Keeping your hair looking its best while traveling can be a challenge when you have curly hair. I've mentioned in past posts that it takes about five products to make my curls perfect. That's a lot to bring in your carry-on suitcase though when you can only have products under 3.5 ounces.

In the past, I've tried to only use the travel size products that I can find at Target out of convenience, but they just don't do my hair justice. It was worth it to me to purchase better products in miniature sizes and store them under my sink until my next trips. Here are my personal favorites:

AVEDA thickening tonic: I have really fine, thin hair. Even though my curls give me some volume, I really need to build volume at my roots. This tonic definitely helps me do that.

Bb Curl Spray: I have talked about this curl spray before (curly hair styling tricks), and it's a favorite primer of mine. While my hair is wet I spray this all over my head. It gives moisture and tackiness to my hair.

AVEDA Control Hairspray: You have to have a good hair spray when you travel. AVEDA makes my favorite hairspray because it smells SO good. Bad smelling hairspray just lingers everywhere you go, and you want to make sure you always smell good just as much as your hair looks good. Am I right?

AVEDA Shampure Dry Shampoo: Speaking of smelling good...This dry shampoo is my favorite smelling dry shampoo on the market. It's not an aerosol. It's simply a powder you sprinkle at your roots and it give your hair texture, body and the best smell in the world.

Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray: I always have to put sea salt spray in my hair. It gives my hair texture and volume like nothing else. This is the best one out there, and I've tried many. It's a bit pricey, but worth every penny.

Photography by Rennai Hoefer

All of my life I wore my hair up or straight because I didn't know how to style my natural curls in a way that didn't make me look like Ms. Frizzle (you know, that lady from the Magic School bus with the crazy red curly hair...). Curls are hard to style, and with so many different hair textures and curl types (ringlets, waves, corkscrews) it's hard to know which products are the best for my hair.

I have thin, fine hair and my curls are kinky with some straightness at the root with the curl showing up at the bottom. It's hard for me to get volume at the root when I using curl creams and anti-frizz serums, but they are a necessary evil to avoid the frizz. I have always had to settle for one and create volume with back combing and hair spray.

I have finally found a system that works really well, and it's the Bumble & Bumble BbCurl line. I use their Curl Primer, Curl Cream and Curl Mousse.

Here's my step by step process of how I create beachy, touchable, no-frizz curls...

1. After you have shampooed your hair, apply conditioner but avoid your roots. Take a wide-tooth comb and comb through your hair while still in the shower. Flip your head over and rinse out the conditioner by scrunching your curls over and over again.

2. Turn your shower off, step out and dry off your body, but AVOID towel drying your hair. Leave it sopping wet by simply wringing out the moisture with those curl scrunches upside down.

3. Layer your product: curl primer, curl mousse and curl cream. Apply to the hair in the continued scrunching motion with your head upside down.

4. Get your blow dryer, set it to the low setting and start drying your hair upside down. Cup the curls gently so that they don't blow everywhere, which can create frizz. It's going to take awhile, but blow drying your hair upside down with cupping the curls and occasionally scrunching them is going to bring out even more curl than you have ever seen before.

5. Once your hair is all of the way dry, flip your head upside down and shake your curls out. You might even want to bring your fingers to the root of your hair and do a little rub there to separate them a bit.

That's it! Tell me how it works for you and embrace those waves and curls!

Photos by Rennai Hoefer.