Help! Chi hair straightening system

Hi everybody,

My first time here.

I just got the chi hair straightening system done on my hair yesterday - you know, the permanent kind of hair straightening. Well, I wonder if I made a mistake in doing this.

First off, my bangs. I have bangs and have always had them. My hair stylist (who's actually a Chi trainer) told me that my bangs would "relax and become normal in the next few days". But so far, they're just doing some wild stuff, going all sorts of directions and not relaxing straight down (instead they're going straight out). I'm hoping that I'm just panicking too soon on this one.

Secondly, my hair feels & looks SOOOO very thin now. I used to have natural curly hair, which gave my hair body and a thickness, even when I straightened my hair with a rod everyday after blow drying. I'm scared that I'm going to now look like I hardly have any hair, like it's thinning or something. I know that I can curl it just like I could before, but will it ever get back some thickness?

Lastly, and this will probably just take time, but my scalp feels very weird. It feels hard, like my skin isn't soft anymore around the cuticles. It's almost like I've got this thin, tight cap on my head where the hairs come out. Feels strange!

Is there anyone else out there that has had this procedure done? Has anyone heard any bad stories? Am I worrying about nothing? I love my hair when it's straight, never could hang with the natural curl. But after spending $500 on this procedure and hoping it would be the "cure" for my frizzy/nasty hair days, I'm really scared that I didn't do enough research before getting it done. *sighs*

Thanks for listening.

~Paisleygirl

Ok, here's an update.

My bangs are starting to get back to a normal state. The skin doesn't feel tight any longer like it did. I still have the very flat look going on, not much body to my hair, but I'm wondering if that's due to another problem I've discovered since I last posted.

The problem I'm now having is that when I feel the base of the hairs, in certain spots they feel very weird. Like they're hard, or bunched up (like hairs that are knotted together) or like they are wirey. I had my husband look at those areas that feel like that. He pulled out one of the hairs from those spots and the hair is bent at the base, and all of the other hairs in those areas are bent as well. It's about a quarter of a inch of the hair that's bent. It's not like that all over, but in a lot of areas it is.

I think my stylist might have messed up somehow. It's been 5 days now and I don't think it should feel like this.

I'm guessing since no one's responded to my post that they've not had the Chi transformation system done before.

Does anyone know of any other hair links out there that have advice? I've gone out to the Farouk website to see if I could find something and I couldn't. I've search around for other sites and I'm coming up short.

Thanks!!
Paisleygirl

Ok, I'm gonna start crying now. I do thank you for your response, but this is really scaring me.

I'm not sure how to describe my hair before I went in for this. It had been about 3-4 months since my last coloring. I've used this lady and she's always done a great job and uses Farouk System products to color my hair. I had about 1 inch of grey hair when I went in last Tuesday. It wasn't all that unhealthy. It did have more split ends than it has had in a while just because I didn't go in for a trim since my last coloring (which was 3-4 months ago). But I use Farouk Biosilk products for my hair and to me it was only dry on the ends because of the splits, which weren't all that horrible. My hair is long and down to my back (bra line), however we took about 2 inches off after the straightening/coloring.

Wow, I just can't believe this. I wonder what, if anything, could be done. I just can't believe it...

thanks again for your response, even though it was bad news....

oh, and no I don't know what formula they used on me.

Ok, so do you think she overprocessed the coloring on my hair or was it when she did the straightening? Also, is this something where I should ask for my money back? I paid $500 for the straightening and $70 for the coloring. Something like this has never ever happened to me before...*sighs*

Paisleygirl

I think you're right. I've been reading some information from Vincent J's website about bent hairs and Chi, etc. From what they say, stylists using the Chi system aren't really trained well compared to other TR systems. '

I remember that she put the solution on all of my hair at the same time. She would come back every now and then and take one hair (from the back, same place each time) and do something with it, I guess testing it to see if it was ready. She did this like 2-3 times, each time saying I needed like 5 more minutes. She did not do the front vs. the back separately, but all at the same time.

