Oh yes.. Definately Damaged..Many Times..
Beware ----LONG Story
When I was in college I started putting in my own relaxers. My hair was Armpit length(APL) then. I don't know if it was me or if it was the relaxer I used at the time(gentle treatment).
All I know.. is one day I looked and the whole half of my crown had broken off to ear length while the rest was still APL.
I was devastated to say the least and obviously hair could not be saved
So I cut it all off to a Halle Berry pixie cut and just started over. I cut it in summer 95 and by Jan 96 it grew out to earlobes. I still put in my own relaxers, so far it was fine.
So... I went to the salon just to have it trimmed a little to even it up.
Why did I walk out of there with another pixie cut and she had shaved off the back
Lawd..oh Lawd had to start all over again.
It was hell growing this out because I did not wear any type of protective styles. I had a shaggy do everyday
In Spr 97 finally made it a few inches past earlobes. I went to this salon I had heard of. Haitians. Best thing ever. $12 rollersets and $20 touchups. I had hair washed, set and dry wrapped every week while using Keraphix to deep condition. By Winter 97 I was back to APL.
Then hair got Damaged AGAIN
Winter 97 I moved from NY down to DC where I could not find a good stylist to save my life. By end of 98 I was brastrap but hair was dry,brittle, split ends etc I didn't have time to care for it or find out, I was working 50-60 hours a week.. so I had to start putting in own touchups again.
By end of 99, hair was breaking off again on the ends and ends were also frizzy. Not really bad like b4.
So I went to this salon Jan 2000.
She said because I was putting in my own touchups, half my hair was overprocessed and half was underprocessed.
She cut my hair from BSL to Neck Length(yes she did).
Then she said I had to come every single week and had to get a touchup every 4 weeks. So every single week she would cut my hair.,
Every 4 weeks she would put a touchup in it. My hair as thick as it was seemed like it was getting thin.
I went to her for an entire year and hair still did not grow.
i still had not reached shoulderlength by the next year 2001. I got fed up and said to her one day when she was getting ready to cut, that I didn't want a trim this week, I'm trying to grow my hair. Did you know she got loud with me in front of the entire salon. I just let her cut it, left and never went back.
I started just driving back up to NYC every other month to get my hair done I was desperate. I decided to spend more time on my hair too.
So by 2003 I finally found a stylist down here in DC(Dominican).
I only went to them for touchups. Definatley don't do my own touchups anymore
They were expensive $85 but at least my hair was doing and I was back to Brastrap 2004. I was getting touchups every 6 weeks.
Well AGAIN
I decided that price was just to costly and went to a cheaper salon that charged $65. They overprocessed my hair like crazy and it started breaking off at that line where relaxed meets new growth. NO WAY was I letting my hair be damaged once again. . I went to salon had them cut about 4 inches off. Then I went into babying mode. Hair was #1 Priority.
I looked online for hair sites. I found LHCF and BHM and started lurking, reading like crazy, read hair books.
No relaxers, nothing. Just babying my hair. I went on a 6 month relaxer stretch. I did an aphogee treatment which stopped the breakage immediately. It was frustrating at first but the best thing EVER for my hair because I found what really worked for my hair and what it takes. I finally found a steady Regimen, which I never ever had.
Now I only go to the salon for my touchups which I get every 3-4 months and get them whenever I go back up to NY now.
Sorry this was soooo long, I can't believe I just wrote that book