I think it's possible to get breakage afterwards, especially if some of the cones you were using weren't water soluble and completely coated your strands; like bimtheduck said, they can block out moisture, and the sulfate poo you use to get them out can further strip your already dry hair! I stopped using silicones and sulfates last December and it took about a month for my fine hair to get right and it felt like protein overload even though I hadn't used a protein product in a while. That's just how dry my hair was. I just started using sulfates again, by the way.