The scarey thing is, she is certified by Farouk to do training for them for Chi (as well as coloring). I'm SO disappointed in myself for not doing the research like I should have done before getting this done. From what I've been reading, Chi is definitely not a trusted TR system with lots of unhappy customers.

I seriously do not like the way my hair looks right now. Because of all the bent hairs on top of my head, my hair just doesn't look good. I don't trust going back to her for her to fix it, although I may, I just don't know what I'll do. I tried calling her today, but her shop is closed. ~sighs sadly~

I'm in Texas. I've been using her for 2 years, and she mentioned the Chi system one day and I got very excited about the prospect of having straight hair all the time. I just didn't research it like I should have.

I'm ordering some products from vincentj that will deep condition my hair and give it some protein. Some people have mentioned that they did not have breakage after using these products (Crede shampoo/cond, PPT ID Care, Heatsilk). Hopefully they'll help.

My question is, I will have to get the bent hairs fixed, won't I? Because as they grow out, if they do not break off at the stress point, the bend will still be there, correct? I just don't think I should get another chemical treatment so quickly after the first. But, how long should I wait?

Thanks for all the info and help Cosmogirl!
Paisleygirl

Thanks again Cosmogirl. :) I'm thinking that for now I'm just going to really condition and protein my hair and try to take care of it and let it go back to it's original natural curly state. I'll wait and see how breakage goes. I'm really bummed. I'm always putting my hair up in ponytails or clips, etc and I can't even do that because it's so fragile. It's just so frustrating.

Anyhow, thanks again for your reponses. It seems pretty quiet on these boards. Glad someone's out there to listen and respond.

Paisleygirl

Paisleygirl

I am so sorry to hear about your problem with the treatment. I certainly hope things improve for you. We are all pulling for you! I didn't answer your first message because I am totally unfamiliar with the Chi process and read the postings from Cosmogirl with great interest.

Cosmogirl
The description of the Chi process sounds very similar to the Yuko system. Is it? I have seen several Yukos and most were terrific but a few left the hair in terrible condition. The results seem to depend on the experience and talent of the stylist. (Haven't we heard heard that one before?) I do appreciate your informative posts. Thanks!!

Thanks for the well wishes Merlin.

I wish there was some site that listed the differences between all the different straightening systems. I know that Chi states their system being unique since they use Silk with "Cationic Hydration Interlink", and using negative ions & ceramic irons. My stylist swears that Chi is NOT like the others(the japanese systems)...~shrugs~

Dunno if that helps at all...

I hopefully have a little good new for you..I had Liscio straightening on my hair about a year ago and absolutely LOVED it. However, instead of sticking with what worked, I went with the Phyto Specific relaxer with horrible results. The same experience you had with "bends" near the roots, and it fried about 4 inches off the bottom of my hair - it looked and felt like seaweed mush.

After weekly protein treatments and deepconditioning at home every other night, my hair FINALLY stopped feeling like doll hair after about 2 weeks. I tried to lay off my blowdryer as much as possible to give my hair a break, and I never experienced the breakage that my stylists felt were imminent.

I ended up getting a sassy shag cut to hide my hair blunder, and it actually ended up being a really cute cut! Nothing that I would have done had I not had the hair disaster, but it definately was something good that come of it.

My advise..don't cry over split milk. Do all of the things you are in getting your hair healthy again, but in the meantime, try a new cut since your hair is thin/flat now anyway!

btw..the CREED products work fantastic, as does Kerastase.

Paisleygirl

Actually, that does help. I have used Chi irons in the past (not presently) but didn't know they had a straightening system. I will have to get back up to speed.

I wish there was a web site that discussed the various systems too. I did find an article at beautywalk.com by our own Karen Shelton that discusses chemical hair straighteners quite well (it is in three parts so click the other sections at the bottom of the page - you will also related articles there that you might find interesting).

http://www.beautywalk.com/beauty/january03/Chemical_Hair_Straightening_Faqs.htm

I hope your conditioning regime is showing improvement in your hair and that all will be well very soon. Hang in there! We're rooting for you!

