Tubular Neck Gaiter. How to wear in 16 ways - Part 1

There are so few clothing items you can use for different activities or even keep when the season changes, but this marvelous accessory changes this paradigm.

You might already use a neck gaiter and know about some of its versatile wear, or you’ve heard about it, want one, and are trying to figure how to include it in your life.

Let’s start with the easiest configurations, and in part 2 of a soon-to-come blog post, we’ll dive into the more complex wraps.

Click/tap on the titles below to jump to the desired section

1. Wristband
2. Headband
3. Blindfold / Sleep mask
4. Aliceband
5. Scrunchy
6. Foulard
7. Do rag

First timers, and even regular users that want to learn more, keep on reading, and we’ll show you (with pictures too ;) how you can wear your tubular neck gaiter in at least 16 different ways.

A tubular neck gaiter is long, but you can easily wear it around your wrist, to have it handy for when you need it, to protect your wrist’s articulation from the cool weather, or to use it as a towel or sweatband when you work out, run, or move a lot, especially in the summer.

Style A – Fast move

See the pictures below.  Slip on the tubular over the wrist of your dominant hand, scrunch it up, twist once, and wrap it 1-2 times around your hand.

Style B – Arranged

See the pictures below.  Turn the tubular inside out, fold one edge all around to the other edge, and fold around once more. Slip it over the hand, twist it once, and surround your wrist with it about 1-2 times.

Did you know?  The first ever sweatband was invented in the late 1940s by Fred Perry, a British tennis player who won 3 consecutive Wimbledon Championships.

This configuration is helpful in keeping the sweat at bay and protecting your eyes from irritation, especially if you’re into jogging or other sports like martial arts, fitness, weight lifting, tennis, basketball, etc.

It’s pretty similar to the Wristband, but it goes around your head :)

Style A – Fast move

See the pictures below.  Slip the neck gaiter over your head and pull it down to your neck. Grab it with both hands, from the left and right side, scrunch it up, lift it over your face, and place it over your forehead.

Style B – Arranged

See the pictures below.  Same as style B from point 1, you just need to turn it inside out, fold one edge of the tubular over the other edge, repeat about 2 times, and simply pull it over your forehead.

Short history...  The first documented use of a headband dates almost 2500 years ago and was found in ancient Greece.

From the 15th till the mid of the 19th Century, ladies wore a metal headband encrusted with jewels or with a centerpiece pendant jewel. At that time, in Europe, this ornament was called Ferronnière (Eng: Ironworker), Bandelette (Eng: Strip), or Tour de Tête (Eng: Around the head).

In the early 20th Century medical headbands appeared, which were pretty popular among women. At that time, it was claimed that the item’s tight pressure helped with treating and preventing headaches.

They were popular in the 70s, and you’ve surely seen the headband style worn in movies like Rambo, Karate Kid, and in day-to-day life by Johnny Depp, Jimi Hendrix, and Axl Rose from Guns N’ Roses.

This one is very easy. It’s the same as the Headband, and you just have to place the tubular over your eyes. Wear it ruffled, or if you like it neater, then wear it as Style B from Wristband, folded once or twice.

It’s great to use when you’re trying to get some sleep and the sun is still out, or play a blindfold game with the children or even adults, to get some laughs, like Pin the Tail, Piñata, Hit the Target, Minefield, or Blind Man’s Bluff.

Alice band

It’s also called Hair Band or Headband. The style works for longer hair that you want to keep out of the way while you’re doing your thing. Same as the Headband, you can use:

Style A – Fast move

See the pictures below.  Pull the tube over your head and down to your neck, grab it from the left and right side with both hands, scrunch it, lift over your face, and place it at a distance of 1-3 inches from your hairline.

Style B – Arranged

As you already learned from Wristband and Headband styles, turn the gaiter inside out, fold the edge of the tubular over the other one, and repeat about 2 times. Pull it over your head and lift it over your hair.

Fun fact...  It’s said that the name “Alice band” originated around 1871, after the release of Lewis Carroll's novel Through the Looking Glass (the sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland), where the main character is depicted in an illustration wearing a ribbon, to keep away the hair from her face.

Fabric hair bands seem to be always in fashion. They were worn by movie actresses like Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot, and Princess Grace Kelly, and recently, celebrities like Eva Mendez, Janet Jackson, Jessica Alba, Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Katty Perry, and many more.

It comes in handy every time you need to tie your hair, but don’t have an elastic band with you. Just grab the tubular, wrap it 1-2 times around your wrist, and fasten the hair as you would with a regular scrunchy.

Let's laugh a bit... 

Some funny names the hair tie has - wondering where these came from 🤔… Binder, Bunchie, Chongo, Ding dong, Dodoggle, Doof, Dooflatchee, Gogo, Nubby-doo, Whiztinger.

It is believed that this style came originally from the Far East, where men and women wrapped a long fabric around their heads to protect from sunburn, dust, and sand.

How to wear the neck gaiter like a Foulard?

See the pictures below.  Simply pull it over your head, right down to your neck, then with both hands hold the upper edge of the tube, pull upwards over your face, and backward towards the back of your neck. This way you’re sliding the gaiter all over your face and hair, till the bottom edge reaches your forehead or hairline.

EXTRA uses >  You don't need to be a beauty buff (knowing everything there is about skin and hair), but it's easy to use this style every night when sleeping, so it can help you:

- limit the amount of sebum the hair leaves on your pillow. Rubbing the side of your face where the hair oils are, can get your skin pores clogged, thus making you more vulnerable to developing acne.

- guard from getting frizzy hair. We can't control our body movements when we're asleep, and shifting our head during the night against the pillowcase - especially if it's cotton - causes static and friction that results in flyaway frizz.

- protect your curly hair. Keep your curls for a longer time without pineappling. Just slide the tube over your face, towards your hair, in an upward motion. You can fit the curls inside the tube and fold the top edges under the forehead edge, somewhat similar to a turban. Some like to secure it by using bobby pins. On the next day revive the hair around the face with a bit of scrunch, or just remove the neck gaiter, fluff it, and go!

This style originated from the African-American culture. A genuine Do-rag is a close-fitted cloth or cap, worn to protect the hair, maintain oils in the hair, and protect curly, wavy hair and braids.

But in this case, a tubular gaiter worn in a way that’s similar to a Do-rag can protect your hair and head from wind, sand, and harmful UV rays.

How to wear the gaiter like a Do-rag?

It’s pretty much similar to Foulard, however this time the hair isn’t inside the tube, it's underneath the gaiter.

See the pictures below.  Scrunch up the tubular with both hands and pull it over your forehead. Pick up the upper edge of the gaiter, pull upwards, then backward towards the back of your neck.

Did you know?  The most straightforward origin of this name is that it’s called like that because it’s a rag worn to protect the hairdo.

There are many alternative spellings for do-rag, like durag, dew-rag, and doo-rag. You might find them spelled with a hyphen, or a space instead of a hyphen, or tied together.

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Stay tuned! More to come... Another 9 ways to wear your tubular neck gaiter will be discussed in Part 2 of the next blog post.

 

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Discover GOT® collection. Pick your favorite and Get out there!