 2025.
The complaint names Godrej SON Holdings, L’Oréal USA, L’Oréal USA Products, SoftSheen Carson, and Strength of Nature. The identified products include Dark and Lovely Healthy Gloss 5 Shea Moisture No Lye Relaxer, Dark and Lovely Triple Nourished Silkening Relaxer, Optimum Multi Mineral Reduced pH Crème Relaxer, and Just For Me No Lye Texture Softener System with Hair and Scalp Butter.
This plaintiff alleges 45 years of use involving several brands, which shows how difficult product identification may become at trial. Packaging, photographs, salon records, family testimony, and her own recollection may have to reconstruct a history that began in 1979.
July 3, 2026
RNA Discovery Dispute Reaches Judge Jantz
The court held a status conference concerning discovery from RNA Corporation, a Second Wave defendant. Several bellwether defendants have asserted that RNA is a necessary party, or that another unnamed necessary party exists. Plaintiffs contend that the defendants have not supplied enough facts to support those defenses.
The court ordered short briefs addressing earlier RNA subpoenas and whether expedited discovery is appropriate. RNA must also identify when it can provide affidavits about whether it manufactured or supplied products associated with certain bellwether defendants. Defendants may be trying to shift some responsibility to RNA or argue that particular cases cannot proceed properly without it. Plaintiffs want the facts behind that defense now.
July 1, 2026
Federal MDL Reaches 11,877 Plaintiffs
There are 11,877 plaintiffs in the federal hair relaxer MDL, not counting claims pending in state courts. That is a formidable number of individual claims to investigate and defend if the parties cannot negotiate a broader resolution.
Who May Qualify for a Hair Relaxer Cancer Lawsuit?
Our firm is primarily reviewing claims involving repeated use of chemical hair relaxers followed by uterine cancer, endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, or significant fibroid injuries that required a hysterectomy. We need the diagnosis, but we also need the exposure story: what you used, how often you used it, when you began, and when you stopped.
A potential claim is generally stronger when:
- The plaintiff used chemical relaxers frequently for many years.
- She can identify one or more brands and approximate periods of use.
- Medical records clearly document the diagnosis and treatment.
- The diagnosis occurred at an age or under circumstances that make the exposure history particularly significant.
- The treatment involved hysterectomy, chemotherapy, radiation, major surgery, infertility, recurrence, or other substantial harm.
- The claim is filed within the applicable legal deadline.
You do not need an old receipt for every box of relaxer. Few people kept receipts for cosmetic products purchased decades ago. Useful evidence may include photographs, packaging, salon records, testimony from relatives or stylists, loyalty account histories, social media posts, and a consistent account of the products used in different periods of your life.
Claims Involving Hairstylists and Cosmetologists
Professional stylists mixed, applied, and rinsed chemical relaxers day after day, often in enclosed salons. That history can present a powerful exposure story. The hard part may be identifying which companies supplied the products used across an entire career and how much exposure came through the scalp, skin, or air.
Chemical Hair Relaxers and Repeated Exposure
Chemical relaxers change hair texture by breaking bonds within the hair’s keratin structure. They are usually applied near the roots and left in place for a processing period before being rinsed out. Because new growth retains its natural texture, many users receive retouches every four to eight weeks.
That repeated application is central to the lawsuits. Many plaintiffs began using relaxers as children or teenagers and continued for decades. The products were applied close to the scalp, sometimes when the scalp had burns, sores, or irritation that could affect chemical absorption.
Plaintiffs allege that some relaxers contained or exposed users to chemicals with endocrine disrupting properties and that manufacturers did not adequately investigate or warn about possible cancer risks. The defendants dispute that their products caused the cancers alleged in the litigation.
Ingredients and Cosmetic Labeling
A 2018 Silent Spring Institute study evaluated hair products commonly marketed to Black women and identified numerous chemicals associated with endocrine activity and other health concerns. Some detected ingredients were not listed on product labels.
Cosmetic labeling rules have historically allowed fragrance mixtures to be identified without listing every individual component. Women buying these products could read the box and still have no idea what was hidden inside a fragrance mixture. That gap will receive close attention when plaintiffs question company witnesses about formulation, testing, and warnings.
What Does “Perm” Mean in These Cases?
People often use “perm” to describe a chemical relaxer, especially when discussing products intended to straighten tightly curled hair. The terms are not always medically or chemically interchangeable. A traditional curling perm may use different products and does not necessarily present the same exposure evidence.
Most claims in this litigation concern chemical straighteners and relaxers. If you used the word “perm” for your treatment, the first question is what product was actually applied and whether it was intended to straighten or relax the hair.
