L’Oreal is facing a lawsuit from Arizona alleging that the cosmetics giant concealed evidence suggesting its hair relaxer products may raise cancer risks for women.

Arizona Attorney General Kristin Mayes filed the case Thursday against L’Oreal USA Inc., parent company L’Oreal SA and SoftSheen, a brand owned by the beauty conglomerate. Arizona is the first state to bring legal action over alleged cancer risks connected to chemical hair relaxers.

The complaint alleges L’Oreal violated Arizona consumer protection laws by selling and promoting the products without alerting customers to their alleged potential association with ovarian and uterine cancer.

Chemical relaxers are highly alkaline treatments designed to straighten textured or curly hair by breaking down and restructuring the bonds that determine a strand’s natural form. The products have historically been marketed largely to Black women, who are also their primary users.

According to the lawsuit, the relaxers contain potentially harmful substances, including endocrine-disrupting chemicals, phthalates, parabens and compounds categorized as known or probable human carcinogens.

“L’Oreal knew or should have known about the dangers associated with these toxic hair straightening products,” Mayes said in a statement, repeating an allegation outlined in the complaint.

“Yet, instead of warning their consumers, they put profits over the safety of women and children. That is unacceptable and we will hold them accountable for it,” she added.

Arizona is seeking damages and civil penalties, along with a court order that would require L’Oreal to place cancer warnings on the products or remove them from store shelves.

The lawsuit claims the cosmetics company “marketed and sold toxic chemical hair relaxers to women and girls of African descent while concealing the devastating carcinogenic risks associated with those products.”

‘In doing so, [L’Oreal] exploited centuries of social pressures and discriminatory beauty standards affecting people of African descent, all while prioritizing profit over consumer safety,’ the suit added. 

The products, sold under names including Dark and Lovely, advertise their ability to permanently straighten textured hair.

This is just one of thousands of lawsuits brought against the company by consumers who used its hair relaxer products. 

L’Oreal has faced more than 12,000 similar cases from women and their families, which are now bundled together in a Chicago federal court to handle the cases more efficiently.

In a statement to the Daily Mail, a company spokesman said: ‘L’Oreal’s highest priority is the health and wellbeing of all our consumers. Our products are subject to a rigorous scientific evaluation of their safety by experts who also ensure that we strictly follow all regulations in every market in which we operate.’

‘We are confident in the safety of SoftSheen-Carson’s products and believe the allegations made in this lawsuit have neither legal nor scientific merit,’ the representative added.

‘The study upon which this lawsuit is based recognized the need for further research and it made no finding of a causal connection between the use of those products and any conditions alleged by the plaintiffs.

‘Tellingly, while the study clearly states that “more research is warranted,” one of the lead researchers of the study has also acknowledged that there could be other potential contributing factors to the health outcomes,’ they concluded.

The first wave of lawsuits were filed after a 2022 National Institutes of Health study found that women who used the products several times a year were more than twice as likely to develop uterine cancer.

The lawsuits seek money for the women’s alleged pain and suffering, medical bills, product costs and other expenses. The cases are still moving through the courts, with trials potentially starting next year.

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Experts have long been concerned about the presence of the carcinogen formaldehyde in chemical hair-straightening and relaxing treatments, such as Keratin treatments and Brazilian blowouts.

And in a bid to see the long term health consequences of this chemical, researchers from Emory University in Georgia analyzed data from a long-term health study involving more than 50,000 US women.

The Sister Study enrolled participants who were between 35 and 74 years old, had no personal history of breast cancer, but had at least one sister who had been diagnosed with the disease.

Enrollment took place between 2003 and 2009, and participants were followed through September 2021.

For the final analysis, researchers included data from 46,287 women who were followed for an average of 13.1 years.

The study focused on cancers with at least 100 reported cases during the follow-up period and examined whether participants had used hair straighteners or relaxers in the 12 months prior to joining the study.

Use of these products was linked to significantly higher cancer risks. Compared to non-users, women who used hair straighteners or relaxers had a 166 percent higher risk of pancreatic cancer, which is considered one of the deadliest forms of the disease because it lacks a specific screening test, making early detection difficult.

Women who used hair straighteners or relaxers also had a 71 percent higher risk of thyroid cancer and a 62 percent higher risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The risk increased further among frequent users – defined as using the products more than four times per year.

In this group, the risk of pancreatic cancer more than doubled, while thyroid cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma also showed elevated, though not statistically significant, risks.

The researchers also noted a possible link between straightener use and kidney cancer, though the association was described as ‘positive but imprecise’.

Formaldehyde, which is used as a preservative in hair products, can escape from them as a gas over time, a process known as ‘off-gassing’ – especially when they come into contact with heat.

