Tessica Brown, known around the internet as the “Gorilla Glue Girl,” will be donating $20,000 of her public GoFundMe proceeds to an organization that specializes in reconstructive surgery. The money will be donated to Restore Worldwide, which was founded by Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Obeng, MD, who performed $12,500 cosmetic surgery on Brown pro bono following her viral Gorilla Glue mishap, according to Yahoo! News.
Brown received thousands of dollars via GoFundMe following her social media post asking for help to remove the adhesive from her hair. She eventually had to undergo surgery to remove the glue and the procedure was successful thanks to the help of Obeng. Now, she has decided to share her wealth with those who may be going through similarly tough times or require expensive reconstructive surgery.
Ghanaian born Dr Michael Obeng has performed a $12 500 procedure for free on Tessica Brown now known as Gorrilla Glue Girl. The procedure took four hours in total.
This comes after 15 washes and a visit to her local hospital, was unsuccessful in removing the glue. pic.twitter.com/APhcvMBMxK
— African Curators (@AfricanCurators) February 11, 2021
Brown’s manager revealed she intended to pocket $1,000 from the public donations, “to pay for the emergency room visit she made in Louisiana before flying to the West Coast” along with travel expenses, according to a TMZ exclusive. Brown ultimately raised a reported $23,794 via GoFundMe, and the fund will now go to Obeng’s nonprofit after the surgeon was able to help Brown not only remove the glue but keep her hair.
According to TMZ, Obeng put together a concoction of medical-grade adhesive remover, aloe vera, olive oil and a dash of acetone to remove the solution from Brown's head. They had to put Brown under anesthesia prior to performing the procedure.
Words cannot even explain how I feel about @DrMichaelKObeng. you really gave me my life back and I am forever grateful ???????? pic.twitter.com/8C4skB7IER
— Tessica Brown (@brown_tessica1) February 13, 2021
Restore Worldwide is a “non-profit medical service organization that provides free reconstructive surgery and related medical services to children and adults with disfiguring deformities from birth, accidents and diseases involving not only the head and neck region but also the extremities, trunk and breast,” according to the nonprofit’s site. Restore is an acronym for “Restoring Emotional Stability Through Outstanding Reconstructive Efforts,” according to the site.
Brown originally made waves online when she told her Instagram followers that after running out of Got2B Glue hair gel, she opted to use the industrial use adhesive Gorilla Glue to hold down her ponytail, which had been stuck for a month. Her confession went viral on Instagram and TikTok, so much so that even comedian Loni Love offered to purchase Brown a custom wig.