cant style w/o heat...HELP!!!

Hi everyone,
okay w/o wanting to sound like a hair appliance junkie i just want to say that it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to style my hair without using heat on it. I am an african american with 4c texture hair (so kinky that there is no detectable curl or wave pattern in hair). I have been blowdryer free since October 2004, however even with my hair chemically straightened using a sodium hydroxide (lye) relaxer my hair is still only about a 4a texture. I have to use a flat iron if i want my hair to be truly straight. Leaving it this texture is not a viable option for me. My hair is extemely thick and i am extremely tenderheaded, so it can take me 4-6 hours to style my hair when it wasnt chemically straightened.
That being said, i just wanted to know if i could achieve long hair despite the chemicals and heat. In case any of you havent noticed there arent many black people with long, REAL hair. My current regimen includes at leat an hour of deep conditioning every three to four days. And i shampoo about every two weeks. So you see i flat iron my hair every three to four days.
ANY info on conditioners, heat protectors, and vitamins will be of great help to me...


On a positive note, i will say that since i have been doing research on what my hair needs instead of just doing what i see most females with hair texture like mine are doing it has improved tremendously. I do think that adding vitamins will help though.

-------Imani