Wanted to give an update. It'll be 3 weeks from tomorrow since my Chi TR.

Unfortunately my hair is breaking off from the bends and coming out at the roots. It's been getting gradually worse. It's especially bad on the days that I style it after shampooing. I'm losing lots of hair!

I'm very careful with my hair, and have been doing protein treatments, etc - but I guess it's just not helping as much as I had hoped.


~Paisleygirl

OH NO! I am SO sorry to hear about your hair loss. Keep up the protein treatments - think how much worse it would be if you weren't doing them. Have you spoken with the shop? The least they can do is refund your money. Not a solution to your problem but SOME satisfaction.

Hang in there. We're all pulling for you!!

Heidi,

Thanks for your well wishes! :)

Just so you know, my stylist is certified with Chi and she actually trains other stylists on how to perform Chi across the U.S. So...I'm not really sure what happened, but I guess even those who train others can make mistakes. She said it's possible that she got the solution too close to my scalp and/or ironed my hair wrongly.

My strong opinion is that she left the solution on too long to my hair. I remember she came back 2 times after the initial time limit for the solution and did something with one of my hairs on the back of my head, testing it I guess, and told me I needed to bake about 5 more minutes. Hmmm or was it longer, I can't remember now. I just know it was two separate times she said I needed to sit longer. Which by the way, most of the hairs in the back (where she tested) are totally fine with no bends except for the very top and the nape. From what I hear, Chi's solution is thinner than other types and if it sits too long on your hair or is too close to the scalp, body heat (from it sitting too long) can cause the solution to be sucked into the scalp. I truly feel this is what happened to me. I knew something wasn't quite right, because after she completed my hair and styled it, most of my head (especially the areas of my hair that are now bent on the top and sides) felt VERY tight! It was if I had a helmet on...or better yet, it felt like my head had some kind of facial mask on it , you know the kind that pull and stretch your skin where it feels tight. That to me is proof alone that the solution got too close to my scalp. I had even mentioned this to her after she styled my hair, at how tight it felt and weird. It took 1 to 2 days for that to go away.

Anyhow, sorry, I'm rambling too much now. I just wanted to let you know more about my situation. :) I'm hanging in there and trying not to panic. Hairs are continuing to break, but I'm hoping it'll stop soon.

I'm glad to hear your experience was positive. I've done tons of searching about TR's since mine 3 weeks ago, and believe me, Chi seems to have the most horror stories out there from botched jobs. I really don't feel like Chi does enough training for their stylists. That, plus I don't believe it's as good of a system as others like Liscio.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy your new hair!! :)
~paisleygirl

Michelle,

I'm sorry to hear that you've had breakage too. It's been 6 weeks since my CHI TR and I've had tons of breakage from the damaged bent hairs and it's continuing to break off. I've got patches of small little hairs on the top and one side of my head. Luckily I have somewhat thick hair, plus I have some long hairs that are kinda hiding the patches of broken hairs, so for now no one would notice just by looking at me (unless they looked closely at my hair). However, the long hairs that are left that are hiding the patches are also damaged with sharp 90-degree bends and I'm afraid before long they'll break off (which by the way, my bends are at about 1 inch from the root right now). It'll be interesting to see what happens, especially once all those 1 inch hairs start growing out longer (which btw, I have long hair to mid back). I'm still not freaking out yet, or at least not trying to. I've definitely lost alot of hair and if it wasn't for my semi-thick hair, I'd probably look pretty bad because of the thin-ness. But for now it's not horrible, even though it is frustrating.