If these fumes are inhaled repeatedly, they can lead to anything from minor side effects like eye and respiratory irritation to major health issues like an increased risk of head and neck cancers.

The American Cancer Society notes that in animal and human studies, formaldehyde has been linked to various forms of cancer, including in the nose, the upper throat and the stomach, and it has also been shown to increase the risk of leukemia.

A rideshare driver living in the United States illegally and accused of sexually assaulting a teenage passenger in Maryland has a prior history of alleged sex offenses in New York, according to federal authorities.

Abdoulaye Dia, of Lanham, Maryland, faces charges of first-degree rape, kidnapping, second-degree assault and a third-degree sex offense, the Department of Homeland Security said.

Montgomery County police were called to a hospital Tuesday after an underage girl reported that she had been raped. The teen told investigators that her alleged attacker was an Empower rideshare driver.

Dia, a citizen of Guinea, allegedly drove the girl to a parking lot in Silver Spring, where the assault was reported to have taken place.

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Investigators identified Dia using information from the rideshare app, and he was arrested Wednesday.

Dia was previously arrested in New York City on June 10 on allegations including sexual abuse by forcible compulsion, forcible touching of another person’s sexual or intimate parts, injuring a child younger than 17, and sexual abuse without consent, a DHS spokesperson told Fox News.

DHS said Dia entered the United States illegally through Arizona in December 2023 and was later released by the Biden administration.

News Media has contacted Empower for comment.

Step aside hot yoga, padel and Hyrox: 2026 has belonged to Reformer Pilates. Purpose-built studios have rapidly appeared on high streets and in town centres across the country, taking the once-exclusive workout into the mainstream. The Reformer’s appeal is easy to understand, offering a powerful blend of strength training, improved mobility and much-needed mental focus.

But as the wider fitness world embraces ever-more intense workouts, there is a risk that the original principles of Pilates can get lost. Nikkii Behrens, founder of Rare Street Pilates and a Reformer practitioner for more than a decade, says the difference between productive exercise and pushing the body towards burnout is becoming increasingly blurred. In her view, treating sweat, soreness or self-punishment as signs of a successful session goes against what Pilates is meant to achieve.

According to Behrens, meaningful Pilates progress comes from careful technique, controlled movement, proper alignment and adequate recovery — not from leaving every class completely depleted. Building a strong foundation and responding to how your body feels on any given day can deliver more lasting strength and resilience than forcing yourself through pain.

If you are regularly aching after class, failing to see the changes you hoped for, or starting to dread stepping into the studio, it may be time to reassess your routine. Behrens warns that poor Reformer Pilates technique can result in serious injury. These are her five key warning signs that your workout may be causing more harm than benefit.

‘A degree of muscle fatigue is entirely normal, especially when you are advancing your training or learning a new movement. But persistent soreness and exhaustion are not proof that you are “working better”. If your body is not recovering properly between sessions, it may be telling you that your overall training load is too much. Recovery is an essential part of becoming stronger, so avoid overdoing it. And if you truly dread the next class, consider the type of session, its level and whether it is actually the right fit for you.’

2. You believe every session needs to be tougher than the one before.

‘Fitness culture often suggests that improvement means lifting heavier, choosing harder exercises or simply doing more. In Pilates, however, progression should be measured through greater control, more precise technique, improved mobility and the ability to perform each movement well.

‘In many cases, slowing a movement down and controlling it properly can be far more demanding — and far more beneficial — than simply adding another spring.’

3. You’re experiencing pain rather than muscular discomfort 

Behrens says there is an important distinction between feeling your muscles work and feeling pain, and it should not be ignored. ‘Repeated discomfort in the lower back, neck, shoulders, hips or knees shouldn’t be accepted as part of reformer training,’ she says. ‘It can indicate poor technique, inappropriate resistance or an exercise that isn’t right for your body at that moment. A good instructor should be able to modify the movement rather than encourage you to push through pain.’

4. You’re ignoring what your body needs that day

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‘Your capacity to exercise isn’t identical every time you walk into the studio. Sleep, stress, recovery, menstrual cycle, pregnancy, postpartum recovery and perimenopause or menopause can all influence how you feel and what your body needs. You need to listen to all these factors, not just see a reminder on an app that it’s time for a class and push through. This doesn’t mean women should fear challenging themselves but rather learn when to push through and when adjusting intensity is a smarter form of training.’

5. Exercise has started to feel like punishment

‘This is perhaps the biggest red flag. If you’re choosing classes because you feel guilty about what you’ve eaten, panicking when you miss a session, or judging a workout purely by calories burned, sweat or how destroyed you feel afterwards, it’s worth reassessing your relationship with exercise.