Uterine and Endometrial Cancer Claims
Endometrial cancer begins in the lining of the uterus and accounts for most uterine cancer diagnoses. Uterine sarcoma is less common and begins in the muscle or supporting tissue of the uterus. A medical record may use “uterine cancer” as the broader category and then identify a more specific diagnosis.
A 2022 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute examined chemical straightener use and uterine cancer among participants in the National Institutes of Health Sister Study. Researchers estimated that 1.64 percent of women who never used straighteners would develop uterine cancer by age 70, compared with 4.05 percent of frequent users.
Frequent use was defined as more than four uses during the prior year. Researchers did not collect brand or ingredient information, a limitation defendants will press hard. Plaintiffs will answer with the size of the association, evidence from other studies, and expert testimony about how endocrine disrupting chemicals may contribute to uterine cancer.
Hair Relaxers and Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer is less common than uterine cancer and is frequently diagnosed after it has spread. Treatment may involve removal of the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, or surrounding tissue, followed by chemotherapy and other care.
An earlier Sister Study analysis reported an association between frequent use of straighteners and ovarian cancer. That ovarian cancer research is separate from the 2022 uterine cancer study. The number of ovarian cancer cases in the study was limited, and the authors called for additional research.
Ovarian cancer claims can carry substantial damages because treatment is often aggressive and the prognosis can be serious. The legal challenge remains causation. Plaintiffs must connect a reliable history of chemical relaxer use to the disease through admissible expert testimony while addressing genetic, reproductive, medical, and environmental risk factors.
Scientific Evidence and the Causation Fight
The federal cases will not be decided merely by showing that a plaintiff used relaxers and later developed cancer. Plaintiffs need qualified experts who can explain why the scientific literature supports a general causal relationship and why the products were a substantial factor in an individual woman’s disease.
The evidence includes epidemiological studies reporting associations with uterine and ovarian cancer, research identifying endocrine disrupting chemicals in some hair products, evidence concerning absorption through the scalp, and studies examining biological mechanisms. Plaintiffs will argue that these findings reinforce one another.
Defendants are expected to emphasize limitations in the research, including self reported product use, lack of brand specific data, relatively small numbers of some cancers, possible confounding factors, and uncertainty about which chemical or mixture could produce the alleged effect. They will also challenge specific causation in individual cases.
The Daubert rulings will determine which opinions juries may hear. If the core causation testimony survives, nearly 12,000 plaintiffs move closer to trial with experts permitted to connect relaxer use to cancer. That is the ruling defendants do not want.
Is There a Hair Relaxer Class Action Lawsuit?
People frequently call this a hair relaxer class action lawsuit, but the personal injury cases are coordinated in a federal multidistrict litigation, or MDL, rather than a traditional class action. The MDL is pending before Judge Mary Rowland in the Northern District of Illinois.
Coordination allows one judge to manage common discovery, expert challenges, pretrial motions, and bellwether preparation. Each plaintiff still has an individual claim. She must prove her own product use, diagnosis, causation, damages, and compliance with the statute of limitations.
There are also hair relaxer lawsuits pending in state courts, including coordinated proceedings in Illinois and cases in Pennsylvania. State court schedules and rulings may develop separately from the federal MDL and could create additional trial pressure.
Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Settlement Amounts
Our lawyers estimate that many strong uterine cancer claims could fall between $150,000 and $750,000 in a negotiated mass tort settlement. Many claims would likely resolve toward the lower portion of that range. Cases involving a young plaintiff, advanced cancer, extensive treatment, infertility, recurrence, extraordinary economic loss, or death could be worth more.
Those are our estimates, not numbers you can take to the bank. The largest awards should go to women with the strongest product histories and the greatest harm: advanced cancer, aggressive treatment, infertility, recurrence, major wage loss, or death.
Factors That Could Drive Settlement Value
| Value Factor | Why It Could Affect Compensation |
|---|---|
| Diagnosis and stage | Advanced uterine or ovarian cancer generally produces greater medical costs, suffering, and future risk than an early stage disease successfully treated with limited care. |
| Treatment | Hysterectomy, removal of the ovaries, chemotherapy, radiation, repeated surgery, and prolonged hospitalization increase damages. |
| Fertility and age | Loss of fertility can be especially significant for a younger woman who wanted children or hoped to have additional children. |
| Product history | Frequent use over many years and credible identification of the responsible brands strengthen exposure proof. |
| Causation evidence | Medical history, genetic factors, other risks, and the fit between the exposure and diagnosis can increase or reduce case value. |
| Economic loss | Past and future medical expenses, missed work, reduced earning capacity, and the need for future care can materially increase damages. |
| Available defendant | A strong liability case still requires a solvent defendant or applicable insurance coverage from which compensation can be paid. |
Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Fibroids Payout
Fibroid claims need separate treatment from cancer cases. Uterine fibroids are common, and proving that a chemical relaxer caused a particular woman’s fibroids can be difficult. A fibroid claim becomes more substantial when the condition led to a hysterectomy, infertility, repeated procedures, serious bleeding, or other major complications.
