Building off historic racist stereotypes, the largest cosmetics company in the world knowingly marketed and sold hair products that increased cancer risks to Black women and girls, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.

L’Oréal and SoftSheen-Carson, a line of beauty products owned by L’Oréal, are accused of violating the Minnesota Prevention of Consumer Fraud Act, the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the False Statement in Advertising Act for knowingly selling chemical hair relaxers that increase the risk of various cancers.

“It’s outrageous that L’Oréal marketed these products to Black women and girls as safe when they knew they were not and had a duty to disclose they were not,” Ellison said in a prepared statement. “Humans of all ages, genders, and colors are free to do whatever they like with their hair. Women who wish to straighten their hair have a right to choose the products they want to use — but those products must be safe and must not expose them to higher risks of cancer.”

A L’Oréal USA spokesperson contested the conclusions reached by Ellison’s offi ce and said in a prepared statement that the company’s “highest priority is the health and wellbeing of all our consumers” and that its products are rigorously evaluated by scientists “who also ensure that we strictly follow all regulations in every market in which we operate.”

“We are confident in the safety of SoftSheen-Carson’s products and believe the allegations made in this lawsuit have neither legal nor scientific merit,” L’Oréal said.

The suit claims that L’Oréal had “specialized access” to information that showed the risks inherent in chemical hair relaxers but still marketed them as conditioning or rejuvenating, providing “healthy gloss” and “healthy hair” that “defy breakage” and result in “stronger smoother hair.”

Several products are marketed to adult women of color while others are marketed to children through the “Dark and Lovely Beautiful Beginnings” line of chemical hair relaxers.

L’Oréal used “specific marketing language ... in order to reassure parents that these products were safe,” the suit reads. That included emphasizing natural ingredients, and that children could “achieve soft & straight hair” without hurting their scalp.

The Attorney General’s Offi ce positions the modern issues around chemical hair relaxers as an extension of historic racial tropes and biases toward the hair of Black women in America.

It notes several contexts where the hair of Black women was positioned as “inferior, unkept, and unprofessional, leading to negative consequences for individuals who choose to wear their hair in its natural state.”

Because of those biases, the suit claims, Black women have “straightened, or otherwise hidden, their natural hair” and chemical relaxers have played a key role in that process.

The suit cites studies showing up to 90% of Black women have used hair relaxers and straighteners and estimates the “global Black hair care market” at $2.5 billion in 2020 and the chemical hair relaxer market at $718 million in 2021.

More than a dozen examples of marketing and branding materials from L’Oréal are included that allegedly reinforced the idea of “straight hair as the quintessential standard of beauty and professionalism.”

Ellison’s offi ce claims those advertising and sales efforts were promoted while emerging scientific evidence showed there are inherent risks to using chemical hair relaxers and L’Oréal failed its duty to provide safety to consumers.

The lawsuit points to scientific studies that show scalps are more susceptible to absorbing harmful chemicals because the dermis layer is more absorbent than other parts of the body.

Applying chemicals to the scalp and forehead can cause “chemical burns, scalp irritation, lesions, hair loss, and alopecia.” That risk is heightened for children.

Chemical hair relaxers have been found to contain toxic chemicals that disrupt the body’s endocrine system — the glands and organs that release hormones into bloodstreams — by federal and international agencies, the suit claims. The relaxers also include chemicals such as ethylene oxide, 1,4-dioxane, formaldehyde and heavy metals that were identified as carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

A major health study known as the Sister Study by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is heavily cited in the lawsuit. A study commissioned by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in 2021 that used data from the Sister Study showed a two-time increase in the risk of ovarian cancer by women who frequently used chemical hair relaxers. Another study commissioner by the National Institutes of Health in 2022 that also used the Sister Study showed that women who frequently used chemical hair straighteners were at double the risk of developing uterine cancer.

Other research that used the Sister Study found corollaries between the use of chemical hair relaxers and increased risks of cancers including melanoma, Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and leukemia.

The lawsuit claims that L’Oréal “had actual knowledge” of these studies and “did not disclose this information to Minnesota consumers and continue to advertise, market, and sell” chemical hair relaxer products in the state.

The L’Oréal USA statement argued that the Attorney General’s Offi ce’s use of the Sister Study lacked nuance and didn’t acknowledge the ongoing scientific research into the correlation of chemical hair relaxers and increased cancer risks.

“The study upon which this lawsuit is based recognized the need for further research and it made no finding of a causal connection between the use of those products and any conditions alleged by the plaintiffs,” L’Oréal said. “While the study clearly states that ‘more research is warranted,’ one of the lead researchers of the study has also acknowledged that there could be other potential contributing factors to the health outcomes.”

jeff.day@startribune.com