Hair Relaxer Lawsuits–What’s at Stake

Political Interference and Cosmetic Regulation

The FDA has promised to ban formaldehyde in hair relaxers—it proposed the ban in late 2023, with an initial target date of April 2024—but has failed to do so. This abject failure illustrates how the agency has little control over cosmetics, due to regulatory delays, lobbying from cosmetic giants and political interference. An FDA spokesperson said that the reason for the delay is that  “the rulemaking process takes time”, but this is a pathetic excuse given the number of women whose lives are at risk – it is a health crisis.

CTV News reported that the formaldehyde ban is now in limbo, thanks to President Trump’s executive order pausing all federal regulations. The Trump administration issued a freeze on all rules that have not been sent to the Federal Register, including this rule on formaldehyde. And U.S. law does not require the FDA to approve cosmetic products and ingredients, other than food additives, before they go on the market. In other words, although companies and people selling products have a legal responsibility to ensure the safety of their products, federal law and regulations don’t require companies to share their safety information with the FDA. It’s like the Wild West: Companies can put products on shelves without FDA approval or a requirement to prove their product is safe. So, the FDA must build a case for harm instead of companies having to prove safety.

The Environmental Working Group, a research and advocacy group focused on toxic chemicals, has been petitioning the FDA to ban formaldehyde in hair products since 2008. “What we have seen is the FDA kicking the can down the road on this rule”, as advocates note. This isn’t just about formaldehyde—it reflects a broader failure to protect vulnerable communities from harmful cosmetic ingredients.

Civil Rights

Because chemical hair straighteners are disproportionately advertised to Black women, they are mainly at risk of certain cancers. (A major NIH study in 2022 linked long-term use of hair relaxers to uterine cancer and other studies have linked the products to ovarian cancer, breast cancer, and reproductive problems.) Because they are still on the market, racial justice and health equity questions need to be answered, so with over 10,000 hair relaxer lawsuits pending in the U.S., litigation involves civil rights as well as public health.

According to the Washington Post, formaldehyde and preservatives that release the chemical over time are found in a variety of personal care products often marketed to Black women, such as lotion, body wash, conditioner and face cream. It pointed out that the European Union banned the use of formaldehyde in cosmetics in 2009, though formaldehyde-releasing preservatives are permitted with restrictions and labeling requirements. And the Environmental Science & Technology Letters found that more than half of the participants in a study used products containing formaldehyde-releasing preservatives every day, sometimes multiple times a day.

The FDA is kicking the can on its failure to ban formaldehyde and it reflects a broader failure to protect vulnerable communities from harmful cosmetic ingredients. Advocate Kizzy Charles-Guzman, with the Center for Environmental Health, said that without stronger protections, the health and well-being of women of color will continue to be compromised. And it begs the question: If the FDA is supposed to protect public health, and despite solid scientific evidence such as the NIH study and years of advocacy, why does the agency continuously allow known carcinogens in products disproportionately used by Black women? One cannot help but wonder that the answer is tied to regulatory capture and political priorities, and whose health matters.

Meanwhile, a David vs. Goliath battle is playing out in court as thousands of women fight for justice and financial compensation to pay medical bills against billion-dollar companies that are using stall tactics and shady legal maneuvers to protect their profits. However, if these lawsuits succeed, companies could be forced to increase transparency and change formulations. And regulators could strengthen safety rules.