Culture

Junk Explained: Who Is ‘Gorilla Glue Girl’ & Why Is The World Now Watching Her Every Move?

Gorilla Glue Girl used super glue instead of hairspray a month ago, and her hair has been stuck ever since.

by Michelle Rennex  9 February 2021
Gorilla Glue Girl

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If you’ve ever accidentally gotten super glue on your skin, or even worse, your hair, you know just how hard it is to get off. Now imagine you sprayed your entire head with super glue because you ran out of hairspray?

Sadly, this is what happened to Tessica Brown, who has since been dubbed ‘Gorilla Glue Girl’ after she made the fateful mistake — and now the world is very invested in her journey.

How Did Gorilla Glue Girl Get Into This Situation?

After running out of Got2B Glued hairspray, a popular freeze blast spray, Tessica Brown, a 40-year-old Louisiana woman, shared that she grabbed Gorilla Glue spray, a moisture-resistant clear, permanent-bond adhesive, in its place thinking they would have the same effects.

However, once she realised her mistake, Brown decided to share her problem with TikTok on Thursday, which horrified the 18 million people who have since watched her video on the platform.

“For those who know me, my hair has been like this for a month now. It’s not by choice, no. It’s not by choice,” she said in her original TikTok. “When I do my hair, I like to finish it off with some Got2B glue spray, you know, to keep it in place. Well I didn’t have anymore Got2B glue spray, so I used this… Gorilla Glue spray. Bad, bad, BAD idea.”

To make things worse, Brown then shared that she had washed her hair “15 times and it don’t move”, before urging her followers to “don’t ever, ever use [Gorilla Glue spray] unless you want your hair to be like this forever.”

Instantly, Gorilla Glue Girl’s comments were flooded with concerned people confused over how Brown could ever think the swap would be a good thing to do.

“You got 2B kidding me,” wrote one person. “You got 2B smarter than that sis,” said another. “Girl you done created a helmet,” quipped others. Meanwhile those who tried to look on the bright side for Brown, commented that “at least you on fleek 24/7” and noted that “at least its cute”.

Sharing a follow-up video the next day after all the interest in her journey, Tessica Brown then proved that she wasn’t lying about her hair not budging. Rubbing shampoo all over her scalp, Gorilla Glue Girl scrubbed and scratched her hair, before wiping the shampoo off with absolute zero movement.

“Watch, look y’all. You wipe it off and nothing happens. Like, this is the life I’m living at this point. Look. Look. Look. Look,” she worriedly said.

What’s Happening With Tessica Brown Now?

After going viral, a number of tips and tricks poured in by worried bystanders, like putting coconut oil and tea tree oil on her scalp overnight. But while Tessica Brown gave these techniques a go, they were all ultimately useless.

One person truly dedicated to the cause even decided to make a fake “official” Gorilla Glue TikTok account to offer some advice under Brown’s TikTok.

“Use some rubbing alcohol, water in a spray bottle, a hair dryer and a comb. But since you’ve had it like that for a month, your hair could be damaged,” the “company” posted. “It’s going to take some time to come off since it’s been there for a month.”

While the TikTok comments might not have come from Gorilla Glue themselves, their official website does also note some similar advice. The site states that to remove cured Gorilla Glue from a surface, the person needs to “soak bonded area with warm soapy water or acetone”.

However, this advice is not meant for hair or skin. In fact, when the adhesive is in contact with the skin, the company advises against “using any kind of alcohol, acetone, or other solvent”.

Sadly, there is no hair-specific advice on the site, but the use of acetone, a highly-drying alcohol, will likely damage Brown’s scalp and hair. This is probably Brown’s only hope though, as the product is “moisture resistant” hence the need for alcohol to help break it down.

Chatting to Beauty IRL, Gorilla Glue suggested that Brown “saturate” her hair in a less aggressive solvent, like rubbing alcohol, then “gently comb it out and then use shampoo”. The company also explained that if her hair has actually been set this way for a month, it is highly possible that her hair is already “fractured at the root”.

Eventually after all the failed attempts at fixing her hair herself with advice from the public and the company, Tessica Brown went to hospital in the hopes of finding relief.

After her visit to the ER, Brown went on KiSS 92.5 radio and shared that the hospital said that it would take “at least 20 hours” for them to remove the glue. However, Gorilla Glue Girl opted to do it herself from home using the provided sterile water for irrigation and a number of nail polish remover pads.

During the same interview, Tessica Brown also said that she would shave her head if necessary, but only if she has “nothing else to do”.

Can Gorilla Glue Girl Sue?

While there have been no updates about the success or failure of her medical treatment as of yet, TMZ reports that Brown has hired a lawyer and is “weighing her legal options against Gorilla Glue”.

Despite Gorilla Glue not being suitable for hair, the packaging for the adhesive spray does not specifically mention hair in their warning.

In an apology issued by the company earlier today, Gorilla Glue stated that they were “very sorry to hear about the unfortunate incident” but explained it was a “unique situation because this product is not indicated 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 statement continued. “It is used for craft, home, auto or office projects to mount things to surfaces such as paper, cardboard, wood, laminate and fabric.”

However, as wild as it may sound, Tessica Brown may actually have a case. Despite ignoring all warnings and making the active choice to use super glue in her hair, the product is advertised as a “multi-purpose” spray and does not specifically mention anything about not using the spray on hair.

Regardless of whether Gorilla Glue Girl is going to file a lawsuit or not, she’s actually already managed to make some cash off all the viral fame and pain. After opening a GoFundMe yesterday, Tessica Brown has already raised $11,000 with nothing but a photo of her in hospital and the title ‘Gorilla Glue Girl’.

And, honestly? The dedication to securing a bag by any means necessary is actually kinda impressive.

Update: 11/02/21

Since publishing, Tessica Brown is still struggling to remove the Gorilla Glue from her scalp. However, she has managed to cut off some of her hair with the aid of her friend and superglue remover.

“We’ve been using acetone every day trying to soften it up,” her friend shared. “It kind of feels like it may have softened up a bit, but we’re going to use this [Goof Off]… then we’re just going to cut this whole ponytail off and try to let it breathe a little bit.”

Since the Goof Off only managed to remove a minimal amount of Gorilla Glue, a plastic surgeon from Beverly Hills has offered his services to Brown free of charge. Dr. Michael Obeng explained that he could use medical-grade remover in a multiple-day procedure estimated to cost $12,500.

During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Brown also confirmed that the rumours of her taking legal action against Gorilla Glue are false.

“No, I’ve never ever said that,” she said in response to a question about the potential lawsuit. “Again, I don’t know where all of this is coming from. Because at this point, everybody is saying it.”

“I took it to social media because I didn’t know what else to do,” she continued. “If y’all knew me, y’all know I would never, ever do anything for clout.”

Update: 12/02/21

Everyone can now breathe easy because Gorilla Glue Girl has finally removed the adhesive from her hair after a six week-long battle.

TMZ has shared footage of Brown waking up after her pro-bono surgery with Dr. Michael Obeng, where she’s finally able to run her hands through her hair for the first time in weeks.

After the four hour procedure, Dr. Obeng explained that all it took to remove the Gorilla Glue was a combination of medical-grade adhesive remover, aloe vera, olive oil and acetone.

In the video, an unidentified man can be heard asking whether this experience has turned Brown off using hair products for the time being.

“Do you wanna do anymore hairstyling now, or are you done with hair products for now?,” he asks. “I need my hair done… it’s about to be Valentine’s Day!,” Tessica Brown sleepily responds while waking from the light anaesthesia.

We love a happy ending!

This post will be updated as Tessica Brown shares more of her journey.