John Paul Mitchell, Wella Can’t Exit Relaxer Cancer Litigation

John Paul Mitchell Systems, Wella Operations US LLC, and Advanced Beauty Inc. failed to convince a federal judge to let them exit from consolidated litigation alleging their hair relaxer products contained chemicals linked to an increased risk of cancer.

Judge Mary M. Rowland of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Wednesday denied all three companies’ motions to dismiss.

The litigation encompasses thousands of lawsuits alleging that beauty brands negligently marketed their hair relaxer products, that the products are defective because they contain toxins, and that the companies failed to warn consumers of the risks of ...