Tessica Brown said she spent weeks trying to get him out.
Brown opened up with Samantha Chatman from ABC7 about why she put the product in her hair, which is opening up a broader conversation about black hair and acceptance.
“My hair has been like this for about a month,” Brown said in the social media video. “Guys, don’t move. Don’t move!”
Brown said he posted the now viral video thinking it would only be seen by his small circle. She was in crisis and needed advice on how to get the glue out of her hair.
The post has been viewed more than 4 million times on Instagram.
Brown said he wanted to make sure his hair was clean and in place, with no loose strands.
The Louisiana woman said in January that the hairspray has run out. So, she turned to a product in her home that she thought would give her the support she needed: Gorilla Glue.
“I can spray it and when I get home I can wash it. It didn’t happen,” explained Brown.
In her music video, she accompanied viewers through her hair crisis, showing them how bad it was.
“I used this. Gorilla Glue. Bad, bad, bad idea! I washed my hair 15 times and it doesn’t move,” says Brown in the video.
Brown said he did everything he could to remove the glue, experimenting with items like cooking oil and even nail polish remover, to no avail.
“We started putting it right here, and while we were cleaning it, the hair was coming out,” she said. “I really haven’t been able to touch the inside of my head for a month.”
Brown explained that her intense relationship with her hair started when she was in high school.
FULL INTERVIEW: ‘Gorilla Glue girl’ has message for black women about ‘love for hair’
She said that as a darker-skinned girl, she felt the pressure to ensure that her hair was perfect to offset her skin.
“(I thought) if you have another flaw, if your hair is tied up, you know you look better,” she said. “If I can’t do anything else, I’ll make sure my hair is in place. This has been a problem for me for a long time, ”she explained. “If I hadn’t cared so much about my hair, I wouldn’t be going through this now.”
It is a struggle that Rahni Flowers, a Chicago beauty salon owner and hairdresser, said was very common among black women.
Flowers, from Van Cleef Hair Studio, said that while Brown’s story is not a surprise, it saddens him.
“African-Americans, especially African-Americans, had to have 400 years of assimilation to a white aesthetic standard. We must always be in place. This means having your hair straightened, having everything tidy and sufficient to assimilate. It is a very scary, difficult and exhausting thing to do, “he said.
When Brown was about to give up, she said she received a call about a plastic surgeon in Los Angeles, Dr. Michael K Obeng, who said she could remove the glue from her hair for free.
“When I heard about Tessica, the ordeal she had been through, the pain, the suffering, having her hair pinned to her scalp for a month, the least I could do was reach out and extend my services,” said Dr Obeng.
Its foundation, Restore Worldwide, provides and covers the cost of reconstructive surgery for people around the world.
Brown called Dr. Obeng a godsend.
“I feel like he was sent to me. Like, who just walks into the kitchen saying, let’s mix some things up and get this girl’s head off? Dr. Obeng. I really love this man. I really, really do,” she said .
The surgery was a success, Brown’s hair is officially without gorilla glue.
“It looks like Christmas morning! I don’t think anyone will understand how incredible this is, ”she shared.
Brown is now turning his error into a message. She hopes to help other black women learn to accept themselves and their hair.
“I want all the girls my children’s age, women my age, my mother’s age to know, don’t let your hair do you. People are going to go through a lot of things for their hair,” said Brown. “You have to keep it in your head: ‘I am not my hair’.”
Brown said he received more than $ 25,000 in crowdfunding donations. She said most of that money would be donated to Dr. Obeng’s foundation to help other women who need emergency surgery. She said she is also sending checks to families in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As for Gorilla Glue, Brown said he realizes that the company does not share the blame in its decision. Gorilla Glue has a warning label on the spray that says, “Don’t swallow. Don’t put it in your eyes, on your skin or on your clothes.” Gorilla Glue said it wishes Brown the best.
The Gorilla Glue Company full statement
“We are aware of the situation and we are very sorry to hear about the unfortunate incident that Ms. Brown experienced when using our spray patch on her hair. This is a unique situation because this product is not suitable for use on hair or as it is considered permanent. Our spray sticker says on the warning label “do not swallow. Don’t let it get in your eyes, on your skin or on your clothes … “
It is used in craft projects, home, car or office to mount things on surfaces like paper, cardboard, wood, laminate and fabric.
We are happy to see in your recent video that Miss. Brown received medical treatment from her local medical center and we wish her the best. ”
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