The #GorillaGlueGirl After An Adhesive-On-Hair Mishap

People can put almost anything on their hair. All of which are meant to either make the hair look better, or easy to style.

But Tessica Brown, a Black woman reportedly a 40-year old Louisiana teacher, has used Gorilla Glue adhesive on her Afro-textured hair which resulted in a catastrophic incident.

It started when she ran out of one hair product, and thought of a completely different product as a substitute.

Gorilla Glue allowed her to style her hair, replacing the use of a hairspray. But since Gorilla Glue is a heavy-duty construction adhesive not meant for the hair, she couldn't remove the material from her hair, compelling her to seek medical help to safely remove it.

Brown was left with the same hairstyle for more than a month.

"By the second week of me trying to wash it out, I got with my sisters, I got with my mom. Everybody was trying to give me different things to wash it out. But after that month passed, this is what made me take it to social media," she said.

And when she shared the unfortunate incident to social media TikTok, her post quickly went viral, and thousands of others responded to the incident using the #GorillaGlueGirl.

From the pictures posted on her official Instagram, showed Brown laying on a hospital bed without progress, implying that whatever treatment the hospital staff tried to give her, which included acetone, didn't actually work.

Many on social media felt her pain and offered solutions. Even celebrities tried to show their concerns. Others however, ridiculed her.

"People were like, ‘That’s what you get for being stupid. Now, look at you.’ I really, really felt some type of way. I only went to social media because I didn’t know what else to do and I figured somebody out there could tell me what to do because I didn’t know what to do to take it off," she said.

She added that she did tried shaving her hair off. But said that "you can’t even get a razor under there."

Brown was then set to travel from Louisiana to Los Angeles to see a man about a procedure in an effort to resolve her issue.

Another hair professionals, including one who regularly tends to Beyoncé, have also offered a helping hand to aid in Brown’s recovery.

Knowing that the remedy can cost her a lot, she started gathering donations.

“After we started reading up on what this could do to my hair, we made the GoFundMe. We made the GoFundMe for me to get wigs for after this is all over. But they had something to say about everything that’s going on. And I feel like it’s very, very unfair because y’all don’t know me. Because if you knew me, y’all would know that I would never do anything like this on purpose. Never.”

Besides that, Brown also wants to file a lawsuit against the makers of the product.

Brown is said to have hired a lawyer to look into a case against Gorilla Glue, exploring her legal options since Gorilla Glue only warns against use on the skin and eyes, but not the hair.

Following the reports and news, Gorilla Glue released a public statement wishing Brown "the best," but claiming that the product was never intended to be used on hair.

"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," wrote Gorilla Glue in a statement shared to social media.

"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.”

"This is a unique situation because this product is not intended for use in or on hair as it is considered permanent. Our spray adhesive states in the warning label[,] ‘do not swallow. Do not get in eyes, on skin or on clothing…’"

The glue brand continued to state that the spray should only be used for "craft, home, auto or office products."

Tessica Brown's mishap was not the last.

Days after she managed to surgically removed the glue and reclaim some of her hair, the Gorilla Glue challenge started to happen.

And one of the most viral case following Brown's, was Avani Reyes.

The woman was criticized on TikTok after she seemingly took part in the Gorilla Glue challenge for attention. To her hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok, she shared a video of herself trying to comb her hair, that was covered in a white glue-like substance.

“Guys, my hair will not comb,” she said in the viral clip.

“Y’all, I already tried wetting it.”

People were calling her an idiot for attempting the challenge, that unlike Brown's case where many expressed their worries, many didn't feel bad about Reyes.

In subsequent TikTok posts, Reyes told her followers that she was on her way to the hospital, saying that her “scalp is burning.” And when she arrived at the hospital, she shared her moment on TikTok, saying that the hospital staff were unsure of how to remove the glue.

Reyes was then seen washing her hair, alongside the Bruno Mars’ hit single “Gorilla”.

While many disregarded Reyes and mocked her, she did claim that a number of people donated to her GoFundMe.

Another viral case, was when rapper and filmmaker from Louisiana attempted to prove that Gorilla Glue on the skin is nothing serious, as he attempted to stick a red cup to his lips. But he too, ended up in a hospital.

"I thought that chick with the gorilla glue was making that story up...but no..its real... I dont kno why I tried it..now they talking bout cutting the tip of my lips off in surgery," he said, as he asked his followers to pray for him.