I didn't know this. But this makes sense because I have all kinds of texture left on my head after 8 passes of the flat iron. The 8 passes was an exaggeration. The pressing comb gets my hair silky straight. It gets all the bumpy texture off my hair. My hair seems soft and moist, too. With the flat iron, my hair seems dry, inflexible and dull looking.
@RossBoss ,
You have to be honest with yourself and make several choices. First, are you willing to live with heat damage? Because one thing is for sure, regular heat application will create some form of heat damage. That damage may be immediate or cumulative. It's inevitable as stated by
@mzteaze.
The next thing you have to ask yourself, and answer honestly is to determine what is more important to you: health of your hair or style. I love heat straightened hair. It looks cute while it's straightened but can you live with the possibility of damaging the length and health you have?
There is no right or wrong answer. But since you started your original post with mentioning a concern about the possibility of permanently damaging your hair, then perhaps you are not ready to take the risk. Because taking a risk is being willing to accept the consequences when things don't work out in your favor. In this case, that would be getting burned literally and figuratively and ending up with heat-damaged hair.