All the research and articles on the effects of hair relaxers in one place.
Since the launch of Level Up's #NoMoreLyes campaign in 2021, L'Oréal – the largest global manufacturer of hair relaxers – has denied links between their products and various illnesses including uterine cancer, fibroids and respiratory disease. L'Oréal, and other manufacturers including Revlon, have argued that there isn't enough scientific evidence to prove that their hair relaxers could be harming Black women – a growing body of research from institutions like Oxford University and Boston University would suggest otherwise.
We know it can be overwhelming to keep up with the emerging studies, articles, lawsuits and news on this issue, so we've compiled a list of resources in one place. We'll update the collection as we gather more information but we need your help. If you come across any research, videos, articles, podcasts or anything else about the harmful effects of hair relaxers please share them with us and we'll add them to the list!
The more information we gather the harder it becomes for corporates like L'Oréal to evade accountability for the risks posed by their products.
Sign the petition →Submitted to the UK Parliament's inquiry — the most comprehensive public record of Level Up's evidence on hair relaxer harm, endocrine disruption, uterine cancer and racial trauma.
Download PDF →Level Up's written evidence to the UK Parliament's Science and Technology Committee details studies linking chemical relaxers to uterine cancer, fibroids, and endocrine disruption, argues that existing UK regulations fail to protect Black women, and calls on Parliament to mandate reformulation and enhanced labelling from manufacturers including L'Oréal.
Treasure Tress is a UK-based natural hair care subscription and product discovery service dedicated to helping Black women find safe, effective products for textured and afro hair. A community resource offering safer alternatives to chemical relaxers.
Unbothered UK is Refinery29's dedicated platform celebrating Black British women's culture, beauty, and identity. It amplifies Black British voices on hair, health, and wellbeing, including ongoing coverage of the chemical hair relaxer safety debate.
Project Embrace is a UK nonprofit campaigning against hair discrimination and celebrating natural afro-textured hair. They challenge professional policies that penalise Black hair as unprofessional, advocating for legal protections and cultural recognition for Black women's natural hair identity.
Curlture UK is a community platform celebrating curly and afro hair culture in the United Kingdom. They provide education, community support, and visibility for Black hair identity, and have been an important voice in the campaign to end chemical hair straightening harms.
An investigative report finding that as Black women in the US increasingly abandon chemical hair relaxers amid cancer concerns, L'Oréal and Revlon are aggressively expanding sales in African markets. The piece raises serious questions about double standards in corporate accountability and whether manufacturers are simply shifting harmful products to less-regulated markets.
Medscape reports on emerging research linking hair straightening products containing glyoxylic acid to acute kidney failure. The article documents case studies of women who developed severe kidney damage following chemical hair straightening treatments, adding kidney toxicity to the growing list of documented health harms from hair relaxer chemicals.
A study reported in The Independent found that the majority of Black British women using chemical hair relaxers experienced adverse side effects, including scalp burns, hair loss, and chemical irritation. The research provides UK-specific evidence of the health risks disproportionately affecting Black women who use lye-based relaxer products, and references the Level Up #NoMoreLyes campaign.
An overview of the documented physical injuries from chemical hair relaxer use, covering scalp burns from sodium hydroxide (lye), allergic contact dermatitis, chemical alopecia, and long-term scalp sensitisation. The article contextualises these immediate injury risks alongside the longer-term cancer and disease associations identified in recent research.
Glamour Magazine's accessible coverage of research suggesting regular chemical hair relaxer use may more than double a woman's risk of developing uterine cancer. The piece contextualises the NIH study data for a general audience and examines what Black British women — the primary consumers of relaxer products — should know about managing their risk.
The Voice newspaper's coverage of Level Up's open letter campaign calling on L'Oréal to remove lye (sodium hydroxide) from its hair relaxer products following studies linking the ingredient to uterine cancer and fibroids. The article details the campaign's specific demands, the scientific basis behind them, and L'Oréal's response.
Cosmetics Design Europe examines the contradiction between L'Oréal's sustainability commitments and the growing campaign demanding safer ingredients in products marketed to Black women. The article covers Level Up's open letter and contextualises the campaign within the cosmetics industry's response to increasing scrutiny of chemical formulations.
Retail Bum covers Level Up's demand that L'Oréal recall its hair relaxing products in response to multiple scientific studies indicating cancer risks. The article places the campaign in the context of the parallel wave of US lawsuits against L'Oréal and Revlon from women claiming hair relaxers caused their cancer diagnoses.
