Arizona accuses L’Oréal of selling hair products without warnings about alleged risks of uterine and ovarian cancer

Arizona Attorney General Kristin Mayes has sued L’Oréal, accusing the company of violating consumer protection laws by selling hair-straightening products without warnings about the alleged risks of uterine and ovarian cancer. The products are used predominantly by African American women.

Arizona is seeking penalties and damages, as well as a ruling requiring the company to include warnings before marketing the products. The brands targeted include Dark and Lovely and Optimum.

The action comes as L’Oréal faces more than 12,000 similar lawsuits filed by women or their families and consolidated in multidistrict litigation in a federal court in Chicago. The first complaints emerged after a 2022 study published by the National Institutes of Health, according to which frequent use of these products was associated with more than twice the risk of uterine cancer.

L’Oréal denies the allegations and says its products are safe, and that the study does not prove a causal relationship.

The litigation also targets other manufacturers, including Revlon.

The first trials could begin next year.