About the products. Here's what I've been using. I use the PPT ID Care for a protein treatment - if you have damaged hair then use it once every two weeks, if you have normal hair then use once a month. This is a very important product to have. Then I've been using Redken's Extreme Shampoo & Conditioner as well as Redken's All Soft Conditioner, Heavy Cream Conditioner, Addictive, and Anti-snap. I love these products and kinda change them out depending on what I feel that I need. My favorite is the Addictive. It works wonders. The bottle says to rinse it out, however I find that if I use about 3-4 squirts on my wet hair and leave it in and style that it gives my hair LOTS of bounce and body, and shine. Although, because my hair is damaged (some of the hair that's bent is actually splitting near the bend and then breaking off) it still doesn't look so great the day after shampoo/styling (i wash every other day), so no matter what products I use, my hair still ends up looking dry and dull right before I wash again. It may just take some time before my hair can really get healthy again (although I'm sure if I was faithful in taking my vitamins and eating right that that could help some...) Some people rave about the Crede products, however I won't use their shampoo because it's got sodium hydroxide in it which is Lye (look at a Draino bottle!!). Also I've read some negative responses in addition to all the positives on Crede.

Anyhow, those are the products I've been using. I would mainly suggest you get some protein into your hair so that it can become strong and repair itself. Keep us posted! Good luck to you!
~Paisleygirl

Janet,

I'm glad you've waited before getting a TR. Trust me, there are lots out there that have successful TR's and absolutely love their hair. If it wasn't for my damaged bent hairs, my hair would have been one of those cases because it is definitely straight. I love how quickly it takes for me to style my hair now, especially when blow drying - it really cut down on the time for styling, however now I use hot rollers more than I ever have because I want more volume than my straight hair now gives me. I personally don't like the plastered-down, flat looking straight hair on myself...on others it looks great though.

But if you are wanting to wear your natural curl at times and then go straight at other times, then I would suggest that you not get a TR/permanent straightening system done. I wouldn't miss my natural curl, so I didn't hesitate on that, however initially I regretted getting my TR (besides the damage issue) because I did miss my volume that my natural curl gave me - after the TR it seemed SO flat and lifeless. It's gotten better over time and doesn't seem so flat, only because I'm styling it different now. But I would imagine that you would miss your natural curl too much for you to put a permant chemical treatment on your hair.

I really don't know what to suggest for you. I never found any products that helped my hair not to frizz up or kink up in humidity. I could use products to get my hair straight when styling, but at the first sign of moisture my bangs and hair would start curling up.

I wish I could be of more help...good luck.
~Paisleygirl

Hi paisleygirl, i am experiencing what you are going through with hair breakage and bent hair from the straightening system. please tell me what you did to improve the situation of your hair. how is your situation going as well!

thanks, ally

Hi Ally,

I'm SO sorry to hear that you're going thru this as well!!

Here's an update on my hair. It's been about 4.5 months since my TR. My hair ended up getting tons of patches of short hairs, from where the hair broke off at the bends. My hair started breaking off around week 2, then the worst of it was around week 4. It continued until around week 6 or 7. Now, I only see the ocassional broken hairs - but they do still break off. I've not done anything to "fix" my bends chemically or to get them straightened. In fact, I've not colored or done anything chemically to my hair since last October. And boy am I in need of some hair color with my greys!! :-0 I've kinda been leary of doing anything to it since it was in pretty bad shape there for a while. The dryness has gotten better (thanks to some of the products I'm now using I believe). All of the broken patches can be seen if I show someone, but outright they're not horrible looking. I just thank God that I have thick hair because I've lost TONS of volume. Also, I'm so thankful for one patch of hairs on top in the middle that hung in there and didn't break off because they help hide my broken patches. If it weren't for them I'd be bawling most days from nappy hair! But all in all, my hair doesn't look horrible. My regrowth is over 2 inches now - the broken bang hairs that I got are about grown out to be the same length as my other bang hairs. I've had to cut off about 6 inches or so since my TR. I unfortunately still see lots of split ends and will probably have to get even more cut off to get all of the dead hair trimmed off.

Anywho, that's my update. Hope ya don't regret asking for it!

