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Hair Relaxer Lawsuit — Free, Confidential Consultation
Years of relaxers, then a uterine cancer diagnosis.
This is the injury the federal trials are built on. If you got relaxers regularly for years, two confidential minutes tells you where you stand.
Active litigation — no settlement. MDL 3060 underway · 11,779 cases pending · filing deadlines vary by state and run from when you knew or should have known.
Did you get relaxers — perms, the white cream — every few weeks, for years?
That one question decides most of it. It seems like nobody ever told you the risk was anything worse than a scalp burn.
See where I standfree · confidential · 2 minutes · an honest answer either way
What the lawsuit is actually about →
No receipts needed · you don’t have to remember every brand · no fee unless there is a recovery. Court costs and litigation expenses are advanced by counsel and repaid from the recovery. You are not responsible for court costs or litigation expenses if there is no recovery, unless a court directs otherwise. The attorney’s fee is a percentage of the gross recovery, calculated before expenses are deducted.
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Marin & Murphy Law Firm
Every inquiry gets a personal review and a straight answer — including “not yet” or “no” — free and without obligation.
Claims are brought against the companies that made and sold chemical relaxers — not against your stylist, your salon, or the person who did your hair growing up. Conversations are confidential. Some matters may be referred to or handled with other law firms. No settlement has been announced and no trial has been held; every case depends on its own facts. This page does not diagnose anything. Attorney Advertising.
Uterine cancer is one of the three core injuries in the federal hair relaxer litigation. Women diagnosed after years of regular chemical relaxer use may have a claim against the manufacturers, and thousands of such cases are already consolidated for pretrial handling in Chicago.
One question decides most of it.
Did you get relaxers — perms, the white cream — at least four times a year for two years or more? Roughly is fine.
free · confidential · no receipts needed · you don’t have to remember every brand · an honest answer either way · no fee unless there is a recovery.
The attorney’s fee is a percentage of the gross recovery, calculated before case expenses are deducted. Case expenses are advanced by the firm and reimbursed to the firm out of the recovery only if there is a recovery. You have no liability for court costs or litigation expenses if there is no recovery, unless a court directs otherwise.
This page is about a lawsuit — it is legal information, not medical advice, and it does not diagnose anything. Questions about your health belong with your own doctor.
Free, Confidential Consultation — no fee unless there is a recovery
Talk to Marin & Murphy Law Firm at (888) 348-2735 — answered 24/7 — or use the confidential case review form on this page. Some matters may be referred to or handled with other law firms.
The attorney’s fee is a percentage of the gross recovery, calculated before case expenses are deducted. Case expenses are advanced by the firm and reimbursed to the firm out of the recovery only if there is a recovery. You have no liability for court costs or litigation expenses if there is no recovery, unless a court directs otherwise.
Lawsuits consolidated in federal court in Chicago (MDL 3060) allege that long-term use of chemical hair relaxers is associated with uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, and related conditions. As of August 2026 the cases are in pretrial proceedings; no trial has been held and no settlement has been announced. The allegations have not been proven, and each case depends on its own facts.
Why uterine cancer sits at the center of this litigation
When the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation sent these cases to one judge in February 2023, it did so because of allegations that relaxers contain phthalates and other endocrine-disrupting chemicals and that using them raised the risk of several reproductive injuries. Since then the litigation has narrowed. In a memorandum opinion entered November 13, 2024 (Dkt. 946), the court identified uterine, ovarian and endometrial cancer as the three diagnoses with a preserved refiling window — six months from a later diagnosis, in the federal MDL 3060 only, with a complete Plaintiff Fact Sheet served within ten business days. A June 2026 order on bellwether damages describes “the … MDL injury (i.e., ovarian or uterine cancer)” in exactly those terms (Dkt. 1944).
That is the practical meaning of “core injury.” It is not a comment on how serious any other condition is. It is a description of which claims the trial track is currently built around.
Uterine cancer and endometrial cancer are often the same diagnosis described two ways — most uterine cancers begin in the endometrium, the lining of the uterus. If your pathology report or your doctor used the term endometrial, the endometrial cancer page covers the same litigation from that vocabulary.
What the research actually found
Three findings do most of the work in these cases, and all three describe associations rather than proof. None of them existed in any form you would have encountered while you were using these products. For most women the only risk anyone ever named was a scalp burn — that is what the box warned about, and until October 2022 there was nothing else in general circulation to know.
The NIH-funded Sister Study followed 33,947 women aged 35 to 74 who still had a uterus at enrollment. Over an average of 10.9 years, 378 uterine cancers were identified. Any straightener use in the prior year was associated with a higher rate of uterine cancer (HR = 1.80, 95% CI = 1.12 to 2.88), and the association was stronger for frequent use — more than four times in the past twelve months — at HR = 2.55 (95% CI = 1.46 to 4.45). In absolute terms, NIH estimated that 1.64 percent of never-users would develop uterine cancer by age 70, compared with 4.05 percent of frequent users. The full study ledger sets out every figure with its citation.
