By Tyana Jackson
When Natilie Williams was about 12 years old, she knew when her mom told her not to scratch her scalp that it was time for another relaxer.
“I remember having to put Vaseline around my ears and forehead,” Williams said. “After getting the relaxer, the water would hit my scalp. I could feel the open sores, and then I would start blow drying and start to feel scabs.”
Williams, a Chicago native and founder of her firm Nat Will Speak!, is just one of many Black women who have experienced severe chemical burns on her scalp as result of using relaxer products. Even through the pain, she continued to get relaxers until the age of 16 in an attempt to be deemed presentable and professional in society.
In Chicago, several prominent brands, including L’Oréal, are being sued by thousands of Black women who allege that the products have been linked to severe health issues, including uterine cancer and fibroids. The National Institutes of Health found a link between the products and uterine cancer.
Now Black women are becoming more aware of the danger and renewing their commitment to natural hair care
PBS Utah host and producer Liz Adeola recalls that at 10 years old, she and her sisters began treatments with at-home relaxers after watching their aunt use the product on her hair for years. Adeola did not understand how strong the product was and how it permanently damaged her hair follicles until her hair began to break off repeatedly.
By the time she was 13, she was sporting finger waves molded in an S shape, commonly worn by older Black women with shorter hair. It shifted her approach to her hair.
“I do know that times are changing, and more people in my circle have decided to forgo relaxers and wear their natural hair just like I did,” she said. Now she and her husband are trying to have a baby, and she thinks back to those relaxers with regret.
“I got married almost two years ago, and we’ve been trying to conceive,”Adeola said. “I’ve been getting really bad periods to the point where it makes it hard to focus and walk. At first, they said it could be fibroids and wouldn’t do anything unless it became a problem with fertility, and now it’s at that point.”
The publication of the Sister Study by the National Institutes of Health in October 2022 which showed a link between hair relaxers and higher rates of uterine, ovarian cancer and fibroids. Lawsuits against the hair-care companies have followed, highlighting the long-term health risks.
For many women, these revelations have prompted deep reflection on their health and the potential connections to prolonged use of relaxers and other chemical treatments.
“Black women see their hair as a source of pride or healthy pride,” said Williams. “It’s a source of confidence and even becomes generational. You see your parents use relaxers, so you use relaxers.
“It becomes generational, but then also the ailments that are present connected, so that becomes generational too,” Williams said. “I wonder how many people that I know that may have been affected by certain illnesses and how many of those people could be connected to getting relaxers over a long period of time.”
Through the 1990s, Chicago was the epicenter of the Black-owned Black hair product industry. Homegrown companies including Strength of Nature Global, Johnson Products and Namaste Laboratories built the foundations of these Black household brands. Sales and mergers have seen many multinational corporations take over brands that end up dominating the market. The wave of litigation has meant Chicago is again playing a central role in the industry’s fate.
Nine out of 10 Black women have used hair relaxer products at some point in their lives with many using them regularly for a decade or longer, according to the Chicago Sun Times. The litigation could continue for decades. The Food and Drug Administration proposed a ban on the use of formaldehyde, a common chemical in most straightening products. in October 2023.
Chicago-based natural hair stylist Ebony Jackson researches the ingredients in the natural hair products that she uses on her clients and makes sure she is being transparent about the ingredients with her customers.
“A lot of my clients, they’re working women, they’re in corporate America, and they have to show up and be presentable every single day and they feel like these products are the best option for their lifestyle,” she said.
But Jackson said natural hairstyles provide a better and healthier alternative.
“I don’t feel like there’s a need for it within our community, especially when we have amazing talent, to get stylists who know how to take care of our hair, to keep our curls, and to keep the integrity intact,” she said.
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