Optimum hair relaxers, made by SoftSheen-Carson, a L’Oreal company, appear on the court’s product checklist in the federal hair relaxer litigation. Plaintiffs allege that chemicals in relaxers caused or raised the risk of uterine, endometrial and ovarian cancers.
The case is MDL No. 3060 in the Northern District of Illinois, with 12,129 pending actions. The first bellwether trial is set for September 7, 2027. Arizona’s attorney general sued L’Oreal USA and SoftSheen-Carson in September 2026, naming Optimum.
These are allegations only. No settlement or verdict has been reported in the MDL, no court has found that any relaxer caused cancer, and L’Oreal disputes the claims.
- Case or litigation name: In re: Hair Relaxer Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation (MDL No. 3060)
- Defendants: L’Oreal USA, Inc., L’Oreal USA Products, Inc., SoftSheen-Carson LLC and other relaxer makers
- Court and docket number, when available: U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, No. 1:23-cv-00818 (CourtListener docket)
- MDL number, judge, and case count, when an MDL exists: MDL No. 3060, Judge Mary M. Rowland, 12,129 pending actions (JPML report dated September 1, 2026)
- Filing date: February 6, 2023 (JPML order creating MDL No. 3060)
- Main allegations: Plaintiffs allege endocrine-disrupting chemicals in hair relaxers raised cancer risk and that makers failed to warn
- Products or people involved: Four Optimum relaxers on the court’s product checklist: Defy Breakage, Amla Legend, Care Bodifying and Multi-Mineral Reduced pH Creme
Table Of Contents
- Latest Optimum Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Updates
- September 24, 2026: Court Schedules 2027 Conferences Before First Bellwether Trial
- September 11, 2026: Arizona Attorney General Files Consumer Fraud Suit
- April 2, 2026: Court Selects 10 Bellwether Cases
- November 13, 2023: Court Rules on Motion to Dismiss
- August 3, 2023: Short Form Complaint Lists Optimum Relaxers
- February 6, 2023: Panel Creates MDL No. 3060
- October 17, 2022: NIH Announces Hair Straightener Study
- September 14, 2016: Manier Class Action Filed in California
- What Is a Chemical Hair Relaxer?
- Who May Be Affected?
- Reported Injuries or Damages
- Evidence to Preserve
- Filing Deadlines
- Frequently Asked Questions
- References
Latest Optimum Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Updates
September 24, 2026: Court Schedules 2027 Conferences Before First Bellwether Trial
Judge Mary M. Rowland of the Northern District of Illinois scheduled 2027 case management conferences in MDL No. 3060 before the first bellwether trial, set for September 7, 2027 (Dkt. 2041) [1].
The MDL has 16,561 total actions, including cases that are no longer pending, according to a September 2026 federal report on pending MDL dockets [2].
September 11, 2026: Arizona Attorney General Files Consumer Fraud Suit
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced a consumer-fraud suit against L’Oreal USA and SoftSheen-Carson in Maricopa County Superior Court under the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act. The complaint is dated September 10, 2026 [3].
The State alleges the companies failed to disclose risks of uterine and ovarian cancer in relaxers sold as Dark and Lovely, Optimum and Mizani.
April 2, 2026: Court Selects 10 Bellwether Cases
Judge Mary M. Rowland, who oversees the MDL, chose 10 cases as the bellwether trial pool (Dkt. 1781) and amended it on April 22, 2026 (Dkt. 1809).
The pool covers the MDL as a whole. It is not tied to Optimum or any other relaxer brand, so the selection says nothing about any one product.
November 13, 2023: Court Rules on Motion to Dismiss
Judge Rowland granted in part and denied in part the defendants’ joint motion to dismiss in the MDL (Dkt. 291). Negligence, design defect and failure-to-warn claims went forward [4].
Negligent misrepresentation, fraud and fraudulent concealment claims were dismissed. Dkt. 291 is the court’s Memorandum Opinion and Order. It treated the plaintiffs’ allegations “as true only for the motion to dismiss.”
August 3, 2023: Short Form Complaint Lists Optimum Relaxers
Judge Rowland adopted the Short Form Complaint for the MDL in Case Management Order No. 7 (Dkt. 175). Its product checklist lists four Optimum relaxers among the products a plaintiff may select [5].
The checklist places the Optimum products under L’Oreal USA and SoftSheen-Carson. It is a list of choices for plaintiffs and not a finding about any product.
February 6, 2023: Panel Creates MDL No. 3060
On February 6, 2023, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) centralized the hair relaxer actions as MDL No. 3060 before Judge Mary M. Rowland [6].
The order says plaintiffs allege the products contain phthalates or other endocrine-disrupting chemicals and that using them caused or increased the risk of uterine, ovarian or breast cancer, endometriosis, uterine fibroids or other injuries.
October 17, 2022: NIH Announces Hair Straightener Study
The National Institutes of Health announced an analysis of the NIEHS Sister Study of women ages 35 to 74, which linked chemical hair straightener use to uterine cancer [7].
Women who used chemical hair straightening products more than four times in the previous year were more than twice as likely to develop uterine cancer. The researchers did not collect information on brands.
September 14, 2016: Manier Class Action Filed in California
A proposed class action, Manier v. L’Oreal USA, Inc., was filed in the Central District of California (No. 2:16-cv-06886). It concerned the Optimum Amla Legend No-Mix, No-Lye Relaxer and alleged hair loss, scalp irritation, blisters and burns [8].
