Lawsuit claims L’Oreal hair relaxer causes baldness in black women
Los Angeles attorney Mark Geragos is demanding that L'Oreal remove a hair relaxer from shelves, reports TMZ .
The request for an urgent recall comes on the heels of a class action lawsuit filed in September on behalf of African-American women who claim a hair relaxer has left them with scalp irritations and bald spots.
SoftSheen-Carson Optimum Amla Legend No-Mix, No-Lye Relaxer was introduced in 2013 and almost immediately began racking up negative reviews online. The $10 product from L’Oreal owned SoftSheen-Carson, promised to protect hair and infuse it with Amla oil which has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years.
Advertising suggested the product was nourishing and would rejuvenate hair, but Geragos and attorney Ben Meiselas say Amla oil is low on the ingredient list and is just a smokescreen for a bunch of toxic ingredients that have caused damage to their clients’ hair.
L’Oreal has responded to the claims by suggesting that the package warning tells users of the potential hazards involved in using the product.
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Nedra Rhone is a lifestyle columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution where she has been a reporter since 2006. A graduate of Columbia University School of Journalism, she enjoys writing about the people, places and events that define metro Atlanta. Sign up to have her column sent to your inbox: ajc.com/newsletters/nedra-rhone-columnist.