There are some suggestions that I would recommend you do to help your hair. Questions though - when did you get your TR? What system was it? When did you notice the bends - do you know what the stylist did wrong? Have you seen breakage? Just curious about what you've been going through.

Anyway, here's some of these things I did when I found out I got the bends, however some of it I didn't know about til later (sure wish I had known about some of it sooner than I did, maybe I could have saved my hair some). Here's my recommendations:

1. Make sure you get some protein treatments. Products such as PPT ID Care, Redken's Deep Fuel, Rene Furterer's Okara Hair repair treatment mask, or Frederic Fekkai's protein RX Hair Mask are some good products. Some are used different than others. PPT Id Care should only be used once every 3-4 weeks for damaged hair. I believe others you can use more regularly. If your stylist will do complimentary deep-conditioning treatments on your hair (complimentary of course since they botched your hair), I would highly recommend doing them about once a month.

2. You need deep moisturizing shampoo & conditioners. I regularly use Redken Allsoft Shampoo & Conditioner or Yuko Phiten Bella Shampoo & Treatment. There are other good brands out there.

3. Jojoba oil!!!!!! This is wonderful for dry hair or for lubricating the bends so that they don't split or break off. You can probably use other types of hair oil as well. I know of someone from the Lovely Loon forum who got the bends last summer and she's not gotten much breakage at all, possibly because of using this product (as well as taking great care of her hair). Some people douse this in their hair and sleep in it overnight (with a towel on your pillow) and then shampoo like normal. It's really helped my hair since I've been using it. I don't see the dryness like I did before.

4. Be gentle and take care of your hair. Don't tug, don't use tight ponytails, don't use clips if you can help it, don't use a brush on your hair while it's wet. Try to use a wide toothed pick to brush your hair - it'll run thru your hair smoother and won't tug on those dry/bent areas.

5. Get regular hair trims.

6. Taking vitamins and being healthy probably helps too! :)

I hope this advice helps. I've not really found a whole bunch of people who have tried to get their bended hairs chemically "fixed" or straightened - at least successfully. It's possible that fixes can be done, but if you even try one I'd recommend you wait at least 4-5 months or even longer for your hair to grow out from the scalp as well to try to get it more healthy. I decided that it's too risky for me to try to get them fixed since I've had so much breakage and the other hairs that haven't broken yet don't need any manipulation done to them cuz they'll probably break off as well. I'm not even sure if I'll ever get a TR again. I love having straight hair and it takes SO much less time getting my hair ready - but not sure it's worth it. If I do decide to get another TR, I'll probably travel to NYC or Toronto to some experts I've heard of that work there - but of course that means lots of $$$.

I wish you the best and hope you don't see breakage. Keep us posted!

Take care,
Paisleygirl

hi Paisleygirl! thank you so much for your suggestions. in reply to your questions i got my TR done early january and im not too sure what the system was. i regret not researching on the TR system before i got my hair done. i believe the stylist left the chemicals on too long approx 30 mins. i only had little knowledge of what the process involved. i also believe the stylist ironed my hair flat down and not at the right angle which is 90 degrees from the scalp i think. i believe that caused my bends. i noticed them only a few days after i got the procedure done and it felt weird like shaved hair. i then noticed that it was breaking off at the bent part because there are splits at the bent parts. did you notice that too? there is one part at the back of my head where there are little hairs sticking up and thank goodness thats the only part on my head. i am using the redken products because i can't find ppt id care in australia.

it took me ages to find what the problem with my hair was and stumbled across a website called verticalsinhair by steve tcherkezian who explained about bends in straightened hair. so its been 2.5 months now and my hair is not breaking much unless i tug at it real hard which i will not intend to do.

i was wondering what style you did with your hair while waiting for it to grow out because mine looks awful like i have a square on my head when i leave it out. i totally wish my hair would grow faster and go back to normal. i miss the natural way the roots look not like the squarish look i have!

