they work great for me...i also never have heard of getting the blowout and a flat iron. once they run that blow dryer through your hair, you shouldn't need a flat iron. i found a girl who doesn't yank on my hair (then again, she has long healthy hair, so i think that has something to do with her lack of abuse) so i always ask for her. just DC and take a good heat protectant...you should be fine./
everything in moderation.
ITA with Everything in Moderation!! If you're going to the Dominicans every week or even every other week, then you may have some heat damage. I have gotten my hair done at an awesome Dominican salon in Atlanta for a couple of years now and I have always been VERY happy with the results. Now if you do not take care of your hair between visits, then you should expect damage from the heat. However, when you're going to get your hair straightened, you should take the initiative and do a deep condition to prepare your hair. Take care of your hair and you won't have to worry about it falling out! That's just my personal experience advice!
I actually used one of my heat passes and had a blowout this weekend. Usually I let them give me a deep condition, but due to time constraints, I applied deep conditioner that morning, went to a meeting under a wig, and then went to the salon that evening. She washed (the massages are GREAT!!), rollerset, sat me under a dryer until my hair was dry and bouncy, and then blowdried it straight. I asked her to wrap it (no flat iron) and went on my merry way. The results are below!
Again, I stress that there is nothing terribly wrong with getting your hair straightened if you are taking care of your hair between visits.