Itās no secret that social media stars have become a huge target for online trolls. Case in point: a 36-year-old mother whose viral transformationĀ videos have garneredĀ millions ofĀ TikTokĀ likes and countless criticalĀ comments.
Alicia Hebner, who goes byĀ Princess Glitterhead on social media, made headlines earlier this year for her series of glow-up videos centered on her snap-in dentures. The mother-of-four was widely praised for speaking so honestly about her makeover journey and the steps she took to improve her self-esteem. She even started a TikTok challenge in which she invited other users to post videos of themselves with and without their denturesāa trend that aimed to break the stigma surrounding prosthetic teeth.Ā
āDuring my pregnancy, my teeth rapidly began to decay ā from the inside out. Both of my eye teeth broke off at the gum line a week or so apart from each other,ā Alicia told BuzzFeed News back in April.Ā āI remember laying in my yard feeling like my life was over. I would never be respected. I would never be pretty. My husband might leave me. He married me with perfect teeth and within a year I was already missing teeth.ā
Unsurprisingly, some TikTok users have criticized the New Yorker for pulling off such drastic physical transformations.Ā As pointed out by Page Six, one user claimed Aliciaās makeovers āshould be illegal,ā another called them āwitchcraft,ā and others slammed them asĀ āfalse advertisement.ā ButĀ Alicia, who has documented her grooming routine on TikTok and YouTube, wasnāt about to let the hateĀ go unchecked.Ā
āIām a happily married mom of 15 years with four kids and I wear makeup for ME,ā she commented on a TikTok video celebrating her 1 million follower count. āIām also a makeup artist with the same right as everyone else to wear it.ā
But make no mistake, not allĀ the comments were negative. In fact, the vast majority praised Alicia for her bravery and inspirational videos.
āYou just made me cry,ā one user wrote.Ā āI am about to get dentures at 30 years old. I got for my impressions this Thursday. I thought for sure that I was done for.ā
āItās not over until pigs fly,ā Alicia responded. āItās hard but so worth it ā you just have to never give up until youāre happy & itās something to be proud of. No shame.ā