Last but definitely not least, my favourite the Skintolo aka Gélé

This is a famous Headwrap from Nigeria the names range from Satellite dish, Unicycle, Amina Aminu, Kite, Parachute, Kintele, The London Eye, Eiffel Tower, Gbenuesoun, Hollywood, Fan, Global Warning etc. so the next time you hear a Nigerian speak about one of the above you will know exactly what they are talking about. The naterial used is either Aso-oke, paper gele, abada, Damask or kente.
Here is a video on how to tie it. You will need some practice before you are a "Gélé Master". From the length of the post I guess you might have figured it is one of my best kind of headwraps...Hope you enjoy it.



You could also read these instructions:

1st Type

1.Start by folding the head gear piece to a width of about six inches. This can be achieved by folding the piece in half lengthwise twice or so.

2. Rap the piece around your head with the right extending about one and half of the left side.

3.Push in the left side but keep the ends out while crossing the right side over (on top of the left end); also keep the right-side ends out.

4.Pull both ends as tight as desired. Push the left side while pulling the right side to get the desired comfort.

5.Push in the right side only from where it touches the left side but without pulling it all the way through. This forms a bow.

6.You may now move this bow to the front, side or leave it on the back; the choice is yours.

7.Spread out the two ends to obtain a rose petal look, or pin the two ends to obtain yet another look. The different styles and looks are endless. You'll be surprised what you can achieve by experimenting.


2nd Type

• Fold your headtie into two equal halves, triangular or rectangular, depending on how big or small you want it to look.

• Place the headtie on the forehead, ends of the headtie being equal; take the longest end of the headtie, turn it around to meet the other end. Remember to fold your headtie into two equal halves, then the two wings.

• Take one of the wings at the right end and one of it wings at the left edge, join. And when trying them, make sure it is tight and well- laid in front. Knot twice.

• Straighten the edges of your headtie, starting from behind till you get to the front.
• Then push the headtie backward a bit to fit.


3rd Type

• Fold the headtie into two equal halves, making a rectangular shape, depending on how big or small you want your headtie to look.

• Bring it from behind, use your right hand to take the right wing of the headtie to the left and left wing of the headtie to the right. Then, let the two ends of the wings meet to make a beautiful style and make sure your headtie is properly laid in front and firmly balanced.

• Make a knot out of the two wings, making it tight enough, so that your headtie doesn’t fall off. Then knot the second time.

• Straighten out the edges of the layers of the headtie starting from behind till you get to the front.

• With this style, you are supposed to get a ‘V’ in front of your headtie. If not, it is still all right and it will look gorgeous on you. Then push the headtie backward a bit to fit.

Always keep your head gear piece crisp with a spray starch for better results.

You could also visit the Gélé Masters site it has great music about the Skintolo...hope you enjoy it. Here is a pic of the Master

This marks the end of the Headwrap Series, hope you learnt new ways to tie your wraps. I will definitely continue to research on how Erykah Badu ties hers. Enjoy your weekend.

I hope you ain't tired yet....

Hope you have enjoyed learning how to tie different headwraps, I'm yet to figure out how Erykah Badu does hers, but I promise to share immediately I do. Here are a few other ways to tie the headwraps.

Another Lockwrap (Turban)

You can do this on your "bad" Hair days, you will still look good without having to trouble yourself with the that much. You can get creative and change a few steps to make it look better.









Instead of wrapping the extra fabrik around your head, you could wrap it around the held back hair. to get something like this

Goddess Wrap

For this you could either wrap your locks or even your Afro.







Here are other looks of the same wrapstyle

Another kind of Headwrap

The "Back to Front" Tying Method:
1. Fold the material depending on its width to make sure if covers the entire hair {how much you fold this material depends on its width}
2. Stand in front of a mirror
3. Hold the material with the folded part away from your face.
4. Place the material over your hair.
5. Adjust the material so its middle is at the base of your neck. In doing so you will have two ends of material. Holding your head up, and looking straight ahead, grab the right end of the material midway to
the end with your right hand and hold on to while grabbing the left end of the material with your left hand.
6. Hold the ends close together with your thumbs, allowing the rest of your fingers to be free.
7. Keep holding the material with your thumbs, but use the two
fingers next to your thumbs to switch the right end of the material to your left hand and the left end to your right hand. {I always find that I bend my head down when doing this}
8. Tighten the gele by pulling the ends. Your right hand holding the formerly left end of the material will be up above your right ear.
9. Let go of the left side of the material, but keep a hold of the right.
10. This step is for those who wear their Headwraps over their ears. Some women don't] Raise the material or otherwise manipulate the material around your ears so that your ear lobes are showing and are comfortable.
11. I usually hold my head titled a bit for this neck step. Take the right end around your head with your right hand until it gets to the left ear.
12. With your left hand, move the left end away from piece you are working with

{Now here's where you're creativity comes in. You can twist, tuck, or tie this end. If you want to make a crown gele, you're going to be tucking the ends in so no piece shows. And then you when the right end is tucked in, you will do the same with the left end. But I like to do this:

13. Tie the right end and the left end together at their base. Tie the ends so that they are comfortable on your head-not too loose and not too tight. You should now have a Headwraps that covers your head with two pieces hanging down-one longer than the other. You could just leave it like that, or you could experiment with twisting, tucking one end at a time or tying both pieces together until you end up with a "finished product" that you like.

Traditional Headswraps

I found there are sooo many ways to tie the many headwraps so I
 will try and post a different style each day of the coming week. Hope you enjoy the different styles and try them out. So the first is a traditional headwrap... Enjoy your week...and Look out for more Headwrapping styles

Headswraps

This is an age old hairstyle, some may look shubby, others look wonderous but all in all, the headwrap is a woman's crown. The names range from gele, skintolo to "Orie Rogos". You can have a complicated do or a very simple one, a very colourful or a plain one. I do love headwraps especially the Nigerian ones or just the simple hiphop ones. You can wear them anyway anytime. Depending on size though you might try and avoid wearing an elaborate skintolo to the office you might look really confused. In some cultures there are rules on who can wear which colour and what size, but as the world becomes a global village I think more people are wearing headwaraps for their beauty and not their representation. Next I will add a post on how to tie the wraps. Do you tie the wraps? Do you like them? Do you admire them?