Video & Photos: Ingenuity: TikTok Woman uses Gorilla Glue to Fix Hair for ‘Fame and Money’ Ends up at Plastic Surgeon to Remove it – My Comments
[Some people are very … er … creative!!! She was saved by the WHITE MAN'S MEDICINE! Jan]
Here’s the video of her: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLos7f1TNKw&feature=emb_logo
A mother-of-five who set her hair with Gorilla Glue spray has arrived in Los Angeles to meet with a plastic surgeon who claims he can fully remove the adhesive after revealing she was told by doctors that she may have permanent scalp damage.
Tessica Brown, 40, from Violet, Louisiana, opened up about the ‘extreme’ headaches she has been suffering from and her failed attempts to remove the spray glue in a candid interview with Entertainment Tonight, insisting she never meant to go viral when she shared her story on TikTok.
‘I never was going to take this to social media. The reason I took this to social media was because I didn’t know what else to do,’ she told ET’s Melicia Johnson. ‘And I know somebody out there could have told me something. I didn’t think for one second when I got up the next morning it was gonna be everywhere.’
In the video, which has been viewed more than 25 million times, Tessica explained that she sprayed Gorilla Glue on her hair after she ran out her Göt2b Glued Spray and hasn’t been able to move it for a month.
While speaking to ET, she noted she was in a hurry when she picked up the industrial-strength adhesive spray and ‘definitely’ regrets the last-minute decision.
Tessica said she had used the Gorilla Glue before for other things and thought it would just ‘wash right out.’ When traditional shampoo failed to remove the glue, she tried olive and tea tree oils, but nothing worked.
It was then that she turned to TikTok looking for advice.
As of Wednesday, 4.2 million people have commented on the video, including Gorilla Glue. The company suggested that she try using rubbing alcohol to remove the glue, but the at-home remedy ended up being another failure.
The morning after she posted the TikTok she went to to the emergency room at St. Bernard Parish Hospital in Chalmette, Louisiana, where healthcare workers tried removing the glue using ‘little acetone packs’ that burned her scalp.
Candid: Tessica recently opened up about her hair woes during an interview with Entertainment Tonight, admitting she wishes she never shared her story on TikTok
She denied reports that she spent 22 hours in the ER, explaining that she was told it would take them roughly 20 hours to remove the glue at the hospital.
The working mom, who owns Tessica’s Little Angels daycare and runs the Dazzling Divaz dance team, made the decision to use the acetone wipes at home because she couldn’t be away from her kids for that long.
Tessica admitted that the scrutiny and criticism that she has received has made her wish that she never posted the video.
‘I told my son today, “I wish I could just go back,” because I’m over it. I’m over it,’ she said. ‘I’m usually the person that I don’t care what people say. I just move at my own pace. I don’t care what people say, but it’s just getting to the point where people are on TV saying stuff about me.’
Tessica especially took offense to claims that she purposely sprayed the glue on her hair because was seeking online fame.
Struggle: Earlier this week, she went to the ER, where healthcare workers tried to remove the glue with acetone burned her scalp. She denied reports that she was there for 22 hours.
‘Who in their right mind would say, “Oh well, let me just spray this in my head and become famous overnight?”‘ she asked. ‘Never! Who would want them to do that? I needed somebody to tell me how to take this off, that’s all it was.’
However, she explained that what has been most hurtful — for both her and her school-age daughters — is being publicly branded ‘Gorilla Glue Girl.’
‘My name is Tessica,’ she said. ‘Every time somebody puts up something on social media, that’s it, my inbox is flooded. Don’t worry about this thing. Yeah, y’all can say that.
‘This is what my momma keeps telling me, “Stop reading the comments.” But I can’t help myself. I go read them, and they’re still sending me clips of what happened…It’s way, way, way, too much.’
Tessica said the unwanted media attention has negatively affected her daughters, recalling how her one little girl wouldn’t let her do her hair the other day.
Despite the onslaught of criticism, the mom has also received plenty of support, including messages from Missy Elliott, Chance the Rapper, and Beyoncé’s hairstylist, Neal Farinah, who offered her a wig.
