Black women have done everything to their hair from “fry, dye, and blow-dry” as the 90s Luster’s Pink commercial used to say. For decades, Black women have been susceptible to a lack of availability for hair care products in mainstream stores, but thankfully that has been changing slowly and surely. What happens though, when you run out of product in your household and grab what you think may be the best alternative?
A Louisiana woman just tried what she thought was her “best alternate” and is learning the hard way that it may not have been the best decision. A TikTok account, Im_D_Ollady, by Tessica Brown, has gone viral after she made a video to warn her viewers to never use gorilla glue spray.
“Hey, y’all. For those of you that know me know that my hair has been like this for about a month now. It’s not by choice. No, it’s not by choice,” she said in the video as she taps her head with her nails. Brown revealed that due to running out of her product, she chose to use Gorilla Glue spray. “When I do my hair, I like to finish it off with a little Göt2b Glued Spray, you know, just to keep it in place. Well, I didn’t have any more göt2b Glued Spray, so I used this: Gorilla Glue spray. Bad, bad, bad idea.”
@im_d_ollady Stiff where????? Ma hair 🤬🤬
♬ original sound – Tessica Brown
Bad idea indeed. Stiff where? Her hair. Gorilla Glue spray is a heavy-duty adhesive intended for use on surfaces such as wood, stone, foam, metal, and glass, and not for use on human skin or hair. “Y’all, look, my hair, it don’t move. You hear what I’m telling you? It don’t move,” Brown said. She goes on to explain that she’s tried to wash her hair with shampoo about fifteen times but the outcome has not changed at all.
@im_d_ollady It don’t move I hate it here
♬ original sound – Tessica Brown
In another video clip, Brown is seeing attempting to shampoo her hair, however once she removes it, her hair is unchanged. “Watch…you wipe it off and nothing happens,” she explains. “Like, this is the life that I’m living at this point. This is the life, I guess, that I have to live.”
Once the videos went viral, the Internet became obsessed with Brown and her “forever ponytail.” Many offered advice to Terrica, while others came on social media to await her constant updates. Others took the time to poke fun at Brown’s unfortunate situation. However, the Gorilla Glue company actually caught wind of Brown’s odd misfortune and reached out.
“Hi there, we are sorry to learn about your experience,” the company tweeted in response to Brown. “We do not recommend using our products in hair as they are considered permanent. You can try soaking the affected area in warm, soapy water or applying rubbing alcohol to the area.”
Hi there, we are sorry to learn about your experience! We do not recommend using our products in hair as they are considered permanent. You can try soaking the affected area in warm, soapy water or applying rubbing alcohol to the area.
— Gorilla Glue (@GorillaGlue) February 4, 2021
Uncertain whether Brown has tried the advice given to her by the company, she’s given an update to her followers via social media that she has gone to the emergency room to hopefully rectify the situation. Prayers up for Terrica as hopefully her roots may be loosened by the adhesive’s grip.
Update:
According to TMZ, Tessica has hired an attorney and now weighing her legal options against Gorilla Glue. According to sources, Gorilla Glue’s product label states the product should not be used on eyes, skin or clothing, but fails to mention hair, which Tessica believes is misleading.
Tessica has also launched a GoFundMe Account titled, ‘Gorilla Glue Girl’ to cover medical expenses. The goal of her campaign was $1,500 and has received almost $10,000 at the moment.
Gorilla Glue has released another statement:
We are very sorry to hear about the unfortunate incident that Miss Brown experienced using our Spray Adhesive on her hair. 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. pic.twitter.com/SoCvwxdrGc
— Gorilla Glue (@GorillaGlue) February 8, 2021