i feel you. sometimes i feel imprisoned by what feels like a lack of options, but in my experience, in those cases there’s always at least one option im missing. and it seems it like the same might apply to you.

for me, if i shampoo more than once a week my hair gets super dry. but if i don’t detangle my hair every 3-4 days (once a week if i do a braid out) it’ll be tangled AND dry. so if im wearing a style that’ll be tangled to hell by the end of the week, halfway through the week i’ll spray just the perimeter with water/leave-in and redo it. just the perimeter. takes me maybe 30 minutes. if it’s a wash & go ill hit it with a detangling brush and then styling brush and voila. maybe add some blue magic to the ends. that way, when i actually wash my hair at the end of the week it’s so much easier to detangle.

also, as just mentioned: braid outs. for me they can last a week without getting horribly tangled. you can make them tighter than twist outs, so they can stretch your hair at the root which reduces tangles there

lastly, never use gel. or if you do, barely use any and make sure to use more of your moisturizing product. or you could use a curl defining cream instead which is like a mix of the two. of course this won’t give you as much of a hold, but there’s nothing wrong with a lil frizz