There is no established hair relaxer lawsuit fibroids payout. We would not use the cancer range as a shortcut for valuing a fibroid claim. The medical consequences, strength of causation evidence, governing law, and status of fibroid claims in the litigation all require an individual analysis.
How Would a Settlement Work?
A woman with Stage IV ovarian cancer should not receive the same payout as someone who recovered after less invasive treatment. Any broad settlement will need a way to account for diagnosis, treatment, fertility loss, product history, and economic damages. Lawyers may call it a matrix or a points system. The name is less important than whether it separates the strongest cases from the weaker ones and pays the strongest cases fairly.
The presence of several defendants makes the money side harder. L’Oréal can fund a substantial agreement. Revlon presents a different problem because of its bankruptcy and available insurance. A single deal covering every product and defendant is possible, but separate agreements would not be surprising.
When Will the Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Be Settled?
There is no settlement date. Expert rulings and trial dates are the most likely events to move negotiations. Defendants still have room to challenge causation, product identification, warnings, and individual claims before facing a jury.
The first federal trial is scheduled for January 2027. State court cases may move on different schedules. If that date holds, the expert rulings and final trial preparation will begin forcing decisions that private mediation has not produced.
Deadline for Filing a Claim
The deadline for filing a chemical hair relaxer lawsuit depends on the law that governs your claim. States use different limitation periods, discovery rules, statutes of repose, and tolling doctrines. The diagnosis date is important, but it may not be the only date that controls.
In many states, a discovery rule may delay the beginning of the limitations period until a person knew or reasonably should have known that an injury might be connected to a product. The application of that rule is highly specific. Publicity about the litigation, the date of diagnosis, conversations with physicians, and the place where the product was purchased or used can become relevant.
You can review general personal injury filing deadlines by state, but do not use a general chart to calculate the deadline in an individual hair relaxer case. Speak with a lawyer promptly so the governing law and relevant dates can be reviewed.
Questions and Answers
What is the latest update on the hair relaxer lawsuit?
Judge Rowland lifted the discovery stay for the Second Wave defendants on July 27, 2026, after determining that settlement discussions did not justify another pause. Those defendants must now participate in discovery. The MDL also has a ten-case bellwether pool, and expert challenges are moving forward.
Has anyone received a settlement from the hair relaxer lawsuit?
There is no announced global settlement and no federal MDL payout program. No public settlement history establishes what an average claim will receive. Confidential individual resolutions are not always publicly reported, but they would not create a settlement program for other plaintiffs.
When will the hair relaxer lawsuit be settled?
No one can provide a reliable settlement date. The first federal trial is scheduled for January 2027. The expert rulings and the approach of that trial should give both sides a much clearer idea of what they risk by refusing to settle.
What are the projected hair relaxer lawsuit settlement amounts?
Our lawyers estimate that many strong uterine cancer claims could fall between $150,000 and $750,000 in a negotiated settlement. Some cases may be worth less, while exceptional cancer, infertility, and wrongful death claims could be worth more. These estimates are speculative because there is no settlement program, payout matrix, or bellwether verdict history.
How do I know whether I qualify?
You may have a potential claim if you used chemical hair relaxers frequently for years and were later diagnosed with uterine cancer, endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, or serious fibroids that required a hysterectomy. A lawyer will also need to examine your brands, dates of use, medical records, alternative risk factors, and filing deadline.
Is there a hair relaxer class action lawsuit?
The personal injury cases are part of a federal MDL, not a traditional class action. The MDL coordinates common proceedings while each woman keeps an individual lawsuit. Separate medical monitoring plaintiffs are seeking class certification, but those claims involve people who have not been diagnosed with the cancers alleged in the personal injury cases. We are not handling those monitoring claims.
Will Revlon’s bankruptcy affect settlement payouts?
Revlon’s bankruptcy complicates collection. But, thankfully, it has a large insurance policy for claims like this.
Contact Our Lawyers
Our lawyers are reviewing hair relaxer cancer claims throughout the United States. If you used chemical relaxers for years and later developed uterine cancer, endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer, or severe fibroid complications, we can evaluate your product history, medical records, and filing deadline.
Call 800-553-8082 or request a free online consultation. You pay no attorneys’ fee unless we obtain a recovery for you.