Wrongful Death Hair Relaxer Lawsuit and Carcinogenic Synthetic Hair Braids

Hair Relaxer Wrongful Death

Da-Chiana Swearengen, a Mississippi woman, used hair relaxer products from 2001 until 2017. She was diagnosed with endometrial cancer in March 2022. A wrongful death lawsuit was filed by Deborah Neal in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on February 27, reported AboutLawsuits.com. According to the lawsuit, Swearengen’s cancer eventually metastasized and she underwent chemotherapy treatments, but chemicals in the hair relaxers proved to be fatal. 

Swearengen used numerous hair relaxer products over 16 years, including Just for Me, Dark & Lovely, ORS Olive Oil and African Pride. Neal accuses several hair relaxer manufacturers, including L’Oreal, Namaste Laboratories and Strength of Nature, of the following:

• negligence and gross negligence
• negligent misrepresentation, negligence per se
• design defect
• failure to warn
• breach of warranty
• fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment
• violations of U.S. consumer protection laws
• unjust enrichment and wrongful death

Neal seeks both compensatory and punitive damages. Her lawsuit joins thousands more hair straightener lawsuits for women diagnosed with certain cancers. All lawsuits like Swearengen’s are centralized as a part of a hair relaxer lawsuit MDL (multi-district litigation) before U.S. District Judge Mary Rowland in the Northern District of Illinois in Re: Hair Relaxer Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3060.

Synthetic Braids Linked to Cancer

In the wake of Black consumers notifying Consumer Reports about concerns over possible hazardous chemicals in synthetic braiding hair, the advocacy group followed up. A new study published on February 27, 2025 by Consumer Reports indeed found carcinogenic chemicals in synthetic hair braids.

Looking for carcinogens, heavy metals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), Consumer Reports researchers tested 10 popular synthetic braiding hair products from popular brands, including Sensationnel, Magic Fingers, Sassy Collection, Shake-N-Go, Hbegant, Debut and Darling. Using 20 samples, the researchers found cancer-causing chemicals, VOCs in all the products, and nine out of 10 products contained lead.

Sassy Collection’s Jumbo Braid exceeded safe levels of lead by 610 percent. Sensationnel X-Pression was the only product tested where no lead was detected. The most VOCs were found in Magic Fingers products, which contained more than five million VOCs, including acetone, methylene chloride, toluene, benzene and 1,2-dichloroethane. The lowest number of VOCs were found in Hbegant, which contained only 59.

James E. Rogers, PhD, director and head of product safety testing, and his team began testing synthetic braiding hair products last year with three goals in mind: to determine whether the chemicals were present, to determine whether you could measure them/how much of each chemical was present, and to find out whether there was a way to determine the possible risk to the consumers who use these products. Rogers said that, despite its popularity, most synthetic braiding hair products lack ingredient disclosure, and they’re often worn for weeks at a time potentially exposing consumers—and braiders—to toxic chemicals for prolonged periods. 

Although short-term health issues from the chemicals in synthetic braiding hair generally result in rashes and tenderness in the scalp, Consumer Reports warns that long-term problems could include disruptions to the human hormone system and cancer. “It’s appalling that toxic chemicals are in these products with so little scrutiny from those who are supposed to protect people, like the FDA,” Oriene Shin, Consumer Reports manager of safety advocacy, said. “Consumers should never have to risk their health when choosing personal care products, and yet, harmful ingredients in products marketed to Black women continue to go unaddressed. This inaction has failed Black women for too long, and policymakers should take the steps necessary to address these gaps and hold companies accountable when they put consumers at risk.”

LawyersandSettlements predict that synthetic braids cancer lawsuits will soon be filed…