do you recommend other websites or forums i should visit? thanks again for your reply and reading this loooooooooong msg!

hope all goes well for you and keep us updated on your situation as well!

ally

Hi Paisley Girl,
I just finished reading all the postings about your Chi hair straightening experience and it''s really helped me alot! I went for a haircut a few weeks ago and my hairstylist was totally trying to sell me on this system. I was having doubts about it and I think after reading about your experience, I not going to get it done. He said he was giving me a "deal" at $400 :-). I''m sorry about your bad experience, but by putting in on the net, I''m sure you''ve prevented alot of others from going through this same thing, me included! So thanks alot for sharing your experence.

I see that it''s been a while since your last posting - how''s your hair now?

OKAY, I AM IN YOUR EXACT BOAT. I JUST HAD THE CHI STRAIGHTENING 3 WEEKS AGO AND MY HAIR IS COMPLETELY BREAKING OFF AT THE SCALP. I HAVE LONG HAIR, THE MIDDLE OF MY BACK AND NOW HAVE A BALD SPOT RIGHT OVER THE MIDDLE OF MY FOREHEAD THAT IS CONTINUING TO MOVE BACK. EVERY LITTLE BEND IS BREAKING OFF AND I AM ABOUT TO JUST VOMIT. IT LOOKS LIKE IT HAS BEEN A WHILE SINCE YOU HAD THIS, WHATEVER ENDED UP HAPPENING? DID IT EVENTUALLY STOP BREAKING AND IF SO, HOW SOON? HOW HAS THE GROWING OUT BEEN? AM I GOING TO BE BALD IN ANOTHER WEEK? HELP!!!

i had the chi treatment done six months ago and my hair is still breaking off and falling out. i had to threaten to sue her for her to give me my money back. i have bent hairs all over. immediatly after the procedure some hairs at my part were totally broken off at the scalp. my hair looks so thin now. i have had it cut 5 times in 6 months. i even had to go to a dermatologist. i wonder if nioxin would help me, but i do not want it to make it worse. i called the chi compnay and they told me that i should still use the chi shampoo, conditioner and inusion. so i have been. i am scared if i stopped that my hair would fall out more.

i definitly will not ever use any chemicals on my hair again. my hair has was virgin hair. and because my stylist was careless and did not do a strand test and left the product on too long, my hair is fallling out at age 32.

MONIQUE, I AM 32 AS WELL. I AM AT 5 WEEKS AND THE HAIRLOSS IS INSANE. I HATE TO HEAR THIS FAR INTO IT THAT YOU ARE STILL LOSING HAIR. HOW LONG WAS YOUR HAIR TO START. WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE GROWING OUT? DID YOU END UP GETTING YOUR MONEY BACK? I HAVE NOT ASKED YET BUT I GUESS I SHOULD. TO ME IT ISN'T ABOUT THE MONEY IT IS ABOUT GETTING MY HAIR FIXED. I DON'T USE THE CHI SHAMPOOS, I AM USING KERASTASE, PPT ID, CREDE AND REDKIN. NOTHING SEEMS TO BE HELPING. IT IS ABSOLUTLEY BREAKING MY HEART.

my hair is very thin now. at my hair line in the front it looks like i have a lot of baby hairs that go a couple of inches back. i have stopped putting it in a pony tail. my hair was in the middle of my back when i got it done. it is now at my shoulders and i am thinking of getting it cut even shorter, because it looks so thin. i have talked to different proffesionals and a dermatologist and they say there is nothing that you can do, but just wait for it to grow back. your hair usually grows about 1/2 inch a month. that is not very fast considering how long my hair was.

i am still considering the nioxin. does anyone know anything about this?

i finally got my money back plus a little more after settling with her insurance company. i was told by the chi company that a strand test is required on all straightners. she did not do a strand test on my hair. also she started the solution at my scalp and worked done. your scalp produces heat, which will make the product work more, which apparently fried my hair, because she left it on too long.

good luck.

