How to Join the Hair Relaxer Lawsuit: Step by Step

As of October 1, 2026: 12,381 actions pending in the MDL, 2 new Northern District of Illinois filings in the sample in the last 30 days. See the member-case ledger.

There is no sign-up sheet for the hair relaxer lawsuit and no class action to join. Each case is an individual lawsuit, filed by a lawyer for one woman against the companies that made the relaxers she used, and then transferred into MDL 3060 in Chicago for coordinated pretrial work. “Joining” means having your history reviewed, your records gathered and a case filed in your name. Here is exactly how that happens, what you need, and how long each step takes.

Can you sign up for the hair relaxer lawsuit online?

You can start online, but you cannot submit a claim form the way a settled class action allows — there is no settlement and no claims administrator. A lawyer files a complaint in your name and it becomes one of the individual cases in the MDL. What you can do today is a free confidential claim review.

Step 1 — Confirm your use and your diagnosis fit

The screening threshold used in the litigation is relaxer use at least four times a year for two years or more, and a diagnosis of uterine (endometrial) or ovarian cancer confirmed by pathology. Fibroid, endometriosis and breast cancer claims are being worked up but sit outside the current trial track. See do I qualify for the hair relaxer lawsuit?

Step 2 — Gather what you can (and don’t wait for what you can’t)

• The brands you remember, roughly how often you used them and over what years; childhood and salon use count.
• Your diagnosis and its date, and the name of the treating hospital or clinic.
• The pathology report and surgical records if you have them.
• Salon records, photographs or family recollection that document use.

Missing items do not stop a review; records requests are part of the process, and receipts are not expected.

Step 3 — Free claim review

A short call or the online form: your use history, your diagnosis, your treatment and your state. You are told at the end whether the case fits, what is unclear, and what records would settle it. There is no charge for the review and no fee unless there is a recovery.

Step 4 — Signed authorization and records

If the case fits, you sign an authorization that lets the firm request the pathology report and treatment records. This is not a retainer; it lets the work start. Records usually take two to eight weeks.

Step 5 — Matching your history to the litigation

Your lawyer ties the products you used to the named defendants, confirms the diagnosis in the record, and checks your state’s deadline before filing. If your diagnosis is outside the trial track you are told exactly that, and the claim is filed or monitored accordingly.

Step 6 — Case acceptance, the engagement agreement, and filing

With records in hand the case is either accepted or you are told plainly why not. Acceptance comes with a written engagement agreement that sets out the contingency percentage and expenses; there are no upfront costs. The complaint is filed in federal court and transferred into MDL 3060, where it joins the cases already pending; see the litigation update for where those cases stand.

Deadlines: how long you have to file

Each state sets its own statute of limitations. The clock generally runs from when you knew or should have known of the connection between the products and your diagnosis — for most women no earlier than the October 2022 NIH study — not from the day you last used a relaxer. Some state windows are short. Our state pages, from California to Rhode Island, cover the rules; the deadline analysis is part of the free review.

What joining does not require

You do not need receipts, you do not need to remember every brand, you do not need to pay anything, and you do not need to travel to Chicago; the MDL coordinates pretrial work, and a case that goes to trial is tried where it was filed.

Frequently Asked Questions