A woman who styled her hair with Gorilla Glue has received her first treatment from a Los Angeles plastic surgeon who claims he can fully remove the adhesive from her hair and scalp.
Tessica Brown, 40, from Violet, Louisiana, flew into Los Angeles on Wednesday and was whisked straight to the offices of plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Obeng for the first treatment of an expected three-day procedure.
As she left the doctor's appointment, Tessica's head was hidden from prying eyes by a white sheet while she was ushered into a waiting vehicle with tinted windows, with the mother of five getting the celebrity treatment even after saying she never intended to go viral with her plight.
Obeng, the director of MiKO Plastic Surgery, has said that he offered to help Tessica after her ordeal made national headlines, and is providing the treatment that would normally cost $12,000 for free.
Tessica Brown, 40, was spotted leaving an LA plastic surgeon's office with her head covered in a sheet after the first of several procedures to remove Gorilla Glue from her hair
The mother of five has been desperately seeking a way to remove the superglue from her hair and scalp for a month after running out of her normal styling product and trying it
Tessica is seen during a prior attempt to remove the glue from her hair that failed
Plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Obeng offered to help Tessica after her ordeal made national headlines, and is providing the treatment that would normally cost $12,000 for free
'When I found out this was a reality, you can only feel compassion and sympathy for Tessica,' Obeng told KCBS-TV, adding that she is recovering well after the first procedure.
'The surgery went well,' Obeng said. 'Tessica is doing well. She's awake. The hair crew is doing her hair.'
Earlier, Tessica opened up about the 'extreme' headaches she has been suffering from and her failed attempts to remove the spray glue in a candid interview with Entertainment Tonight, insisting she never meant to go viral when she shared her story on TikTok.
'I never was going to take this to social media. The reason I took this to social media was because I didn't know what else to do,' she told ET's Melicia Johnson. 'And I know somebody out there could have told me something. I didn't think for one second when I got up the next morning it was gonna be everywhere.'
Tessica was whisked into a waiting car with heavily tinted windows following her treatment
A woman who attended to Tessica as she left the doctor's office is seen driving away
'The surgery went well,' Dr. Obeng said. 'Tessica is doing well. She's awake. The hair crew is doing her hair.'
In the video, which has been viewed more than 25 million times, Tessica explained that she sprayed Gorilla Glue on her hair after she ran out her Göt2b Glued Spray and hasn't been able to move it for a month.
While speaking to ET, she noted she was in a hurry when she picked up the industrial-strength adhesive spray and 'definitely' regrets the last-minute decision.
Tessica said she had used the Gorilla Glue before for other things and thought it would just 'wash right out.' When traditional shampoo failed to remove the glue, she tried olive and tea tree oils, but nothing worked.
It was then that she turned to TikTok looking for advice.
Last chance: Tessica Brown, who went viral after spraying her hair with Gorilla Glue, arrived in LA on Wednesday to meet with a plastic surgeon who claims he can dissolve the adhesive
Incognito: The 40-year-old from from Violet, Louisiana, covered her rock-hard hair with a white cap and a hooded sweatshirt
Support: Tessica, who was joined on the trip by a companion, has been offered free treatment by Dr. Michael Obeng, however he warned that the process could take up to three days
As of Wednesday, 4.2 million people have commented on the video, including Gorilla Glue. The company suggested that she try using rubbing alcohol to remove the glue, but the at-home remedy ended up being another failure.
The morning after she posted the TikTok she went to to the emergency room at St. Bernard Parish Hospital in Chalmette, Louisiana, where healthcare workers tried removing the glue using 'little acetone packs' that burned her scalp.
Candid: Tessica recently opened up about her hair woes during an interview with Entertainment Tonight, admitting she wishes she never shared her story on TikTok
Hard to handle: The mother-of-five noted that she has been suffering from 'extreme headaches' and was warned by doctors that she may have permanent scalp damage
She denied reports that she spent 22 hours in the ER, explaining that she was told it would take them roughly 20 hours to remove the glue at the hospital.
The working mom, who owns Tessica's Little Angels daycare and runs the Dazzling Divaz dance team, made the decision to use the acetone wipes at home because she couldn't be away from her kids for that long.
Tessica admitted that the scrutiny and criticism that she has received has made her wish that she never posted the video.
'I told my son today, 'I wish I could just go back,' because I'm over it. I'm over it,' she said. 'I'm usually the person that I don't care what people say. I just move at my own pace. I don't care what people say, but it's just getting to the point where people are on TV saying stuff about me.'
Tessica especially took offense to claims that she purposely sprayed the glue on her hair because was seeking online fame.
Ouch! Tessica, who also shared a video of a friend trying at-home remedies to remove the glue, said she and her children have been facing an onslaught of public scrutiny and criticism
'Who in their right mind would say, 'Oh well, let me just spray this in my head and become famous overnight?'' she asked. 'Never! Who would want them to do that? I needed somebody to tell me how to take this off, that's all it was.'
However, she explained that what has been most hurtful — for both her and her school-age daughters — is being publicly branded 'Gorilla Glue Girl.'
'My name is Tessica,' she said. 'Every time somebody puts up something on social media, that's it, my inbox is flooded. Don't worry about this thing. Yeah, y'all can say that.
'This is what my momma keeps telling me, 'Stop reading the comments.' But I can't help myself. I go read them, and they're still sending me clips of what happened…It's way, way, way, too much.'
