TL;DR - very soft but thick hair that will be curly if you ignore it. The moment you touch it the curls disappear (last photo). What do I do?

Actual post: I have very \*soft\* hair that will only curl if I ignore it. If I so much as look at it or touch it then the curls will fall out like the last photo. Scrunching can sometimes make it less curly. I honestly feel like merely acknowledging it makes it less curly somehow?!

I think it’s unaffected by humidity. If I spritz water or Aussie “hair insurance” (leave in conditioner) on dry hair it flattens curls (even if I scrunch). I found that cantu curling cream just made my hair greasy and not soft if I applied it after getting out the shower- no curl help.

When I wear my hair in a specific hairstyle (penultimate photo) it will be really curly. I have to do like little twin buns/pigtails using the upper layer of hair. I think the top layer is very heavy and straighter than the lower layers which are curlier.

The first set of photos are after waking up in the morning, completely untouched. I like to wash my hair at night and let it air dry as I sleep (towel on my pillow). If I wash my hair in the morning and dry it then there are no curls (air dry/towel dry/hairdryer all have the results if washed in the morning).

Anyone else have similar textured hair? I don’t have loads of money so I don’t want to waste money on products. Right now I use tressemme shampoo and conditioner because they’re big cheap bottles. I will sprits Aussie hair insurance on my wet hair to make sure the ends are hydrated and not split now that I’m growing my hair long again.

I have no idea how to get natural curls to stay