L'Oréal is being sued by a woman in the US claiming that its hair products cause cancer.
According to the lawsuit, the claimant's uterine cancer was caused by the beauty giant's chemical hair straightening products.
Jennifer Mitchell said she was diagnosed with cancer of the womb in 2018 and has undergone a hysterectomy after using L'Oréal's products since 2000, when she was 10 years old.
Namaste Laboratories, Dabur International and Godrej Consumer Products are also listed in the lawsuit.
The filing followed a recent study which found that women who use chemical hair-straightening products are at a higher risk of uterine cancer.
Black women face an increased risk, found the National Institutes of Health, as 60% of the demographic in the study reported using chemical straighteners.
At 4%, users of chemical straighteners are twice as likely to be diagnosed versus 1.64% of non-users, claimed researchers.
Chemicals such as parabens and phthalates in hair care products disrupt the endocrine system, in turn, raising the risk of uterine cancer, the report stated.
Uterine cancer is growing in the US and makes about 3% of all new cancer cases in the country.
Mitchell's legal representatives said that cosmetic companies target black and latina women for "their own profit" and "without regard to the serious health risks".
"Black women have long been the victims of dangerous products specifically marketed to them,” said lawyer Ben Crump.
“Black hair has been and always will be beautiful, but black women have been told they have to use these products to meet society’s standards."