Yeah, I agree with the other ladies. I use a reconstructor when my hair starts to feel weak and when I see significant breakage. Just the other night I used Joico Reconstructor, I normally would have gone "hardcore" and used aphogee but they have changed their formula and the last time I used it I was not satisfied with the results. It's no longer the strong animal protein, it's hydrolized keratin now which is the same ingredient in Joico and since I love Joico products anyway I decided to go with that and it worked beautifully. And to answer your other question Yes, I do a D/C treatment afterwards under plastic cap with heat for about 20 - 30 minutes to counteract the drying effect of the protein.