Tessica Brown, a woman who went viral after applying Gorilla Glue adhesive spray to her hair, has undergone a procedure to salvage what remained of her hair and finally brought to an end the ordeal that has captured people online.
The 40-year-old, who shared her unfortunate predicament on TikTok, underwent a four-hour surgery in Los Angeles where the adhesive was removed, according to TMZ, which was given exclusive access to photos and videos of the surgery. It had been more than a month after she initially styled her hair in a sleek ponytail.
Prior to the surgery, Brown had her ponytail extension cut off at the root leaving the base of her hair, which remained glued down. The surgery was performed by Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Obeng, who offered to do the procedure for free, TMZ reported.
Obeng observed no immediate damage to her scalp but told Brown in the TMZ video that she would experience sensitivity and gave her a dose of a steroid to minimize inflammation.
After the procedure, Brown was captured by TMZ cameras reaching for her scalp and running her fingers through her hair while expressing relief.
“Jesus Christ, I can scratch it,” says Brown in the video. She later joked that she needed her hair done in time for Valentine’s Day.
In an interview with TMZ, Obeng explained that the formula he used to remove the heavy-duty adhesive from Brown’s hair included a medical-grade adhesive remover, acetone, and more natural solutions like aloe vera and olive oil.
“The surgery went well. She had a lot of irritation on the scalp especially the edges of her hair, of her head because of all of the chemicals that she has put in, and the hair was actually very, very tough, very, very matted down, and it would not lift up. She’s very, very lucky that she did not sustain a lot of injury to her scalp,” said Obeng.
“She’s been through a lot. I hope that you guys will learn from Tessica’s injuries, or Tessica’s ordeal — make sure that anytime you guys grab something, make sure you read it,” he added. BuzzFeed News has contacted both Brown and Obeng for comment.
Brown’s ordeal has drawn the interest of people online who have stood by for updates. A full timeline of events can be found on Darian Symoné Harvin’s Beauty IRL newsletter.
Gorilla Glue’s manufacturers issued a statement of support for Brown following mounting pressure.
“We are very sorry to hear about the unfortunate incident that Miss Brown experienced using our Spray Adhesive on her hair,” the company wrote on Twitter. “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.”