The complaint names L’Oreal USA, Inc. and Soft Sheen-Carson, LLC. It says L’Oreal developed, marketed, distributed and sold the relaxer through its SoftSheen-Carson, SoftSheen-Carson Laboratories and Optimum Salon Haircare brands.
What Is a Chemical Hair Relaxer?
According to the FDA, “Hair relaxers are used to make your hair straight.” The agency says it “does monitor the safety of hair dyes and relaxers” [9].
SoftSheen-Carson LLC, a L’Oreal company, makes and sells Optimum relaxers. A Federal Trade Commission notice says L’Oreal acquired Soft Sheen in 1998 and lists Optimum Care among its retail brands of adult women’s hair relaxer kits [10].
Who May Be Affected?
Women who used Optimum relaxers and were later diagnosed with a cancer on the MDL short form fit its injury boxes. Whether you qualify depends on your own facts, and only an individual legal review can say.
The court’s checklist names four Optimum relaxers: Optimum Salon Haircare Defy Breakage No-Lye Relaxer, Optimum Salon Haircare Amla Legend Relaxer, Optimum Care Bodifying Relaxer and Optimum Multi-Mineral Reduced pH Creme Relaxer.
If you used another brand, you can also read about the hair relaxer lawsuit or the Dark and Lovely relaxer lawsuit.
Reported Injuries or Damages
Plaintiffs in the MDL allege uterine, endometrial and ovarian cancer, the injuries listed on the short form. The Arizona suit alleges undisclosed risks of uterine and ovarian cancer.
No court has decided whether any hair relaxer caused cancer. Research points to an association, and an association is not proof that a product caused a person’s cancer.
Chang et al. studied 33,947 women ages 35 to 74 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute [11]. For frequent use, they reported a hazard ratio of 2.55 (95% CI 1.46 to 4.45).
The authors call the finding “the first epidemiologic evidence of association” and say “more research is warranted.” Hair dyes and permanents were not associated with uterine cancer.
In 2021, White and colleagues tracked 40,559 women ages 35 to 74 in the Sister Study and recorded 241 ovarian cancers [12].
Ever use showed no association, but use over four times a year may be linked to the disease, with a hazard ratio of 2.19 (95% CI 1.12 to 4.27).
Evidence to Preserve
These items can show which product you used and what happened:
- Keep the Optimum relaxer containers, boxes and any leftover product, and photograph the packaging and lot numbers.
- Keep receipts, card statements or salon invoices that show where and when the product was bought or applied.
- Save salon or stylist records, plus notes on how often and for how long you used the product.
- Gather medical records for any uterine, endometrial or ovarian cancer diagnosis and treatment.
The court’s short form complaint asks a plaintiff to identify the products used. Photographs of the labels and the exact product names help answer that.
Filing Deadlines
State law sets the time allowed to bring a product-liability claim. The limit varies with where you live and with when the exposure, the illness or injury and the diagnosis happened.
Some states start the clock at diagnosis. Once a deadline passes, a claim may be barred, however strong the facts are. If you are thinking about a claim, check with a lawyer promptly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Optimum Relaxer Named in the Optimum Hair Relaxer Lawsuit?
Optimum relaxers are named in the Optimum hair relaxer lawsuit as products the MDL short form lets plaintiffs select. No court has found that an Optimum product caused an injury.
Where Does the Optimum Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Stand Now?
The Optimum hair relaxer lawsuit now stands in bellwether preparation. An August 27, 2026 order set October 21, 2026 for a joint proposal to cut the bellwether cases from ten to five. Expert discovery closes December 21, 2026, and summary judgment motions are due January 11, 2027.
What Does the Research Say About Hair Relaxers and Uterine Cancer?
Research on chemical hair straightening products and uterine cancer reports a higher risk with frequent use. By age 70, the NIH estimated, 1.64% of women who never used straighteners would develop uterine cancer, against 4.05% of frequent users.
Has the Court Ruled on the Expert Motions in the Hair Relaxer MDL?
The court has not ruled on the expert motions in the hair relaxer MDL as of October 2, 2026. On May 5, 2026, defendants moved under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 to exclude plaintiffs’ general causation experts (Dkt. 1828), and plaintiffs filed their own motion (Dkt. 1832).
References
- https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/66801859/in-re-hair-relaxer-marketing-sales-practices-and-products-liability/?order_by=desc
- https://www.jpml.uscourts.gov/sites/jpml/files/Pending_MDL_Dockets_By_Actions_Pending-September-1-2026.pdf
- https://www.courthousenews.com/articles/arizona-sues-loreal-for-failing-to-disclose-cancer-risks-associated-with-hair-relaxers
- https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-ilnd-1_23-cv-00818/pdf/USCOURTS-ilnd-1_23-cv-00818-0.pdf
- https://www.ilnd.uscourts.gov/_assets/_documents/_forms/_cmecf/MDL3060/CMO%20No.%207.pdf
- https://www.jpml.uscourts.gov/sites/jpml/files/MDL-3060-Transfer_Order-1-23.pdf
- https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/hair-straightening-chemicals-associated-higher-uterine-cancer-risk
- https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/3107419/LOrealcomplaint.pdf
- https://www.fda.gov/consumers/free-publications-women/hair-dye-and-hair-relaxers
- https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2000-08-22/pdf/00-21289.pdf
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9949582/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8561257/