Tessica said the unwanted media attention has negatively affected her daughters, recalling how her one little girl wouldn't let her do her hair the other day.
Despite the onslaught of criticism, the mom has also received plenty of support, including messages from Missy Elliott, Chance the Rapper, and Beyoncé's hairstylist, Neal Farinah, who offered her a wig.
Tools: Tessica said she decided to leave the ER and continue the acetone treatment at home. On Tuesday, she had her ponytail hacked off, but nothing has worked
Whoa: Tessica started a GoFundMe account with a goal of $1,500 to buy the wigs she was told she would need, but she has raised more than $18,000 in donations as of Wednesday
'A lot of people want to give me hair,' she said, 'but the reason I wasn't accepting it is because I don't want people to be like, 'Oh, that's why she did it.''
Since Tessica first shared her story last week, she has racked up hundreds of thousands of followers across her social media accounts. She now has more than 866,000 fans on TikTok and over 756, 000 on Instagram.
Her Instagram account has even been verified with a blue check, something that is usually only given to celebrities and public figures.
She has also updated her bio to include an email address for her new manager — suggesting that she may have already been sent partnership opportunities by brands eager to capitalize on the viral interest surrounding her sticky saga.
Tessica started a GoFundMe account with a goal of $1,500 to buy the wigs she was told she would need, but she has raised more than $18,000 in donations as of Wednesday.
Say what? Tessica, who is known as @im_d_ollady on TikTok, stunned social media users last week when she revealed she set her hair with Gorilla Glue spray — and now it won't move
Yikes: She explained in her viral TikTok video that she ran out of her Göt2b Glued Spray and used Gorilla Glue instead
Throwback: Tessica used to wear her hair in braids before switching up her look
She told ET that she will be putting the rest of the money towards her medical expenses as she fears her hair may never grow back.
'From us reading about everything — and already done start happening — [I'm getting] extreme headaches,' she explained. 'And the [doctors] said by the time they get it all out or cut it all off, I may have scalp damage and in some parts it may never grow back.'
However, she has denied reports that she has hired an attorney and is considering suing Gorilla Glue over the mishap, admitting: 'I made a mistake.'
Gorilla Glue released a statement about the situation on social media Monday.
'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,' the brand tweeted. '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.'
Stuck this way: Tessica said she had washed her hair 15 times to no avail and hasn't been able to move it in a month
'Nothing happens': In a follow-up video, Tessica lathered her hair with shampoo to show how it doesn't do anything to remove the glue spray
Tessica said she doesn't understand where the company's statement and reports of her getting a lawyer are coming from.
As for her hair itself, she told the publication that it was starting to loosen up a bit. On Tuesday, she shared a video of a hairstylist hacking off her long ponytail in an attempt to remove the glue.
Tessica sat with her head in her hands while a hairdresser applies Goof Off superglue remover to her hair in the hopes of softening her rock-hard locks enough to cut through it with scissors.
'We've been using acetone every day trying to soften it up,' Tessica's hairstylist explained. 'It kind of feels like it may have softened up a bit, but we're going to use this [Goof Off].
'We have some on here already but I'm going to add a little more and then we're just going to cut this whole ponytail off and try to let it breathe a little bit.'
Try it: Gorilla Glue actually commented on Tessica's video, advising she spray a mix of alcohol and water on her hair to try to remove it, but it didn't work
Response: Gorilla Glue later released a statement about the situation on Monday after it was reported that Tessica wanted to sue. She has denied the report that she had hired an attorney
Using a large pair of orange-handled kitchen scissors, the hairdresser cut off Tessica's ponytail near the base, getting as close to her client's head as possible.
'So this is kind of what it looks like now,' the hairdresser said while showing off the short tuft at the back of Tessica's head. 'I was able to get the ponytail off, but it's still not opening it up as you all can see.
'It's still kind of hardened so we're not letting the air in too much, but there's a little opening right there. So she might get a little bit of air out of there but not much because it's still pretty hard.'
In an Instagram update shared after her failed trip to the hairstylist, Tessica revealed that she was going to travel to Los Angeles in order to meet with a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon who claimed he can remove the glue from her head once and for all.
'I will be leaving tomorrow to go see a surgeon,' she wrote while thanking her new legion of followers for their concern.
Heading off: Tessica revealed on Instagram on Tuesday that she was going to fly to Los Angeles to visit plastic surgeon Dr. Obeng, who claims he can remove the glue for her
She's off: On Wednesday, she announced that she was on her way to LA while asking for prayers
Dr. Michael Obeng reached out to Tessica to offer his assistance, saying he can remove the adhesive with a medical-grade glue dissolver, but he believes the process could take up to three days.
According to TMZ, the procedure would ordinarily cost a staggering $12,500, but Dr. Obeng has told Tessica he will do it for free.
'I will update you guys the second I have news,' Tessica concluded her post. 'Again thank you so much.'
Tessica was seen arriving in Los Angeles on Wednesday wearing a red graphic hoodie. She covered her hair with a white cap topped with the hood of her sweatshirt.
She was also wearing a surgical mask, and the combination of the hat and face covering made her virtually unrecognizable as she walked with her head down.
The mom announced she was flying to LA on Instagram earlier in the day, writing: 'Prayers for Traveling Grace. On my way to LA to get this glue out of my head finally.'
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