Hairtips and ideas for my thick curly hair (help from haircutters would be GREAT!)?

ok so i have long, thick, naturally curly hair. i really like how those girls have the hair thats a little longer than shoulder length and has a lot of layers, and the layers are pretty short.

i want to get my hair cut like that! but i have a few problems. ive always pretty much had long hair. but i have bangs that are right at my eyebrows. when i straighten them they do fine and stay straight. but when i straighten the rest of my hair, it always starts to curl again! and the ends flip out! i dont want to get my hair cut short if its gonna look horrible! and i have the Remmington Wet2straight flatiron. whenever i straighten my hair i do the layers thing where you only do one layer at a time and put the rest of your hair up. but i always end up with those annoying and gross looking waves in the back of my head. do you know what i mean?! like the back wont straighten or something. so here are my questions:

how can i straighten my hair PERFECTLY, have it stay like that and look good?

if i cut my hair short like the ';scene'; haircuts will it be ok to straighten?

will it look really bad to leave it curly?

and is there something else i can do?

like products to use, tricks to try, and maybe whats the best straightener?

like does anyone have one that works AWESOME? but is still reasonably priced??Hairtips and ideas for my thick curly hair (help from haircutters would be GREAT!)?
my hair is long thick and curly i leave it curly sometimes it looks good. When i straighten my hair the bottom of my hair kind of flips when i walk to school so i put it up it helps a bit and i have a pro touch straightner it works pretty good for me

I also need help with how to straighten it really good thoughHairtips and ideas for my thick curly hair (help from haircutters would be GREAT!)?
I have long curly hair too...and tried to do the ';Rachel'; haircut back in the 90's and learned a HUGE lesson, I learned that curly hair has different texture than straight or wavy hair making it more difficult to get those haircuts in the magazines look like they do in the magazines. For me, I tend to leave my hair long and in layers so that it doesn't bush out to the sides and if I'm wanting something different I get some color done. I suppose I could flat-iron my hair daily, but considering it takes 3 hours for it to be done in a salon, I'm not willing to put that much time into it when I can put in my products and go! Embrace your curls! It's what makes you unique!