Risk of severe health problems for women who use Motions hair relaxers
Many African American women use the top-selling Motions line of hair relaxers to have smooth, silky, and shiny hair. These hair care products contain a mixture of chemicals to damage the hair's protein structure. Some of these compounds are known to be endocrine-disrupting chemicals that can cause serious ailments because they disturb the normal function of the endocrine system, which regulates hormone production.
The Motions chemical hair relaxer products are manufactured and sold by the Georgia-based cosmetics company Strength of Nature Global, LCC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Godrej Group. Some of the Motions brand's chemical hair-straightening products:
- Motions Classic Mild Formula Hair Relaxer
- Motions Professional, Smooth & Straighten
- Motions Classic Lye Relaxer Formula
- Motions Smooth & Straighten Hair Relaxer
Motions hair relaxer lawsuits
After the Sister Study was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, women started to file toxic hair relaxer product liability lawsuits against the cosmetics company. Women who sued Strength of Nature Global, LCC, allege that the cosmetics company promoted the Motions hair relaxer line toward women of color while failing to warn about the health risks of exposure to the harmful endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the products. Plaintiffs in the Motions hair relaxer lawsuits claim that their hormone-sensitive ailments, such as uterine and ovarian cancer, were caused by their long-term regular use of Motions chemical hair straightening products.