The Black Women’s Health Study, reported by Boston University in October 2023, followed nearly 45,000 Black women with no prior cancer history for up to 22 years and found that relaxer use more than twice a year or for more than five years was associated with a greater than 50 percent increased rate of uterine cancer.
Product testing published in 2018 examined 18 hair-care products marketed to Black women, targeted 66 endocrine-disrupting chemicals and detected 45 of them. Eighty-four percent of the chemicals detected were not listed on the product label.
Study findings and adverse-event reports describe associations; they are not verified causation.
Where the cases stand right now
As of the JPML’s August 3, 2026 count, 11,779 hair relaxer actions were pending in the federal litigation, out of 16,199 filed to date — fourth largest of 162 federal multidistrict proceedings. These are consolidated individual lawsuits (an MDL), not a single pooled case; each plaintiff keeps her own claim, her own facts and her own outcome.
The near-term calendar, all from the court’s own orders:
- April 2, 2026 — the court selected all ten bellwether trial cases itself (Dkt. 1781), excluding cases it considered complicating in order to, in its phrase, cut out the noise.
- May 5, 2026 — defendants filed a combined motion to exclude the plaintiffs’ general-causation experts (Dkt. 1828). Briefing closed June 16, 2026. The motion is undecided and a hearing has not been set (Dkt. 1881). This is the largest single risk in the litigation, in both directions.
- July 24, 2026 — the discovery stay on the Second Wave defendants was lifted, with the court writing, “It is time to litigate” (Dkt. 1984).
- November 16, 2026 — case-specific expert discovery closes. December 16, 2026 — summary judgment and remaining expert motions are due (Dkt. 1778).
No trial date has been set on the master docket.
Do you qualify?
Eligibility is decided by review of your own use history and medical records, not by a web page. This page will not tell you that you qualify in order to get you into a form, and it does not hand you to a lead broker: some matters may be referred to or handled with other law firms, and you are told which before anything happens. The screen most claims start from is straightforward:
- Used a chemical hair relaxer at least four times a year for at least two years. Salon or at-home use both count — a perm at the kitchen sink every few months counts the same as a standing salon appointment — and use that ended years ago still counts. Nobody is asked whether it was done correctly.
- A diagnosis of uterine cancer (including endometrial cancer) or ovarian cancer.
- The diagnosis can be documented — pathology report, oncology records, surgical records.
- You can identify roughly when you used relaxers and, if you remember, which brands. Not remembering brands does not disqualify anyone.
- Your claim is within the filing deadline that applies in your state, which varies and can be short. That deadline generally runs from when you knew or should have known of the connection between the product and the diagnosis, not from your last relaxer.
If you are unsure about any line above, that is what a review is for. The full eligibility walkthrough explains how each item is checked. The first step is about two minutes, costs nothing, and asks nothing you have to find first — records are requested for you, with your authorization.
What this page is not
This page is legal information, not medical advice, and it does not diagnose anything. Questions about your health belong with your own doctor.
We also do not name a settlement figure here, because there is not one to name. No hair relaxer settlement has been announced and no one has been paid. Any page that quotes a dollar figure is estimating. If you have already seen numbers elsewhere, our settlement page explains where they come from and how product-liability value is actually assessed.
Consultations are free and confidential, and there is no fee unless there is a recovery. Some matters may be referred to or handled with other law firms.
A claim here is against the companies that made and sold the product — not against a salon, not against whoever applied it, and not against you for having used something sold in every drugstore in the country. Would it be wrong to spend two minutes finding out where you stand? You get an answer either way, including the answer that there is nothing here for you.
Free, Confidential Consultation — no fee unless there is a recovery
Talk to Marin & Murphy Law Firm at (888) 348-2735 — answered 24/7 — or use the confidential case review form on this page. Some matters may be referred to or handled with other law firms.
The attorney’s fee is a percentage of the gross recovery, calculated before case expenses are deducted. Case expenses are advanced by the firm and reimbursed to the firm out of the recovery only if there is a recovery. You have no liability for court costs or litigation expenses if there is no recovery, unless a court directs otherwise.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a class action?
No. These are individual lawsuits coordinated before one federal judge for pretrial purposes — consolidated individual lawsuits (an MDL). Each woman’s case stays her own, with its own facts and its own result.
I stopped using relaxers years ago. Does that matter?
Past use is what the litigation is about. The research measured use over years and decades, and the cases pending now overwhelmingly involve women whose relaxer use ended long before diagnosis. When use stopped does not by itself decide eligibility; the filing deadline in your state can, which is why timing gets reviewed early.