‘A lot of people want to give me hair,’ she said, ‘but the reason I wasn’t accepting it is because I don’t want people to be like, “Oh, that’s why she did it.”‘
Since Tessica first shared her story last week, she has racked up hundreds of thousands of followers across her social media accounts. She now has more than 866,000 fans on TikTok and over 756, 000 on Instagram.
Her Instagram account has even been verified with a blue check, something that is usually only given to celebrities and public figures.
She has also updated her bio to include an email address for her new manager — suggesting that she may have already been sent partnership opportunities by brands eager to capitalize on the viral interest surrounding her sticky saga.
Tessica started a GoFundMe account with a goal of $1,500 to buy the wigs she was told she would need, but she has raised more than $18,000 in donations as of Wednesday.
She told ET that she will be putting the rest of the money towards her medical expenses as she fears her hair may never grow back.
‘From us reading about everything — and already done start happening — [I’m getting] extreme headaches,’ she explained. ‘And the [doctors] said by the time they get it all out or cut it all off, I may have scalp damage and in some parts it may never grow back.’
However, she has denied reports that she has hired an attorney and is considering suing Gorilla Glue over the mishap, admitting: ‘I made a mistake.’
Gorilla Glue released a statement about the situation on social media Monday.
‘We are aware of the situation and we are very sorry to hear about the unfortunate incident that Miss Brown experienced using our Spray Adhesive on her hair,’ the brand tweeted. ‘We are glad to see in her recent video that Miss Brown has received medical treatment from her local medical facility and wish her the best.’
Stuck this way: Tessica said she had washed her hair 15 times to no avail and hasn’t been able to move it in a month
Tessica said she doesn’t understand where the company’s statement and reports of her getting a lawyer are coming from.
As for her hair itself, she told the publication that it was starting to loosen up a bit. On Tuesday, she shared a video of a hairstylist hacking off her long ponytail in an attempt to remove the glue.
Tessica sat with her head in her hands while a hairdresser applies Goof Off superglue remover to her hair in the hopes of softening her rock-hard locks enough to cut through it with scissors.
‘We’ve been using acetone every day trying to soften it up,’ Tessica’s hairstylist explained. ‘It kind of feels like it may have softened up a bit, but we’re going to use this [Goof Off].
‘We have some on here already but I’m going to add a little more and then we’re just going to cut this whole ponytail off and try to let it breathe a little bit.’
The craziest thing is that Gorilla Glue even issued an apology after it was reported that Tessica wanted to sue. She has denied the report that she had hired an attorney. Imagine that, putting glue in your hair then the glue company apologizes for you being a jackass… PC culture is total cancer.
Using a large pair of orange-handled kitchen scissors, the hairdresser cut off Tessica’s ponytail near the base, getting as close to her client’s head as possible.
‘So this is kind of what it looks like now,’ the hairdresser said while showing off the short tuft at the back of Tessica’s head. ‘I was able to get the ponytail off, but it’s still not opening it up as you all can see.
‘It’s still kind of hardened so we’re not letting the air in too much, but there’s a little opening right there. So she might get a little bit of air out of there but not much because it’s still pretty hard.’
In an Instagram update shared after her failed trip to the hairstylist, Tessica revealed that she was going to travel to Los Angeles in order to meet with a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon who claimed he can remove the glue from her head once and for all.
‘I will be leaving tomorrow to go see a surgeon,’ she wrote while thanking her new legion of followers for their concern.
Dr. Michael Obeng reached out to Tessica to offer his assistance, saying he can remove the adhesive with a medical-grade glue dissolver, but he believes the process could take up to three days.
According to TMZ, the procedure would ordinarily cost a staggering $12,500, but Dr. Obeng has told Tessica he will do it for free.
‘I will update you guys the second I have news,’ Tessica concluded her post. ‘Again thank you so much.’
Tessica was seen arriving in Los Angeles on Wednesday wearing a red graphic hoodie. She covered her hair with a white cap topped with the hood of her sweatshirt.
She was also wearing a surgical mask, and the combination of the hat and face covering made her virtually unrecognizable as she walked with her head down.
The mom announced she was flying to LA on Instagram earlier in the day, writing: ‘Prayers for Traveling Grace. On my way to LA to get this glue out of my head finally.’