Ours shouldn't be clipped either, they should be "stripped". and when we got our first an ex-colleague who showed at Crufts, stripped her for us. But it took for ever.
so after she moved away we just got them clipped.
However the latest, she with the dad who was a national champion in Poland or somewhere, will not let us anywhere near her with them so she has her head and legs/paws/chest cut but the rest we leave alone. It drops out eventually.
And as you say, once clipped it never goes back to what it should be and you could never show them like that, not that we have the slightest intention of doing this!
Not even stripping for this breed.
The hair is about 10-12 inches long and is the texture of human hair so it is just combed through and brushed with a high quality hair brush. 
