See if you qualify for this lawsuit
Quick form — a real person will review your info and reach out if you may have a case.
The short version: Studies now link long-term use of chemical hair relaxers — products many women have used since childhood — to uterine, ovarian, and endometrial cancer. If you used these products regularly and were later diagnosed, you may be owed money. Filing is open, and there is no cost to check.
This page explains, in plain English, who may qualify, what the money could look like, and how to find out if your situation fits. If you'd rather skip straight to a case check, the form is here.
What the Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Is About
For decades, chemical hair relaxers — sold under household brand names like Dark & Lovely, Just for Me, Olive Oil Girls, Optimum, and others — have been marketed heavily to women, and especially to Black women, starting as young as grade school.
What the labels never said: these products contain hormone-disrupting chemicals called phthalates and a type of chemical that, when the product is applied to the scalp, can be absorbed into the body. A 2022 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, drawing on NIH data from nearly 34,000 women followed for more than 10 years, found that women who used chemical hair relaxers four or more times a year had more than double the rate of uterine cancer compared to women who never used them. (Chang et al., JNCI, 2022.)
Attorneys representing plaintiffs in the litigation have argued in court filings that manufacturers had reason to know about the potential risks of these chemicals but continued marketing the products without warning. The case is now before Judge Mary M. Rowland in the Northern District of Illinois.
As of March 2026, more than 10,168 lawsuits have been filed and consolidated in the federal multidistrict litigation in Illinois (MDL 3060, N.D. Ill., Judge Mary M. Rowland). Companies named in the suits include L'Oréal, SoftSheen-Carson, Strength of Nature, Revlon, and Namaste Laboratories. (All defendants deny the allegations.)
Who May Qualify
You may have a case if all three of these apply to you:
- You used chemical hair relaxers or straighteners regularly (generally four or more times a year) for at least a few years.
- You were later diagnosed with uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, or uterine fibroids requiring surgery.
- Your diagnosis came after your relaxer use (not before you started using them).
You do not need to remember every brand you used, keep old receipts, or have been a salon regular. Many women used drugstore brands they bought themselves or had a family member apply at home.
Take 2 minutes and find out — free.
Tell us which products you used and when you were diagnosed. A real person will review your info and reach out within one week if you have a case.
Start Free Case Check →What Could This Mean for You?
We will not quote you a number. No global settlement has been reached in this MDL as of this writing, and we have no verified basis to project what any individual case may be worth. Anyone who gives you a specific dollar figure at this stage is guessing — and we won't do that.
What any case may ultimately be worth depends entirely on the specific diagnosis, the severity of treatment required, the individual's medical history, and how the litigation resolves. Those factors are unique to every person.
What we can say: the case check is free, there is no cost to you unless you win, and if you may have a case, the only way to know is to submit your information for review by a real person.
What About the Filing Deadline?
Every state has a law that sets a deadline for filing a lawsuit. These deadlines vary by state — in some, it's as short as one year from the date you learned about the link between the product and your diagnosis. In most states, it's two to four years.
Here's the important part: the clock is already running for many women, and once it runs out, you cannot recover — even if you clearly would have qualified. This is the single biggest reason not to wait. Checking if you qualify takes two minutes and costs nothing.
What Happens If You File
People often avoid starting a case because they picture courtrooms, depositions, and years of paperwork. That's not what these cases usually look like. Here's the real process:
Step 1 — The Free Case Check
You fill out the form on this page (takes about two minutes). A real person on our intake team reviews it. If it looks like you may qualify, someone reaches out to you within one week. If you don't hear back, it means we couldn't confirm a match from your info — and you should talk to another firm before the filing deadline passes.
Step 2 — A Screening Conversation
A team member reaches out to fill in details: which products, how long, when diagnosed, what treatment. No cost. No pressure. If you're not a fit, they tell you and the conversation ends there.
Step 3 — Signing Up
If you move forward, you sign a simple agreement. The agreement says you owe nothing unless your case wins or settles. If you win, a percentage goes to the law firm; the rest is yours.
Step 4 — Your Case Joins Thousands of Others
Your case joins the group of cases already filed. The law firm does the hard work. You're not in a courtroom. Most clients never have to travel or testify. You get regular updates. When cases settle or win at trial, payouts go out.
Common Questions
Do I need to remember every brand I used?
No. A general memory of what you used, how often, and roughly when is enough to start. The law firm can help reconstruct the rest.
What if I threw away the boxes years ago?
That's fine. Most people don't keep old shampoo and relaxer boxes. Your medical records, your memory, and sometimes photos or salon records are what matter.
Does it cost anything?
No. The case check is free. If you sign up, there's no fee unless you win. If your case doesn't recover money, you owe nothing.
Will this take over my life?
Almost never. Most clients fill out a form, have one or two follow-up conversations, and then hear updates over time. You don't have to go to court.
I live in [state]. Does this apply to me?
Yes. This is a federal lawsuit, so it covers women in all 50 states. You can qualify whether you're in Florida, Georgia, California, Texas, New York, or anywhere else.
Ready to Check If You Qualify?
If any part of this sounds like your story — you used hair relaxers regularly for years, and later were diagnosed with uterine, ovarian, or endometrial cancer (or needed surgery for fibroids) — take two minutes and fill out the form below. A real person will review it. If you have a case, someone will reach out within one week.
If you don't hear back within a week, please reach out to another law firm — every case has a filing deadline, and once it passes, you can't recover.