ORS Straighteners and Relaxers and Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Class Action

This class action takes issue with hair straighteners or relaxers, including under the brand name ORS Olive Oil, from Dabur International, Ltd., which does business as Dabur USA, Inc. and Namaste Laboratories, LLC. The complaint alleges that the products contain endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that can increase women’s risks of certain health problems. These EDCs are not mentioned on the products’ labels, the complaint claims, making them misbranded.

A class and two subclasses have been defined for this action.

• The Multi-State Class for this action is all consumers who bought any hair straightener or relaxer product in the US and its territories (excluding California), between May 25, 2017 and the present, for personal use or consumption.
• The Illinois Subclass is all consumers who bought any of the defendants’ hair straightener or relaxer product in Illinois, between November 16, 2010 and the present, for personal use or consumption.
• The Mississippi Subclass is all consumers who bought any hair straightener or relaxer product in Mississippi, between November 16, 2016 and the present, for personal use or consumption.

The complaint alleges, “EDC’s … are known to increase a woman’s risk of: endometriosis, abnormalities in reproductive organs, various cancers, altered nervous system and immune function, respiratory problems, metabolic issues, diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular problems, [and] growth neurological and learning disabilities.”

Relaxers are applied at the bottom of the hair shaft and then left on for a time, during which, the complaint alleges, “the relaxer alters the hair’s texture by purposefully damaging the hair’s natural protein structure. The effect of this protein damage straightens and smooths the hair.”

Over a period of about four to eight weeks, the hair grows out farther and another treatment is needed for that new growth, meaning that women who use relaxers have treatments every four to eight weeks, sometimes for years on end.

The complaint alleges, “The toxic chemicals in hair relaxers are absorbed and metabolized through direct skin contact. Moreover, hair relaxers can, and often do, cause burns and lesions in the scalp, further facilitating entry of hair relaxer constituents into the body.”

Even so, the complaint claims, the “hormonally active and carcinogenic compounds” that relaxers contain are not listed as ingredients on the packaging, but may be represented by words such as “fragrance” or “perfume.”

According to the complaint, “it is against the law to put an ingredient in a cosmetic that makes the cosmetic harmful when used as intended.” The complaint also quotes the law as saying, “The label of a cosmetic product shall bear a warning statement whenever necessary or appropriate to prevent a health hazard that may be associated with the product.” The complaint thus claims the products violate both the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act and the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act.

Article Type: Lawsuit
Topic: Consumer
Tags: Cancer Risk, Contaminated with Harmful Substances, Contamination During Preparation or Use, Deceptive Labels, Strict Product Liability—Failure to Warn, Strict Product Liability—Manufacturing Defect