what do you think is more damaging?

[cameragirl21]

ok, so i have really thick curly hair, it's not super curly anymore from years of straightening but it's prone to getting frizzy, especially in the South Florida humidity.
i used to blow it straight with a round brush and that would take an hour, literally, i stopped doing it because at some point i ran out of patience...i don't see myself doing that again, except for special occasions, i just don't have the time or patience anymore.
so then last summer i chemically straightened it, which, outside of smelling awful (the smell eventually went away but during the process, boy did it reek) turned out really nice, it was really straight but still had body and even if i didn't blow dry it still looked nice and if i did blow dry it looked awesome.
the other option is the ionic style (kind of like Japanese) straightening which would cost about $500 because i have really long hair. i hear it's less damaging but i'm not sure...my hair grows really fast and it's curliest up at the very top, at least that's the area that drives me the most nuts so it would grow out fairly soon and it's kind of expensive.
the other option is a flat iron...i saw one yesterday at bed, bath and beyond that was about 90 bucks and it had steam so they say it actually locks in moisture as opposed to drying hair out.
i really want one of the 3, i'm getting tired of slicking back my hair at the top. i just am uneasy about hair damage because in all fairness, God has blessed me with nice hair and i see no point in ruining it. i'm hesitant to do the chemical straightening again because i'm afraid it causes a lot of damage, although my hair seems fine, i don't see any damage from it and another hair stylist who checked out my hair said that i could do highlights if i want, that there was no visible damage (this was within a week of the chemical hair straightening last year) so maybe she just wanted to sell me highlights (i didn't ask her about color, was just worried about having chemically straightened my hair) or maybe there really is no damage, it really does look and feel fine.
the other option is the ionic, but is it really less damaging? it costs more than twice the price of the chemical kind.
and as for the flat iron, for those of you who use it daily, is it drying out your hair? do you also color? i don't color (anymore, i haven't highlighted in at least a year, probably more) and have no immediate plans to but if you can color and flat iron daily and your hair doesn't feel like straw then probably the flat iron isn't too damaging. also, can you flat iron the very top, which as i said is my worst spot?
i should probably ask a hair stylist but i'm worried they'll just try to sell me whatever it is that they do. any thoughts on this...and/or experiences?

[Hillbilly Housewife]

I have extremely curly thick hair.

I use a ceramic flat iron. It was about 60$ at Walmart. It works fairly well. It's still a little poofy... but not anywhere near the poof I'd get when I'd blowdry it straight with a round brush, which would take me an entire afternoon.

Even now - my hair is just at my shoulders - it takes me about 1 1/2 hours if my hair is slightly damp, and it takes me about 40 minutes if my hair is dry.

I want to do the chemical straightening though.... it iwll cost baout 600$ for me the first time, ten about 250 every few months to keep it up. Very worth it, considering how much I hate my curls.

Oh - and I don't wash my hair every day. I wash it with shampoo and conditioner twice a week, unless I've been really sweating or something, and two extra times with just water. So my hair gets "wet" 4 times a week, or every two days really, with every 4th day they get soaped up. If I shampoo more often, my hair gets really dry, since shampoo removes the natural oils from your hair and scalp... and obviously if I was it less, they get TOO oily, and they look dirty.

[coasterqueen]

My stylist thinks chemical straightening would be better in the long run. I just don't want to go that route, sorta freaks me out. She tried talking me into it, but I haven't given in yet. I LOVE my Chi iron and don't think I want to give it up either.