Playing with Protective Styling Ideas: TWA Updos

As most of you can see, I dont protective style much although i'm trying to get back into a better routine of doing so, my problem mostly is that I'm tired of looking the same way, and a lot of other styles just aren't me...
 I can easily create a lot of twisted and braided styles to wear but with being conscious about my thin hairline/hair and just not liking the overall look.. I tend to lean towards more loose styling alternatives. Now don't get me wrong, I more than definitely plan to wear more twisted and braided styles, but the twist and braid looks I'm going for are looks that are on longer hair, because I'm not a fan of how most short braided and twisted styles look on me. I also must always keep in mind my personality and professional appearance when i'm styling my hair because as a hairstylist, my hair really reflects my talents and who I am.

I also keep having the problem of braiding my hair too tight and needing to take it out right away... I'm not a super tight braider, but i braid very secure for it to be neat, making sure every strand is accounted for, so by the end with all the braids together it starts to feel tight and I just can't take it. Last week I was going to try braiding my hair into a protective style but by the time I was done with 3 braids it was feeling tight already and  I couldn't do another.... so I decided to free-style the rest of the hairstyle with 

flat twists and hairpins.. lol

I didn't care about neatness in the "kitchen" (still don't know why its called that... Is it because that's where you keep the peas? Lol.. No seriously?) area, I just used my hands to flat twist, roll, pin and tuck what ever I felt and however it came out was surely how I was going to wear it. I added no extra products while doing this and my hair was done on an old twist out, which explains the bang area. 

I quickly made this style messy when I passed a hat vendor and came across this slouchy cutie which I immediately shoved on my head and wore for the rest of the day! The only thing is... since i wasn't wearing a bonnet, it dried my hair out a whole heck of a lot. Some oil treatments and a few DC's later... all is well with your majesty.

About 3 weeks ago, I had tried another protective style on my blown out hair that I loved! Without any holding product, just a little coconut oil, I parted and twisted my hair upwards with the intent of having a two strand flat twisted bun. It didn't really turn out to be a bun with my lack of length but I pinned it up and it looked cute. It's actually been one of my most favorite protective styles to date because it looks beautiful, can be dressed up or down,  and has barely any tension.  This quickly became messy too, because with short hair, loose puffy twists, and no holding product, it just  couldn't have lasted. I plan to revisit this style again soon, with some type of holding product and maybe a spin on the parting...  I've realized for myself that I may not be able to wear cornrows in my own hair for a little while because I can not stand the tension. I'm going to try to keep up the protective styling a little bit and experiment with a few styles here and there that may work for my lifestyle... Any suggestions? I'd love some great ideas for some new TWA updos!