Women who use hair-straightening products are more than twice as likely to develop uterine cancer, a disease that kills nearly 13,000 women each year in the United States, according to a major study released recently.
If you or someone you love used hair-straightening products and developed uterine cancer, you may have grounds for a lawsuit. Contact us for a free evaluation of your case.
Kline & Specter, with more than more than 50 lawyers, five of whom are also highly skilled medical doctors – the most of any law firm in the nation – has the experience and expertise to litigate hair-straightener lawsuits. Our firm has won billions of dollars in verdicts and settlements in product liability cases against major manufacturers.
The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, included data from nearly 34,000 women. It showed that those who did not use hair straighteners developed uterine cancer at a rate of 1.6 percent by age 70, while those who did use the products contracted the disease at a rate of 4 percent by the same age.
The study, which used questionnaires and tracked the actual incidence of uterine cancer among study participants, also noted that Black women were most likely to suffer with uterine cancer from using hair straighteners because they more often use the products and begin using them at an earlier age. Nearly 60 percent of Black women in the study group reported using hair straighteners.
Before the major study, scientists had already begun uncovering a link between hair-straightening products such as chemical relaxers and pressing products and an increased risk of cancer. Researchers from the National Institutes of Health conducted the most recent study.
The researchers said more investigation is needed to determine the exact cause of the link to cancer, but they noted that hair straighteners contain chemicals known as endocrine disruptors, which can alter the way hormones act in the body. And exposure to excess estrogen and imbalances in the hormones estrogen and progesterone are risk factors for uterine cancer.
Many companies sell hair-straightening products. Among them are L’Oreal, Strength of Nature, Soft Sheen Carson, Dabur and Namaste Laboratories. While the study found a link between hair straighteners and uterine cancer, it did not find such a correlation with the use of other hair products such as dyes, perms or body waves.
In the United States, an estimated 66,570 new cases of uterine cancer are diagnosed each year, with 12,940 deaths, according to 2021 data. The disease affects mainly post-menopausal women, with an average age of 60. The death rate from uterine cancer is higher among Black Women than White women.
Kline & Specter has offices in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and New York. For cases outside those states, we work with local attorneys in each state as applicable.
