Women who used chemical hair relaxers or straighteners and were later diagnosed with uterine, ovarian or endometrial cancer. Each woman files her own injury case, and the cases are grouped in one federal court.
About 12,381 cases are pending in federal MDL 3060 in Chicago against L'Oréal, Revlon and other makers. Test cases are being prepared, and the first trial is set for September 7, 2027. The companies deny wrongdoing.
Nothing right now. As of November 2, 2026, there is no global settlement, claim form or payment amount. Any email or ad promising a hair relaxer payout is likely a scam.
Yes, if you have a qualifying diagnosis. You file an individual injury claim through a product liability lawyer, and state time limits apply, so do not wait.
Most product liability lawyers work on contingency, so you pay nothing up front. If the case settles or wins, the fee comes out of the recovery.
Thousands of women say chemical hair relaxers and straighteners caused their uterine, ovarian or endometrial cancer. Their cases are combined in one federal court in Chicago, where a judge is preparing test cases for trial. This page covers who is being sued, who may be covered, the legal claims and what happens next.
The case tracker MDL Update lists the current case count and court schedule. The tracker confirms that no global settlement has been announced.
None of the claims has been proven in court. The companies deny wrongdoing.
Important hair relaxer lawsuit update
As of November 2, 2026, there is no hair relaxer settlement, no claim form and no payout. Any email or text asking you to claim money from these cases or pay a fee to join is a scam. Learn how real claims work in our guide to class action settlements with no proof of purchase.
The cases name the companies that make and sell chemical relaxers. Most are in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois before Judge Mary M. Rowland.
Each woman files her own injury case, so whether you could be covered depends on the products you used, how often you used them and your medical records. No settlement class exists, because these are individual injury cases.
You do not need to sign up for anything to be counted. Court rulings and any future settlement notice will explain how to take part. Our guide on how to sue a company explains the basic steps if you want to bring your own case.
In October 2022, researchers at the National Institutes of Health reported that women who often used hair straightening products had a higher chance of uterine cancer than women who did not. Soon after, women across the country began filing suits.
The plaintiffs claim the products contain chemicals that disrupt hormones, and that the companies knew or should have known of the risk and did not warn customers. The companies deny wrongdoing.
The federal cases were combined into MDL 3060 on February 6, 2023, so one judge can manage the shared evidence. The court is now choosing a small group of test cases, called bellwether cases.
| Stage | Date | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| MDL 3060 created | February 6, 2023 | Federal cases combined before one judge in Chicago |
| Bellwether pool | October 21, 2026 | Parties due to propose cutting ten test cases to five |
| Expert discovery | December 21, 2026 | Expert work closes for the five test cases |
| First bellwether trial | September 7, 2027 | First jury test of the claims, which may guide settlement talks |
These are product liability cases under state law, which differs from state to state. Federal rules on cosmetics also matter to the debate, because the FDA has not finalized a proposed ban on formaldehyde in hair smoothing products.
Injury cases that are combined into an MDL often take years to reach trial. For other active product safety cases, see our Sauna360 recall lawsuit and McDonald’s E. coli lawsuit pages.
Those results are not a prediction for hair relaxer cases, which depend on their own evidence.
Used a relaxer in the past?
You can act today without waiting for the court. Write down the brands you used and how often, keep your medical records and ask your doctor about screening if you have symptoms.
Because there is no settlement, the most useful steps preserve evidence and protect your legal options.
The court is preparing a small group of bellwether cases to see how juries may respond. Expert discovery closes for the five test cases on December 21, 2026, and the first trial is set for September 7, 2027. A special master is overseeing settlement talks, but no global settlement has been announced.
Follow other active cases in our lawsuit list.
There is no claim deadline because there is no settlement. There is a time limit to file your own injury lawsuit, called the statute of limitations, and it depends on your state. These are the dates that matter so far:
State time limits range from one year to several years, and some states start the clock when you learn the cancer may be linked to a product. A lawyer can tell you which deadline applies. Our guide on how to sue a company covers the basics.
Case: In re Hair Relaxer Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, MDL 3060 (N.D. Ill.)
Judge: Hon. Mary M. Rowland
Status: Pretrial. No settlement or claim form
Tracker: MDL Update hair relaxer case page
No. As of November 2, 2026, no global hair relaxer settlement has been announced and no payment amounts have been set. Revlon, which filed for bankruptcy, has set aside $44 million for claims against it.
The claims focus on uterine, ovarian and endometrial cancer. The NIH study that sparked the lawsuits looked at uterine cancer.
No one knows yet. No case values have been set, and any payment would depend on your diagnosis, product use and records. Be careful of anyone who promises a specific amount.
No. It is a multidistrict litigation, which combines many individual injury cases before one judge. Each woman keeps her own case, and any payment would be decided per person, unlike a class action where members share one fund.