I do not remember which brands I used.
That is common and it is not a bar. The defendants in this litigation include the makers of most of the widely sold relaxer lines — L’Oréal USA and SoftSheen-Carson, Strength of Nature, Namaste Laboratories, Revlon and others. Brand identification is worked out from what you can recall, purchase and salon history, and discovery.
What is the difference between uterine cancer and endometrial cancer here?
Legally, none that matters — the court’s orders list both. Medically, endometrial cancer is the most common form of uterine cancer, and many women see both words on their records.
How long will this take?
Longer than anyone would like. Expert discovery in the lead cases closes in November 2026 and dispositive motions are due that December, with briefing running into February 2027. No trial date is set, and a pending expert ruling could reshape the schedule in either direction.
What does “no fee unless there is a recovery” mean?
The attorney’s fee is a percentage of the gross recovery, calculated before case expenses are deducted. Case expenses are advanced by the firm and reimbursed to the firm out of the recovery only if there is a recovery. You have no liability for court costs or litigation expenses if there is no recovery, unless a court directs otherwise.
Sources
- In re Hair Relaxer Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3060, N.D. Ill., Master Docket 1:23-cv-00818 (Judge Mary M. Rowland).
- JPML Transfer Order, quoted at Dkt. 291 at 2 (Feb. 6, 2023) — scope of transferred injuries.
- Dkt. 946, Memorandum Opinion and Order (Nov. 13, 2024) — core cancer claims; six-month refiling window; Plaintiff Fact Sheet requirement.
- Dkt. 1944 (June 22, 2026) — bellwether damages; “the … MDL injury (i.e., ovarian or uterine cancer).”
- Dkt. 1781 (Apr. 2, 2026) — court selection of ten bellwether trial cases.
- Dkt. 1778 (Apr. 1, 2026) — expert and dispositive-motion schedule (Nov. 16, 2026; Dec. 16, 2026).
- Dkt. 1828 (May 5, 2026); Dkt. 1881 — general-causation Rule 702 motion, briefed June 16, 2026, undecided.
- Dkt. 1984 (July 24, 2026) — Second Wave discovery stay lifted.
- JPML, Pending MDL Dockets by Actions Pending, Aug. 3, 2026 — 11,779 pending / 16,199 total.
- Chang C-J, O’Brien KM, Keil AP, et al., “Use of Straighteners and Other Hair Products and Incident Uterine Cancer,” JNCI 2022;114(12):1636–1645.
- NIH news release, Oct. 17, 2022 — absolute risk by age 70 (1.64% vs 4.05%).
- Bertrand KA, Delp L, Coogan PF, et al., “Hair relaxer use and risk of uterine cancer in the Black Women’s Health Study,” Environ Res 2023;239:117228; Boston University summary, Oct. 11, 2023.
- Helm JS, Nishioka MN, Brody JG, Rudel RA, Dodson RE, Environmental Research 2018 (Silent Spring Institute) — 45 of 66 endocrine disruptors detected; 84% not on label.
Cases are handled on a contingent-fee basis: no fee unless there is a recovery. The attorney’s fee is a percentage of the gross recovery, calculated before case expenses are deducted. Case expenses are advanced by the firm and reimbursed to the firm out of the recovery only if there is a recovery. You have no liability for court costs or litigation expenses if there is no recovery, unless a court directs otherwise.
Attorney admissions: Matthew T. Marin — RI, CT, MA, SC, U.S.D.C. D.R.I. · Stefanie A. Murphy — RI, CT, MA, U.S.D.C. D.R.I./D.Conn./D.Mass.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Attorney Advertising. This website and its contents are intended to provide general information about Marin & Murphy Law Firm and about legal developments in the chemical hair relaxer litigation. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and nothing on this page creates an attorney-client relationship. No attorney-client relationship is formed by sending information through this site, by telephone, or by any form on it; an attorney-client relationship is created only by a written agreement signed by you and the firm.
Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any other matter. Every case is different and is decided on its own facts. Statements on this page about the status of litigation describe allegations that have not been proven and court filings that speak for themselves.
Marin & Murphy Law Firm is licensed to practice in the states identified on this site. Some matters may be referred to or handled with other law firms. Cases are handled on a contingent-fee basis: no fee unless there is a recovery. The attorney’s fee is a percentage of the gross recovery, calculated before case expenses are deducted. Case expenses are advanced by the firm and reimbursed to the firm out of the recovery only if there is a recovery. You have no liability for court costs or litigation expenses if there is no recovery, unless a court directs otherwise.
This page is legal information, not medical advice, and it does not diagnose anything. Questions about your health belong with your own doctor. The attorney responsible for this advertisement is Matthew T. Marin, Esq.
