Attorney General Mayes Files Consumer Fraud Lawsuit Against L'Oréal USA

PHOENIX – Attorney General Kris Mayes announced today that the Arizona Attorney General’s Office has filed a consumer fraud lawsuit against L'Oréal USA, Inc., its parent company, and Softsheen, for the advertisement and sale of chemical hair relaxer products without disclosing that the products contained likely carcinogens, or had otherwise been linked to an increased risk of cancer, including ovarian and uterine cancers.

Chemical hair relaxers are a highly alkaline, hydroxide-based class of products, which work to straighten spiral-shaped keratin molecules. Chemical hair relaxers do this by breaking and reforming the disulfide bonds that form the hair’s spiral structure. These relaxers contain categories of chemicals that are toxic, or that lead to the formation of toxic compounds when applied to the scalp under customary and/or foreseeable use.  These include endocrine disrupting chemicals (“EDCs”), phthalates, parabens, and other chemicals classified by federal and international agencies as known or probable human carcinogens.

Multiple epidemiological studies demonstrate that women who use these toxic chemical hair relaxers have a significantly higher risk of developing uterine and ovarian cancer, as well as other hormonal cancers like thyroid and pancreatic cancer.  

“L'Oréal knew or should have known about the dangers associated with these toxic hair straightening products,” says Attorney General Kris Mayes. “Yet, instead of warning their consumers, they put profits over the safety of women and children. That is unacceptable and we will hold them accountable for it.”

These products were primarily marketed to African American women, and some were even marketed to children. 

If you believe you have been the victim of consumer fraud or unfair practices, you can file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office at www.azag.gov/consumer.  If you need a complaint form sent to you, you can contact the Attorney General’s Office in Phoenix at (602) 542-5763, in Tucson at (520) 628-6648, or outside the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas at (800) 352-8431.

A copy of the complaint is available.