Time News reports on Level Up's campaign calling on L'Oréal to withdraw hair straightening products containing sodium hydroxide, following studies linking chemical relaxers to breast cancer and uterine cancer. The piece summarises the open letter signed by thousands of supporters and examines L'Oréal's public response to the campaign's demands.
International coverage of the growing wave of lawsuits in the United States from women claiming chemical hair straightening products caused their cancer. The article explains the litigation landscape, the challenge of proving causation in product liability cases involving hair chemicals, and the precedents being set for corporate accountability.
The Lawsuit Information Center's coverage of Level Up's demand that L'Oréal recall its hair relaxer products, detailing the specific L'Oréal and Dark & Lovely product lines implicated in cancer risk studies and providing context for women seeking legal recourse through the parallel US class action litigation.
Beauty industry publication Beauty Packaging covers Level Up's open letter to L'Oréal, documenting the campaign's demand that the company withdraw hair straightening products from sale and commit to reformulation without carcinogenic chemicals. The article includes analysis of potential regulatory and commercial implications for the global hair care market.
BBC Newsbeat explains why thousands of Black women are suing L'Oréal and other hair relaxer manufacturers, covering the scientific evidence behind the claims, the legal arguments being tested in US courts, and the personal stories of women affected. Level Up's #NoMoreLyes campaign is referenced as part of the broader global accountability movement.
Fox Soul's Black Report video segment covering Level Up's campaign urging L'Oréal to withdraw hair relaxing products following scientific research linking them to cancer risk. The segment features commentary on the public health implications for Black women and the disproportionate marketing of potentially harmful products to communities of colour.
Headline & Global News covers Level Up's advocacy campaign demanding L'Oréal stop selling hair relaxers, contextualising the demand within growing scientific evidence linking the products to uterine cancer and the disproportionate health burden borne by Black women as primary consumers of chemical hair straightening products.
The Evening Standard reports on Level Up's campaign urging L'Oréal to stop selling hair relaxers following multiple studies finding links between sodium hydroxide and elevated breast cancer risk. The article covers Level Up's open letter, details the scientific evidence, and examines L'Oréal's defence of its product safety record.
A comprehensive guide to hair relaxer cancer lawsuits in the United States, explaining the legal basis for personal injury claims, the scientific studies supporting them, which L'Oréal and Revlon products are implicated, and how affected women can seek legal recourse. An essential reference document for the litigation landscape.
Business Telegraph reports on Level Up's campaign urging L'Oréal to withdraw hair relaxers following studies finding cancer risk, covering the business and regulatory implications for the cosmetics industry and the mounting pressure on L'Oréal from feminist organisations and legal teams across the UK and United States.
Reuters' major investigative report documenting the wave of lawsuits from thousands of Black women claiming that chemical hair relaxers manufactured by L'Oréal and other companies caused them uterine cancer, fibroids, and other serious conditions. The investigation examines corporate responses, the scientific evidence, and mentions the Level Up #NoMoreLyes campaign.
The UK's official regulatory framework governing cosmetic product safety in Great Britain, including the ingredient restrictions, labelling requirements, and enforcement mechanisms that apply to hair relaxers and other cosmetic products. Essential context for understanding the regulatory gaps that currently allow potentially harmful hair relaxer formulations to remain on UK shelves.
The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association (CTPA) — the UK trade body representing cosmetics manufacturers including hair relaxer producers — announces new leadership. The CTPA has been a key stakeholder in industry discussions about whether existing UK regulations adequately protect consumers, particularly Black women, from chemicals in hair care products.
The Guardian's in-depth investigation into the social, cultural, and economic pressures that lead Black women to continue using chemical hair relaxers even as evidence of cancer risk mounts. The article explores racial trauma embedded in hair politics, the limited safer alternatives marketed to Black women, and references Level Up's #NoMoreLyes campaign as part of the growing accountability movement.
Glamour Magazine explores how Black women are redefining wellness in response to the intersecting harms of racial trauma and the beauty industry's marketing of harmful products. The article examines the psychological and physical dimensions of hair health and the growing movement toward natural hair care as an act of self-preservation and resistance.
Newsweek's accessible explainer on the emerging research linking chemical hair treatments to cancer risk, published following the 2022 NIH study. The article breaks down what the science shows, which populations are most at risk, and what the findings mean for Black women who regularly use relaxer products — a timely summary for a mass audience.
Refinery29's comprehensive guide to the hair relaxer cancer research, written for a general beauty audience in the wake of the 2022 NIH/JNCI study. The piece explains the science, the populations most affected, the limitations of existing research, and what women need to know about their risk from chemical hair straightening products.
