Former Professional Hairstylist Sues L’Oreal, Henkel, Wella, and Clairol Over Alleged Carcinogenic Hair Dye Products
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – March 7, 2025 – DiCello Levitt has filed a major lawsuit against several global hair dye manufacturers, including L’Oreal, Henkel, Wella, and Clairol, on behalf of Ms. Debra Matarazzo, a former professional hairstylist, who alleges prolonged use of defendants’ products led to a devastating bladder cancer diagnosis. According to the complaint, defendants engaged in dangerous product design and misleading marketing and failed to warn customers about the heightened risk of bladder cancer associated with their hair dye products.
“We are dedicated to holding these companies accountable for their actions and getting justice for our client who had to endure grueling chemotherapy and surgery to treat her bladder cancer,” said Partner Diandra “Fu” Debrosse, co-chair of DiCello Levitt’s Mass Tort Litigation Practice Group. “Ms. Matarazzo is only the first of many who are likely to come forward who sadly have suffered from similar diagnoses and harm. We hope our efforts can prevent such corporate negligence both in product design and marketing in the future and will fight vigorously with that in mind.”
Debrosse also was appointed co-lead in the multi-district litigation against L’Oréal and other makers of disease-causing hair relaxer products marketed primarily to Black and Latina women. She represents thousands of victims exposed to hair relaxers who now have uterine cancer.
This latest lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, details how Ms. Matarazzo suffered significant harm and damages due to prolonged exposure to the defendants’ hair dye products during her 13-year career as a professional hairstylist. The complaint highlights the presence of carcinogenic ingredients in these products, such as aromatic amines and other toxic chemicals, and the companies’ failure to disclose the associated health risks.
The case is Matarazzo v. Henkel AG & Co. KGaA et al, Case No. 2:25-cv-01995. A copy of the complaint is available here. The DiCello Levitt team is led by Diandra “Fu” Debrosse and includes Mark Abramowitz, Sara Aguiñiga, and Eli Hare.
DiCello Levitt has a long history of successfully representing clients in complex litigation, including mass torts, class actions, and other high-stakes cases. The firm is nationally recognized for its work in mass torts involving faulty medical devices, pharmaceutical drugs, cosmetics, and other illegal practices by defendants in the automotive and biotechnology sectors, among others.
About DiCello Levitt
At DiCello Levitt, we’re dedicated to achieving justice for our clients through class action, environmental, mass tort, securities, financial services, antitrust, business-to-business, public client, whistleblower, personal injury, and civil and human rights litigation. Our lawyers are highly respected for their ability to litigate and win cases—whether by trial, settlement, or otherwise—for people who have suffered harm, global corporations that have sustained significant economic losses, and public clients seeking to protect their citizens’ rights and interests. Every day, we put our reputations—and our capital—on the line for our clients.
DiCello Levitt has achieved top recognition as Plaintiffs Firm of the Year and Trial Innovation Firm of the Year by the National Law Journal, in addition to its top-tier Chambers and Benchmark ratings. For more information about the firm, including recent trial victories and case resolutions, please visit www.dicellolevitt.com.
Media Contact Caitlin Whitehurst, Director of Communications, [email protected]