The last time Patrice Yursik chemically relaxed her hair was 22 years ago. She says she did it for her wedding, but really, it was for her mom.

“That was it,” said Yursik, who says her mother started straightening her hair when she was six years old. “I was like, I'm never doing this again.”

Research studies released in the last decade have noted links between chemical hair relaxers and various types of cancer. And now thousands of Black women are suing the makers of hair relaxers in federal court in Chicago.

WBEZ’s Natalie Moore has been covering these lawsuits. She came on the Rundown podcast with Yursik, who’s the creator of Afrobella.com and a pioneer in writing about the natural hair movement. Yursik, Moore and Rundown host Erin Allen talk about their relationships with hair relaxers, their curious cultural staying power, and what the federal lawsuits may mean for the future of the products.