Harmful Ingredients Like Phthalates And Formaldehyde May Hide In Cosmetic Hair Relaxers And Straighteners

Lax FDA Regulations Allow Cosmetic companies to hide up to 20% of their ingredients including carcinogenic chemicals

Sunday, March 19, 2023 - At the core of chemical hair relaxer lawsuits is the way the cosmetics industry self-regulates. For decades, cosmetics companies Loreal, Revlon, Johnson & Johnson, and many others have been left to their own devices when it comes to making sure their beauty products are safe for human use. Most consumers presume that the Federal government does pre-market testing to make sure that the beauty products that make their way to Walmart, CVS, Rite Aid, and other mass-marketers of cosmetics have been tested and are safe. But they have not and are not. It is up to each company to guarantee the safety of their product and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issues only safety guidance recommendations after a product is already on the market. Specifically, chemical hair straightener manufacturers have a responsibility to know if a specific chemical in their product is a carcinogen and also to keep abreast of the studies that may show their product to be unsafe.

A class of chemicals known as phthalates is frequently present in hair relaxers and straighteners as well as numerous other personal care items like lotions, perfumes, and nail paint. Loreal, Revlon, and others appear to have looked the other way and are ignoring the studies linking phthalates and other harmful chemicals to hair relaxer uterine cancer. In fact, these companies may have deliberately hidden the presence of phthalates in their products by calling them fragrances as is allowed by the FDA. A recently-filed chemical hair relaxer uterine cancer lawsuit points out that ineffective government regulations allow companies to hide carcinogens in their products. "Attorney Allie Sletvold says under current federal laws governing cosmetics like hair relaxers, companies can hide up to 20% of the ingredients."So, you may see a list of ingredients on the side of the box, but some harmful ones may not be listed there because they're considered part of the fragrance or perfume that goes along with the product," Sletvold told Fox8.com.

Phthalates are added to formulations to improve the texture and feel of the product and are used as plasticizers to make products more malleable and flexible. Phthalates, however, are recognized as endocrine disruptors, which means they can interfere with the body's hormonal systems and result in a variety of health issues. Because hair relaxers and straighteners are applied directly to the scalp and can enter the bloodstream through the skin, phthalates are especially dangerous for women who use them. According to studies, women who routinely use these items have higher phthalate levels in their bodies than women who do not. This is due to the fact that the scalp absorbs substances more quickly than other body parts and that hair relaxers and straighteners are frequently used on the hair for longer periods of time than other personal care products. Hundreds of women have filed hair relaxer uterine cancer lawsuits alleging that the hair relaxer they used regularly and for most of their lives caused their cancer.

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Lawyers for Hair Relaxer Cancer Lawsuits

We will represent all persons involved in a hair relaxer cancer lawsuit on a contingency basis, meaning our lawyers never charge legal fees unless we win compensation in your case. For a free no-obligation consultation please fill out our short online contact form and one of our hair relaxer attorneys for uterine cancer or breast cancer will contact you to answer any of your questions.