US woman sues L'Oreal, claims its hair products led to uterine cancer

The American woman said that she had been using L'Oreal's hair straightening products for more than two decades.

Pic Credit: File Photo

New Delhi: Can hair straightening products cause uterine cancer? A US woman claimed that she contracted uterine cancer after using L'Oreal's hair straightening products. Jenny Mitchell has decided to sue the company, her lawyer said as quoted by AFP. As per her claims, in the civil lawsuit, she had used the products for more than two decades, and she was diagnosed with uterine cancer. She then had to undergo a full hysterectomy. 

New study links hair straightening products to uterine cancer

Incidentally, the news of the lawsuit comes at a time when the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published a study that linked the usage of chemical hair straightening products and uterine cancer. According to the study, women who used chemical hair straightening products more frequently than four times annually had a more than a two-fold increased risk of developing uterine cancer.

How common is Uterine cancer?

Uterine cancer is very uncommon, although it is becoming more common in America, particularly among Black women. Ben Crump, a personal injury lawyer for Mitchell, stated in a statement that "Black women have long been the targets of hazardous items that are intentionally marketed to them."

In the legal claim filed on Friday, L'Oreal, a major French cosmetics company, is one of the defendants and is being sued for damages. According to Crump, "we will probably find that Ms Mitchell's terrible situation is just one of countless instances when firms actively mislead Black women to enhance their profits."

(With agency inputs)