The archive
throughline No. 175 September 12, 2026

Arizona sues L'Oreal over hair relaxers as FDA rule delays continue

Cosmetics are not approved before sale and labels need not break out fragrance components, so the disclosure system assumes a seller volunteers what it learns. The FDA rule that would close the gap has moved its own target date six times since October 2023. In the interval, 12,000 private suits and one state attorney general moved instead — litigation replaced regulation not by argument but by arriving.

Cosmetics are not approved before sale and labels need not break out fragrance components, so the disclosure system assumes a seller volunteers what it learns. The FDA rule that would close the gap has moved its own target date six times since October 2023. In the interval, 12,000 private suits and one state attorney general moved instead — litigation replaced regulation not by argument but by arriving.

Arizona became the first state to sue L'Oreal over chemical hair relaxers, three years into a federal rule that has been scheduled six times and published zero times.

Why it matters: The products are still on shelves with no recall and no required warning, and the studies measured habitual use beginning in childhood.

Date to watch: November 2026 — the FDA's current target for publishing the proposed formaldehyde rule, its seventh

Sources:

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