The Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act Falls Short Of Effectively Regulating Chemical Hair Relaxers

Loreal and other manufacturers of dangerous chemical hair relaxer products will be allowed to continue to hide the presence of carcinogens in their ingredients

Monday, February 20, 2023 - A leading publication is taking the US Government to task for failing to regulate the use of carcinogenic chemicals in hair relaxer products in the wake of hundreds of hair relaxer lawsuits. Afro.com tells readers that there are loopholes in the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA), a recently-enacted bill, that allows the manufacturers of chemical hair relaxers and straighteners to continue to hide the dangerous ingredients they are selling to Black women and children in chemical hair relaxers. The article also points out that the companies take advantage of societal pressures on Blacks to conform to western beauty standards, to find wavy and kinky hair unattractive, and to seek to straighten and style their hair. Societal pressure for beauty conformity starts at a very young age which exposed females to toxic hair relaxer chemicals starting in grade school and continuing through adulthood. It comes as a shock to most women that the cosmetics industry is mostly unregulated by the federal government and self-regulation is relied upon for consumer safety. According to Afro.com, "While MoCRA is regarded as a belated, yet welcomed, development, several provisions containing insufficiently defined parameters, terms, and limitations create loopholes that would enable manufacturers to continue using unsafe ingredients. The implications are especially concerning for Black women, whose frequent use of hair products is linked to higher risks of cancer and other similar health conditions." Hair relaxer cancer lawyers allege that given the loopholes in The Act, companies will continue to market toxic hair relaxers toward the Black woman demographic including Black children as young as 5 years old.

The MOCRA is regarded as a positive change that will allow the FDA to demand recalls of products it deems contain chemicals detrimental to human health. Before that, it was up to the cosmetics company itself to recall or restrict the sale of their questionable products. This was the case in 2018 when the FDA hired an independent testing facility to test Johnson's Baby Powder for asbestos with positive findings. Johnson & Johnson quickly discontinued selling talcum powder in Canada and the United States. Two years later, and millions of dollars in sales later, the company stopped selling talcum powder worldwide. The measures fell short of a recall, however, as millions of bottles of Johnson's Baby Powder with allegedly carcinogenic talc remain to this day on store shelves until the inventory is exhausted. The critical loophole in the MOCRA ignores parabens and hormone-disrupting chemicals that are not listed in the ingredients on the packaging of chemical hair straighteners. According to Afto.com, hormone-disrupting chemicals have been kept from consumer awareness by labeling them "trade secrets." The Act also ignores the heightened occupational risk beauticians face who use the product every day. Studies indicate that coming into contact with chemical hair straighteners at least 4 times per year doubles the risk of developing cancer of the female reproductive system. The Act is loosely worded enough to allow hair relaxer manufacturers to submit safety reports written by companies with conflicts of interest.

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