Hey gals! I was actually trying to find a salon that does this starightening system to hair because I am do for a update on it. It has been about 6 months since my friend did the farouk japanese straightner on my hair. I absolutely LOVED it. I had extremley thick hair and it was very curly as well as having been bleached. So, while it did make my hair a lot thinner - I liked it; didnt even make it any unhealthy. It was actually her first time doing it, but she did a great job. She just watched some video and made notes throughout, so I guess I got lucky that it came out so good. It really sounds like she did overprocess your hair paisleygirl. My friend that did it mentioned that leaving it on too long was a HUGE mistake and she was being EXTRA careful not to do that. If she even had the time to check back a few times then it sounds like it was on way too long. Like I said, I LOVED the straightner and I am now trying to find a salon that will do it near me(raleigh, nc). I just dont want to pay $500 or more to get it done. I was spoiled my friend that only did it for cost of product. If anyone knows where to buy the product along with an instructional video - please let me know! Thanks! And by now, I hope you hair is doing better paisleygirl! O - BTW, the hairdresser that first responded to paisleygirl - you sound very well educated on it and I would love to know where you are located to see if it is near me!

Whoa... I was curious about this system, I have slightly curly hair, and I usually use irons to get it straight. The stylist I asked about this said it was completely safe and does not stress the hair at all; since I have just managed to get my hair healthy and nice again after a rather generous cut I was cauchious about trying it, not being able to beive there was a perm that didnt damage the hair at all...So I descided to research a bit, and Im glad I did! After reading this; - no chi for me!

Gosh, it's been a while since I posted here. Sorry to leave y'all hanging there some. The 20/20 article on TR's tonight prompted me to come back here.

Here's an update. My hair continues to break off, not like it used to, but from time to time I'm still amazed at how it continues to break and I'll see multiple hairs in my hand when running my hand thru it. The broken hairs have definitely grown out - they're probably about 5 inches long or so now, but I have lots of huge clumps of broken hairs.

It's most noticeable (to me and hair stylists, not to others who don't know any better) on the top, sides and crown of my hair. I think it looks worst on the top side and crown of my hair. Thank GOD I have/had thick hair - otherwise I would have been a basket case long before now. My hair is so thin on one side of my head. I luckily didn't have the bald patches like some people have gotten from bad TR's.

I'm doing better now than I used to. I'm still not happy with how my hair looks because it "ripples" where the clumps of short hairs meet the long hairs - if that makes sense. Eventually it'll get long enough & to the point of me feeling comfortable to get shorter layers to help blend in those broken off areas.

I did get my money back from my stylist, and because of what happened to my hair she no longer does TR's. She felt awful that this happened to me and she still doesn't understand what she did wrong.

I know that people have successful TR's and there's lots of happy customers, but I doubt I will ever get another TR in my lifetime. Wishing for straight hair all of the time was not worth all of this pain and suffering I've been through. I can't believe it's already been almost 10 months since my TR.

For any others who have damage from TR's - don't believe what the Chi company tells you in buying only their Chi shampoo/cond/etc products. Get yourself some good products that will give you both moisture & protein. Be gentle and nice to your hair - try to avoid any chemicals being put on your hair for a while.

Here's some products that I use and would recommend. I believe they've helped keep my hair from becoming like straw and even more damaged:

Redken All Soft line (moisture)
Phi-tenbella Repair Shampoo/Treatment (moisture)
Redken Smooth Down line (moisture, esp Butter Treat)
Rene Furter - Okara Repairing Treatment Mask (protein conditioner)
ID Care PPT (very deep protein - need info to use since it's intense protein - also need moisture when using this)
Jojoba Oil (for dry/brittle hair, leave in overnight then shampoo - other oils are available too I think)
Heat Silk Lotion (heat protectant when blow drying, ironing)
Redken Anti-Snap (leave in conditioner for fragile hair)

I hope this continues to help others out there. Happy hair days!