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Racial disparities
Black women are burning for beauty
“If you have ever gotten a relaxer, you know it usually sits on for a little bit, and most people sort of alert their hair stylist that it needs to be washed out once it starts tingling or burning,” Jasmine Abrams, one of the authors of a 2023 study linking chemical hair straighteners to issues with fertility, told NBC, “and at that point, you are running the risk of burns.” If you are “running the risk of burns or any sort of injury with that type of chemical,” she added, “then you’re definitely increasing your risk for absorption. If you do that over time for many, many years, then it can, of course, become continuously problematic.”
Hair straightener cancer lawsuits
Consumers are taking hair relaxer claims to court. Revlon, L’Oréal and others defend the use of the chemicals in their products. “We do not believe the science supports a link between chemical hair straighteners or relaxers and cancer,” Revlon told Reuters. L’Oréal added that it is committed to offering the best products “for all skin and hair types, all genders, all identities, all cultures, all ages” and that its hair relaxers have a “rich heritage and history” originating with Black inventors and entrepreneurs.
