Where have I been? + protective style challenge pics

One month & 4 countries later, and I am feeling like I could do with another holiday... I was away for a few weeks and enjoyed every bit of our mini-tour of Europe. While I was travelling, taking care of my hair was actually easier than I imagined. I worried about it only in Italy where the temperatures soared to as high as 38 degrees, but thank God for water! It was probably the most important hair product for me during this trip; spritzing it on my hair every few hours kept it from drying out.

I also kept my hair in protective styles 80% of the time, which helped in minimising the time that I spent styling my hair.

This is what I packed in my travel bag: 
- Lots of bobby pins
- Spray bottle with wrap mousse
- Wide tooth and mid-tooth comb
- Denman brush
- 10 flexi-rods
- Shower cap
- Creme of Nature shampoo
- ORS deep conditioner (for me it works as moisturizing + protein so no need to carry another conditioner)
- Creme of Nature Leave-in Spray conditioner
- Some coconut oil in a small container
- Pura Body Naturals MuruMuru Moisture Milk - travel size bottle
- Shea butter 
- Hair clips, for separating my hair on wash days
- My Aphrodite Heating Cap (not in picture, which is really awesome by the way)

This bag weighed much less than my other cosmetic bag, which surprised me! The secret is to keep small bottles and sample packs that may come in handy if you are travelling and you want to pack light. I also packed only the items that I usually use on wash days + moisturizing days + 1 curly style. Everything else remained at home! 

Here are a few protective/ semi-protective styles I tried out as part of the 30-day challenge that Jen & Jay are hosting:

Some more pics:

I have singled out my favourite style of the holiday. I flat-twisted my hair overnight, and put my ends on about 6 flexi-rods. I will definitely be trying out this style again :-)

I am yet to do a post on my relaxer update & length check, which will be up by the end of the week...Ciao