The hair relaxer lawsuit update as of mid-2026 is that more than 11,700 cases are pending in the federal multidistrict litigation in the Northern District of Illinois, no cases have settled or gone to verdict, and the first bellwether trials are not expected until 2027.1TorHoerman Law. Hair Straightener Cancer Lawsuit2MDL Update. MDL 3060 Hair Relaxer A separate Illinois state court proceeding could reach a jury sooner, with its first trial scheduled for November 2, 2026.3AboutLawsuits. Hair Relaxer Cancer Lawsuit Trial
Where the Federal Cases Stand
The federal litigation is consolidated as In re: Hair Relaxer Marketing Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3060, before Judge Mary M. Rowland in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.4U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. MDL 3060 Details The case count passed 11,700 in June 2026 and continues to grow.1TorHoerman Law. Hair Straightener Cancer Lawsuit
Plaintiffs allege that manufacturers knew or should have known chemical hair relaxers posed cancer risks and failed to warn consumers. Defendants include L’Oréal USA and its SoftSheen-Carson brands (Dark & Lovely, Optimum, Mizani), Revlon (Crème of Nature), Strength of Nature (African Pride, Just for Me, Motions), Namaste Laboratories (ORS Olive Oil), and others.5ClassAction.org. Hair Relaxer Master Long Form Complaint In February 2025, Judge Rowland denied motions to dismiss filed by John Paul Mitchell Systems, Wella Operations US, and Advanced Beauty, letting those claims move forward.6Motley Rice. Hair Relaxer Lawsuit
The Bellwether Timeline
Bellwether trials are the checkpoint that usually decides how a mass tort resolves. Judge Rowland selected three initial bellwether cases in February 2026, and fact discovery for those cases was scheduled to close by June 10, 2026.2MDL Update. MDL 3060 Hair Relaxer Only cases alleging uterine cancer, endometrial cancer, or ovarian cancer that were filed and served by February 1, 2024 qualified for the bellwether pool.7Nigh Goldenberg. Case Management Order No. 15
Both sides have filed Daubert motions challenging each other’s causation experts, with deadlines running through late 2026 and summary judgment replies due January 6, 2027.7Nigh Goldenberg. Case Management Order No. 15 Whether the court allows the plaintiffs’ experts to testify is the ruling most likely to shape the value of every pending case. A “Science Day” in January 2026 gave expert witnesses the chance to present evidence on hormone disruption and cancer links to Judge Rowland and visiting state court judges.8Drugwatch. Hair Relaxer Lawsuit
No federal bellwether trial has begun. The first are expected in 2027.2MDL Update. MDL 3060 Hair Relaxer
Settlement Status
There is no global settlement, and no individual case has settled or produced a verdict as of mid-2026.6Motley Rice. Hair Relaxer Lawsuit In April 2025, Judge Rowland appointed Ellen K. Reisman as a special master to oversee settlement negotiations. Reisman is facilitating talks on what the court calls “threshold issues” (product warnings, marketing practices, and product instructions) to build a framework that could resolve the more than 11,000 pending cases.2MDL Update. MDL 3060 Hair Relaxer
Projected per-case values for cancer claims are estimated in the range of $150,000 to $750,000, but those figures depend heavily on what the bellwether trials produce.2MDL Update. MDL 3060 Hair Relaxer
The Revlon Bankruptcy Fund Is Closed
The only allocated compensation to date comes from Revlon’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Revlon filed for bankruptcy in 2022, and its reorganization plan, confirmed in April 2023, set aside up to $44 million for hair relaxer claimants. Approximately 30,000 claims were filed by the April 2023 deadline, and anyone who missed that deadline is barred from sharing in the fund.9U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York. Opinion on Hair Relaxer Claims, Case No. 22-10784 Distribution has been delayed by ongoing discovery disputes with Revlon,10LitPro. October 2024 Update on Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Litigation and the company itself is shielded from new lawsuits by the bankruptcy stay.
State Court Cases May Move First
The federal MDL is not the only forum, and the first hair relaxer trial in the country may not happen there.
In Cook County, Illinois, at least 400 hair relaxer cancer claims are pending in state court, with 44 previously consolidated before Judge Patrick T. Stanton. An initial May 2026 trial date was vacated, and the first Illinois state bellwether trial is now set for November 2, 2026. If that date holds, an Illinois jury could hand down the first hair relaxer verdict before the federal bellwethers begin.3AboutLawsuits. Hair Relaxer Cancer Lawsuit Trial
In May 2025, the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas established a mass tort program for hair relaxer cases, consolidated under Judge Joshua Roberts in the Complex Litigation Center. The court lifted an initial discovery stay in August 2025.11Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. In Re: Hair Relaxer Products Liability Litigation, Case ID 250500611
Who Can Still File a Claim
The litigation is open to people who used chemical hair relaxer products regularly for several years and were later diagnosed with uterine cancer, endometrial cancer, or ovarian cancer. Those are the “designated injuries” in the federal bellwether pool.7Nigh Goldenberg. Case Management Order No. 15 Some individual lawsuits also allege connections to breast cancer, uterine fibroids, and endometriosis. The scientific studies at the center of the litigation focused on women who used relaxers roughly four or more times per year.6Motley Rice. Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Family members may file wrongful death claims for someone who died from a qualifying condition. Claimants generally need medical records documenting both the diagnosis and a history of product use.
One boundary to note: the Revlon claims deadline passed in April 2023. New filings can proceed against other manufacturers in the MDL or in state court, but they cannot reach the Revlon bankruptcy fund.9U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York. Opinion on Hair Relaxer Claims, Case No. 22-10784
The Regulatory Backdrop
The FDA proposed a rule (RIN 0910-AI83) to ban formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing chemicals in hair straightening and smoothing products, citing both short-term breathing problems and long-term cancer risks.12Reginfo.gov. Use of Formaldehyde and Formaldehyde-Releasing Chemicals in Hair Products The rule was initially targeted for April 2024, was pushed back several times, and as of 2026 remains stalled by a broader executive order pausing federal regulations.13NBC News. FDA Formaldehyde Ban in Limbo After Trump Executive Order
Some states have gone ahead on their own. Washington’s Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act (HB 1047) banned formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing chemicals in cosmetics effective January 1, 2025, and Maryland enacted a similar ban with the same effective date.14MDSS Cosmetics. State Regulations USA California has adopted broad restrictions on hazardous chemicals in cosmetics, though the precise scope of its formaldehyde coverage is less clearly defined in available records.13NBC News. FDA Formaldehyde Ban in Limbo After Trump Executive Order
What to Watch Next
Three moments will define the next year of this litigation. The Daubert rulings from Judge Rowland will decide whether the plaintiffs’ causation experts get to testify. The November 2, 2026 trial date in Cook County could produce the first jury verdict in a hair relaxer cancer case. And the federal bellwether trials in 2027 will set the benchmark that any global settlement negotiations follow. Until then, the more than 11,700 federal plaintiffs remain in the discovery and pretrial phase.