CNN reports on one of the first major lawsuits filed against L'Oréal by a US woman claiming chemical hair straightening products caused her cancer. The report covers the scientific basis for the claim, the legal arguments being tested, and the significance of the case as a precedent for the thousands of similar claims that would follow.
CNN's breaking news report on the landmark October 2022 NIH study finding that women who used chemical hair straightening products were more than twice as likely to develop uterine cancer. The report notes that Black women are disproportionately represented among frequent relaxer users and contextualises the findings within ongoing campaigns like #NoMoreLyes.
The landmark NIH peer-reviewed study analysing data from 33,497 women in the Sister Study cohort. Women who reported frequent use of chemical hair straightening products were 2.55 times more likely to develop uterine cancer than non-users. The study found Black women disproportionately affected as frequent relaxer users, forming the scientific basis for the #NoMoreLyes campaign's demands on L'Oréal.
Glamour Magazine's cultural piece exploring viral social media discussion of vintage relaxer boxes from the 1980s and 90s, prompting reflection on how chemical hair straightening was normalised for generations of Black women and girls. The piece contextualises the nostalgia within contemporary concerns about the long-term health impact of childhood and adolescent relaxer use.
Refinery29 examines a viral social media moment in which Black women noticed that the models on childhood relaxer boxes may have actually had natural hair — raising questions about representation, false advertising, and how generations of Black children were sold chemical products under aspirational imagery they didn't actually reflect.
Refinery29 asks whether a truly safe hair relaxer formulation is possible, exploring the chemistry behind hair straightening, the ingredients that cause harm, and what brands are or are not doing to address documented health risks. The article examines what "safer" might look like and what Black women should consider when making hair care choices.
Gal-dem's founding profile of Level Up's #NoMoreLyes campaign, launched in 2021 in response to studies linking lye-based hair relaxers to breast cancer in Black women. The article explores Level Up's demands on L'Oréal, the cultural significance of hair straightening in the Black community, and the feminist politics of demanding safer beauty products for Black women's bodies.
Glamour Magazine examines hair discrimination against Black women and girls in professional and educational settings, arguing that policies penalising afro-textured hair are not aesthetic preferences but human rights violations. The piece connects natural hair advocacy to the broader context of racial justice and the pressure on Black women to chemically alter their hair to meet Eurocentric beauty standards.
A peer-reviewed study in the journal Carcinogenesis analysing data from the Black Women's Health Study cohort, finding associations between hair product use — including relaxers, dyes, and straighteners — and elevated breast cancer incidence in Black American women. The study contributes to evidence that the disproportionate marketing of chemical hair products to Black women creates measurable racial health disparities.
Gal-dem's coverage of the Halo Code — a campaign to end hair discrimination against Black students in British schools by establishing a charter protecting the right to wear natural afro hair. The article documents how school policies policing Black hair create pressure to use chemical relaxers and why legal protections are necessary to protect Black children's autonomy over their bodies.
An early Gal-dem investigation into the full range of cosmetic products disproportionately marketed to Black women that have been linked to health harms — including not just hair relaxers but skin lightening creams, hair dyes, and other beauty products. The piece examines systemic failures in consumer protection and how beauty industry profit is built on products that disproportionately endanger Black women's health.
The Breast Cancer Prevention Partners' 2017 campaign calling on L'Oréal to eliminate carcinogenic chemicals from its cosmetics. This campaign predates #NoMoreLyes but establishes a critical historical record of civil society demands on L'Oréal to reformulate products containing cancer-causing ingredients — demonstrating that L'Oréal has been aware of these concerns for nearly a decade.
A landmark peer-reviewed study in the American Journal of Epidemiology examining 23,580 Black women in the Black Women's Health Study, finding a significant association between hair relaxer use and uterine leiomyomata (fibroids). Women using relaxers seven or more times per year showed a 17% increased risk of fibroids — one of the earliest major studies establishing the link between chemical hair relaxer use and serious reproductive health conditions in Black women.
A case series and review published in a major paediatric gastroenterology journal examining children who accidentally ingested chemical hair relaxers. The study documents gastrointestinal injury patterns, treatment approaches, and questions the adequacy of safety labelling on lye-containing hair products commonly found in domestic settings where children are present.
An early case report published in a major otolaryngology journal documenting what the authors described as a "new trend" of hair relaxer ingestion injuries, primarily in children. The paper details the severe corrosive damage caused by lye-based relaxer formulations to the upper airway and gastrointestinal tract, raising early questions about product safety that remain relevant today.
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