Five Philly-area Black women are suing L’Oreal and other beauty companies over hair-straightening products with cancer-linked chemical
But in recent years there have been growing concerns that these products had chemicals that increase the risk of reproductive system cancers in women. And because Black women are more likely to use the products, they were at higher risk. A Temple medical student and radiologist are on a quest to teach physicians to interpret X-rays of Black patients with braids, locs, and twists.
James and the four other local plaintiffs — Lynda Casurra, Jamia Parker, Cynthia Bennett, and Merle Carter — declined to be interviewed through Specter., in both state and federal courts. The company said in a statement that it stands by the safety of hair-straightening products manufactured by its subsidiary, SoftSheen-Carson, which produces products such as Dark & Lovely.
In the 1970s, beauty product manufacturers began using chemicals such as calcium hydroxide instead, specifically marketing the advantages compared to lye-based products. “Because Black women use hair straightening or relaxer products more frequently and tend to initiate use at earlier ages than other races and ethnicities, these findings may be even more relevant for them,” Che-Jung Chang, one of the study authors,