Jeris Barber Talc

Product Description

Jeris is a line of barber-shop grooming products including body powder and hair products that was widely used in professional barbershops during the asbestos era. Like other barber-shop talc products of the period, Jeris was applied heavily to customers using brushes and puffs that aerosolized the talc powder at the barber’s face level during each application.

Jeris products are associated with American International Industries (AII) and have been named in asbestos talc litigation alongside other barber-shop and cosmetic talc brands from the same ownership chain.

Asbestos Contamination

Jeris talc sourced from deposits contaminated with naturally occurring asbestos fiber — predominantly tremolite and anthophyllite — which are geologically co-mingled with talc in Vermont, Italian, and other mine deposits used for cosmetic-grade talc during the asbestos era.

Whittaker Clark & Daniels — a major industrial and cosmetic talc distributor — has been named as a supply-side defendant in Jeris and related barber-shop talc cases, documenting the talc supply chain from mine to finished product.

Philadelphia Verdict

A Philadelphia jury returned a verdict against American International Industries and Whittaker Clark & Daniels in a case involving the mesothelioma death of an 80-year-old former beautician who used Clubman, Jeris, Cashmere Bouquet, and Jean Nate cosmetic talc products from the 1960s through 1985. The client was diagnosed in December 2018 and died six weeks later. The verdict was obtained by the Simmons Hanly Conroy firm.

How Barbers Were Exposed

Professional barbers who used Jeris powder products applied the talc repeatedly throughout each workday using bristle brushes and powder puffs — techniques that create visible dust clouds at face level. Barbers who practiced for 20 or more years accumulated substantial cumulative occupational exposure to cosmetic talc products.

See also

References reflect what has been alleged or documented in publicly filed asbestos litigation. This information does not constitute a finding of fact or liability.