I realized a while ago that I had to do something about being stressed out all the time - and also found out that I'm probably a Highly Sensitive Person. I never even knew this existed, but now I feel a little more understood and I can understand myself a little better.

Today I installed the app Sit-Ups, highly recommended for couch-potatoes like myself! I laid down on the grass in the back-yard and decided to give it a try. And I did 15 sit-ups! It wasn't hard at all! Never thought I could've done that, to be honest. After my 'victory', I decided to do something I've wanted to do for a while: to meditate.

I started with sitting cross-legged, and imagining that my head was connected to a silk thread, sitting up straight. Closing my eyes, I started to think of all my body parts, from my toes to my knees, from my knees to my hips, etc. As I got to my knees, I could feel the muscles in my toes starting to relax in a way I've never really felt them relax before. If you notice you're getting distracted, getting too many thoughts, you can focus on your breathing as well. Think 'breathe in' and 'breathe out', and you'll notice that you'll start to hear the sounds outside.

I researched a few minutes on the internet before I started to meditate. It's different for everyone, you can meditate while lying down if you prefer.

After a while, I started to hear sounds I never really noticed before, birds singing far away, the little sounds the water in the pond makes, wind through the tiny leaves and through the grass, and almost all of my internal chatter faded away. I felt almost one with the nature.

When 'waking up', I wiggled my toes and fingers, and started moving other body parts before opening my eyes. When I opened my eyes, I realized I'd almost forgotten where I was and was surprised to see the back-yard. Quite funny, actually.

Definitely doing this again soon.

About a month ago I discovered the "No 'poo" method on Pinterest. I repinned this article and started reading. I have to say, it sounded too good to be true. I have dull, straight hair that gets greasy after one day and I really wanted it to change. So I started researching about it on other blogs. After a day of research, I thought I should just try: what was there to lose anyway?
Because I dyed my hair a light blonde, I use lime/lemon juice instead of the Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV). Lime/Lemon juice lightens the hair and ACV seems to darken the hair, or that was what I'd read.

And so I tried. I went cold-turkey, no shampoo, just washing my hair with water and rinsing it with the lemon-water mix. It was quite funny, actually. When I washed my hair with water only, it still felt weird and greasy-like, but when I poured the lemon/water mix over my hair, it immediately felt different. I left it in for about one minute before washing it out.

The third time washing No 'Poo, I started using the Baking Soda (well, since we don't have your Baking Soda in The Netherlands, I used Zuiveringszout, which is basically the same thing, but more expensive, sigh).

It felt so weird, washing my hair with something that didn't make my hair feel soft or foams when you massage it onto your scalp. My hair still felt greasy and when I rinsed it out, it still didn't feel clean. After rinsing my hair with the lemon-water it felt softer and less greasy. 

I let it dry by air - no blow-drying seeing as this makes the hair greasy - and it actually felt okay. On my scalp it was still greasy, but it didn't look as greasy as it felt. 

This is normal and it's all explained in the article I linked in the beginning of this post. This stage usually takes a few days to weeks. Try not to wash your hair, just wait 3-4 days before washing it again or the transition stage will take longer (at least, that's what I read at other blogs). For me, it lasted for about one week before it started to look better. It was thicker and  no longer greasy, but it did feel dry and hay-like. 

I just went on and I have to admit it got a little bit better, but it still felt extremely dry and not soft at all.The last two times I didn't have any Baking Soda, so I just washed it with water and used the lemon-water mix. I have to say, my hair looks a lot better now. It's all soft and it has volume!

Also: I noticed that it grows quite fast! Faster than I'm used to, anyway!

 (excuse my roots!!)

This was January, when I still washed it with shampoo. 

What do I use?

I just wash it with water.

The lemon/lime juice rinse:

Lemon: 1 lemon, squeeze this lemon and put it in a cup. When showering, fill the cup with the warm shower water and carefully pour it over your head - if it comes into your eyes, it burns like hell. I usually start on the higher back of my head and pour it over the length of my hair, and the sides of my head. I always have something left and pour it over the rest of my head. Massage it in if you want to, and let it sit in for as long as you want to (just try whatever works out best). Rinse! Tadah!

Lime: I use this cute bottle. This is way more concentrated, so I use less. Just pour a bit of it in your cup, and do the same as you do with the lemon. Have fun!