The question on everyone’s mind for the past week has been how Tessica Brown was going to finally get the Gorilla Glue out of her hair. But after countless failed attempts from Brown and others, one Beverly Hills plastic surgeon was able to crack the code. His name is Dr. Michael K. Obeng, MD, and he’s being praised not only for his level of skill and knowledge, but also for performing the procedure completely free of charge.
“What Tessica has been going through is nightmare,” Dr. Obeng told ESSENCE ahead of Wednesday’s procedure. “Gorilla glue has such widespread use, so it’s going to be tough, but I’m confident I can fix it.” And he did.
On Thursday morning, video circulated of the three-hours-long procedure, resulting in Brown’s hair being completely freed of the glue. “Based on my chemistry background, I created a solvent made of medical-grade adhesive remover and acetone to break through the month’s long shell,” he said.
Also included in the formula was aloe vera and olive oil to help soothe the scalp. “Some of these chemicals in the solvent could have potentially caused chemical burns,” Dr. Obeng explained. “But we were equipped to deal with that.”
What seems to have shocked everyone the most, is that Brown was able to retain so much hair after the procedure. According to Dr. Obeng, that was the intention. “The solvent was never made to break off the hair,” he says. “Due to the chemicals and the state the hair has been in, it will initially be damaged, but she will have hair. And it will continue to grow back.”
Dr. Obeng insists that the recover time is also minimal.
“Once it’s done, it’s pretty straightforward,” he says. “After this we need to monitor what products she uses on her hair, but she’s going to have a one-hundred percent recovery.”