‘Movement should be something that contributes to your health, strength and longevity rather than another way to punish your body.’

What you’re getting wrong about reformer training

Behrens says, ‘One of the biggest misconceptions is that a good reformer class should leave you drenched in sweat or barely able to walk the next day. Sweat is primarily your body’s cooling mechanism; it isn’t a measure of how effective a workout was and the same applies to soreness, which isn’t a reliable scorecard for progress.

‘People can become obsessed with making exercises look more advanced before they have mastered the foundations. Pilates is about control and quality of movement, and a beautifully executed basic exercise can be much more valuable than an advanced variation performed with poor alignment and momentum.’

She says she encourages clients not to view Pilates as their entire movement prescription.

‘Reformer Pilates can be fantastic for strength, control, mobility and stability, but ideally it sits within a broader lifestyle that includes walking or cardiovascular exercise and, depending on the individual and their goals, additional resistance and weight-bearing exercise,’ says Behrens.

‘Ultimately, the goal shouldn’t be to finish every class feeling destroyed and I certainly want my clients and students to leave feeling like they’ve challenged their body intelligently. The best training isn’t necessarily the training that takes the most out of you – it’s the training your body can adapt to, recover from and keep doing consistently.’

MINNEAPOLIS — The WNBA playoffs officially begin Sept. 27, but the intensity has already arrived.

Ask Cheryl Reeve or anyone else chasing a postseason berth, and they will say the playoff push started the moment the league returned from the FIBA Women’s World Cup break. With seeding still in play, every game in the final week of the regular season carries major consequences.

The Liberty understand the urgency. A team that opens the playoffs in rhythm will have an advantage, because there will be no opportunity to ease into the postseason.

New York delivered exactly the kind of performance it needed.

Facing a loud Target Center crowd on Friday night, the Liberty went toe-to-toe with the league’s top team and emerged with a convincing 93-81 victory. The win gave New York a 3-1 edge in the regular-season series.

Matchups between the Liberty and Lynx always seem to carry added meaning.

Their rivalry intensified after the 2024 WNBA Finals, which the Liberty won in five games. Minnesota, however, remained frustrated by the officiating late in that series.

Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu have consistently delivered in the spotlight. Over the first three meetings with the Lynx this season, Stewart was averaging 26.5 points, while Ionescu averaged 21.

On Friday, the star duo once again set the tone for New York.

Stewart posted 24 points and 10 rebounds, less than a week after leading Team USA to a gold-medal finish in Berlin. She also climbed to ninth on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list Friday.

Meanwhile, Ionescu, who had been itching to play again after going an unprecedented 0-for-10 from the field in the final game before the break, recorded 17 points and six assists. She also went 3-for-9 from deep.

Jonquel Jones added 18 points and 10 rebounds.

It was a back-and-forth physical game. 

No team led by more than eight points entering the fourth.

Nia Brodie (née Coffey, who got married over the break) drained a corner 3 to tie the game with 3:45 left in the third.

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Marine Johannès then caught fire. She scored 10 straight points for New York in the final 1:30 of the quarter to ensure New York maintained the edge on the Lynx heading into the fourth. 

Things then started to come undone for the Lynx. The crowd disengaged as the Liberty used a 13-4 run to pull ahead by seven points. 

A 4-0 run by Minnesota reinvigorated its crowd.

The Liberty badgered Rookie of the Year frontrunner Olivia Miles. She went 3-for-13 through the first three quarters and at times appeared frustrated with the officiating.

Things started to open up for Miles in the fourth. She finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

The Liberty used the World Cup break as a chance to push the reset button. The non-World Cup participants focused on defense during the league’s two-week pause. 

But coach Chris DeMarco wants the Liberty to do more than just go undefeated down the stretch.

“It’s just about clicking on both ends,” DeMarco said. “Defensively: one voice, communication, make sure we’re on the same page with our schemes, what we’re trying to accomplish. And then offensively, when we’ve looked our best, we just have a good rhythm of throwing the ball ahead, having the right space, making plays for each other. We talk a lot about when the help side defender comes over, where others are going to be. So that’s going to be our focus.”

Buckle in, because the final week will be a sprint.

Minnesota is trying to maintain its footing at the top of the standings.

Golden State is on the Lynx’s heels and hoping its Cinderella story might end with championship glory.

Las Vegas wants to remind everyone that the Aces remain the Aces.

Indiana, Atlanta, Dallas, Washington and New York are fighting for positioning.

The Liberty, in particular, are trying to climb. 

Friday was a step in that direction for New York.