Gorilla Glue Debacle Speaks To Larger Issue Of Toxic Beauty & Black Hair Culture

New Orleans native Tessica Brown went viral last week after she posted a video revealing she had sprayed Gorilla Glue on her hair to lay her edges.

[SEE ALSO: It’s All Bad: Woman Sprays Actual Glue On Hair After Running Out Of Hairspray]

It had been a whole month, and to the glue’s credit, nothing was budging. Brown had a forever ponytail that has taken one week of emergency room visits, acetone, Goo Off, a big chop, and, finally, a four-hour procedure with a plastic surgeon, to get somewhere close to hair redemption.

Of course, social media was ablaze with jokes, memes and WTFs on how a 40-year-old woman could even think of putting such a toxic substance in her hair.

But survey the beauty industry landscape and you will see that Black women have long been putting toxic substances on our hair (and bodies) in the name of beauty. Relaxers are the most easily identified culprit. Studies have long shown that the creamy crack is linked to fibroids, breast cancer, and early-onset puberty.

However, research shows that products targeted to Black women and our kinks and curls are the most toxic on the market. All of these products seep into our skin wreaking long-term havoc. You can find everything from formaldehyde, ammonia, bleaching agents, DMDM hydantoin, linalool methylparaben, propylparaben (and other words we can’t pronounce) in our products. These substances also cause respiratory disorders and reproductive developmental issues, such as infertility and spontaneous miscarriages, and hair loss — the very thing we are trying to keep.

Even worse, a 2018 study found that 84% of chemicals found in commonly used Black hair products — including hot oil treatments, leave-in conditioners, and hair lotion — contained chemicals that aren’t even listed on the label.

On top of that, many women willingly seek out hair products with names such as got2b Glue and Gorilla Snot to secure their lace fronts and “tame” their edges. We put actual glue on our eyelashes and our edges for a more permanent hold.

And let’s not forget those who still lament over Johnson & Johnson no longer producing talc-based “baby powder.” That long-extolled moisture-wicking substance contains asbestos, a known carcinogen, and is linked to ovarian cancer resulting in billions of dollars in settlement fines to the families who lost their loved ones due to long-term use. That talc is also in many of our cosmetics.

But, we are told time and time again at the kitchen table, under the dryer or in the salon chair that “beauty is pain.” And Black women, historically, have been dealt with unachievable goals to take the “blackness” out of hair and beauty regimens. Even with the resurgence of the natural hair movement, we still battle hair texturism and the concept of whose kink and curl is better and, therefore, more acceptable.

So, yes, Brown did do what those of us who are well versed in beauty products and those who are outside of the Black beauty pressure would never try on our own. But, I do see how the current conversations around Black hair and beauty in a multi-billion-dollar industry impacted her belief that it was okay.

There are now laws making it legal to rock our crowns. Now, we need more research and regulation on the products that are still being marketed to us. Until then, we have to decide how far we are willing to go for beauty.

Press play below to see what it took for Brown.