Temi Bakare
Àyòọba Insights
A gele is stiffened cloth, usually aso-oke or a synthetic gele fabric, and the stiffness is doing most of the work. Soft cloth will not hold a shape no matter how well you tie it.
The basic method: find the centre, hold it at your hairline, wrap both ends to the back, cross, bring them forward, and build the fan by folding rather than twisting. Pin into the wrap itself, never into your hair.
It will loosen within an hour if the first wrap was not tight enough. Tight at the base, loose in the fan, is the rule.
At any large Nigerian wedding there will be someone tying gele professionally for a fee. There is no shame in this whatsoever, and on your own wedding day it is simply the correct decision.
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