In today’s internet-focused society, people are continually going viral for something, but Tessica Brown recently went viral for all the wrong reasons.
Brown shared her hair nightmare on TikTok. After running out of Göt2b Glued hair spray, Brown used Gorilla Glue spray to hold her ponytail in place. Although the Gorilla Glue did its job, Brown could not remove it from her hair.
She made a TikTok showing her hair staying in place while she vigorously shampooed it. The video sent the internet into a frenzy. Some people ridiculed Brown for the incident, while others sympathized with her.
After 11 years of doing hair, junior Keyaundre Boxhill experienced her fair share of hair disasters.
Boxhill specializes in natural hair, dreadlocks, color and extensions, and she admits she was very concerned about Brown after hearing her story.
“As a cosmetology student, [I] learn[ed] about chemicals and how they affect the human body,” Boxhill said. “So, seeing Brown applied that to her hair, I was concerned about how the chemicals would affect her and her hair, but I’m relieved Dr. Obeng was able to help her.”
Boxhill witnessed a hair horror story when a young lady with damaged hair asked for faux locs.
“A young lady who contacted me about faux locs came into the shop with a hat on, and once she took it off, I saw that she had no hair on her sides,” she said. “I was informed that her follicles had been damaged during a physical altercation, and she wanted me to cover up the bald spots.”
Boxhill fulfilled the young lady’s request but admitted it was the most challenging request she ever had to fulfill for a client.
Senior Angelica Miller blames these types of incidents on lack of knowledge about natural hair.
Miller started working as a hair assistant when she was 17 years old and dedicated her craft to informing her clients on the importance of maintaining healthy hair.
She feels that Brown wasn’t as educated on hair as she needed to be.
“I feel that she was lazy, and she didn’t think to read before she used the product,” Miller said. “However, I do feel bad for her, and at least she’s learned her lesson from this situation.”
Miller expressed that she had problems with clients not being educated enough about their hair.
“I had a client with really bad flaky hair, and I recommended them to see a dermatologist,” she said. “They never went, which resulted in some hair loss. It was frustrating trying to deal with that, but I had to learn that not every client will want to understand how health can play a big role in hair growth.”
Sophomore Ronae Culmer specializes in box braids and admits she has never seen a situation like Brown’s in her three years of doing hair.
“I immediately thought she mistook Gorilla Glue for Göt2b Glue,” she said. “After seeing how painful it seemed and the way people ridiculed her online, I honestly felt so sorry for her.”
Culmer reveals that she encountered only minor incidents since beginning her career as a hairstylist.
“I’ve never dealt with anything close to Gorilla Glue, but the worst hair problem I’ve encountered was just a bad case of dandruff,” she said.
While Brown’s story has blown up all over the internet, it is safe to say that it isn’t the first and won’t be the last hair horror story.
