Doctor Used "Basic Chemistry" to Remove Gorilla Glue From Tessica Brown's Hair

On Feb. 4, the internet was introduced to Tessica Brown, the 40-year-old mother from Louisiana who, in a TikTok video, claimed to have permanently damaged her scalp after using Gorilla Glue in lieu of hair spray. 

Tessica, who was subsequently admitted to a St. Bernard Parish emergency room, has shared every step of her journey on social media, and many of her supporters have expressed their desire to help. Thanks to her recently created GoFundMe page, they actually can. 

Since revealing her Gorilla Glue-related debacle on TikTok and later going to the hospital, Tessica says that she has amassed a sizeable medical bill. While Tessica and her attorney are currently “weighing legal options” against Gorilla Glue, for the time being, the viral TikToker created a GoFundMe page that allows fans to contribute to her cause. 

As of Feb. 8, empathetic users have donated more than $11,000 to the crowdfunding page, which was created less than 24 hours before. Tessica, who used social media to thank fans for their ongoing support, said that her hair had been stuck for a month before ultimately seeking medical attention. When she arrived at the hospital, nurses attempted to wash Tessica’s hair with acetone — a remedy that proved to be extremely painful. 

Tessica told Kiss 92.5 in an interview, “When she started, it started to burn. So she took the saline water and tried to cool it off. But it burned so bad, my heart started beating too fast. She told me, it looked like she can do it but it’s going to take her at least 20 hours.”

The TikToker went on to explain that she later tried this remedy at home after she was released from the emergency room, but it was to no avail. She continued, “They gave me some saline water, they gave me some nail polish remover and wipes to go home with. The thing is, every time we start, it burns extremely bad.”

Although Tessica's initial visit to the hospital was unsuccessful, it appears as though doctors were able to find a solution that actually worked, and now her hair is (more or less) back to normal. According to TMZ, Dr. Obeng used a combination of "medical-grade adhesive remover, aloe vera, olive oil and a dash of acetone" to successfully break down the polyurethane in the Gorilla Glue — and it worked! 

A video of Tessica taken after the procedure shows that she was thrilled to finally be able to run her fingers through her hair (even if it is quite a bit shorter than it was in her first Gorilla Glue video). With time, she hopes to grow her hair back to its original length — and she says she'll never use Gorilla Glue in her hair again. Good thinking.

Before Tessica met with Dr. Obeng, beauty influencers, hair stylists, and even celebrities like Shaunie O’Neal and Chance The Rapper also chimed in to offer Tessica some words of support during the ordeal. Entrepreneur and CEO of Bold Hold Lace Adhesives Tamika Gibson even offered to donate a wig to Tessica and created a TikTok video with a step-by-step tutorial using GooGone for anyone who ever finds themselves in this situation again. 

She wrote in a caption, “Sooo I learned about GooGone when I spilled my C22 in the garage 20 years ago. My husband said, ‘YOU SPILLED ALL MY GOOGONE IN THE GARBAGE’. I was like that’s C22 for acrylic glue. So he found his GooGone and apologized. I smelled the GooGone and C22 they looked and smelled the same.”

Although Tamika definitely advised against using Gorilla Glue on your hair at any point in time, GooGone is probably your best bet to get it out. She continued, “I don’t promote using it unless you have to. I don’t like acetone because I know it’s drying on the hair. I would rather just choose to use neither but if I had to choose. It would be GooGone."