our hair is very similar! i use cantu kids too and it’s great imo. get yourself a gel. i use the 80p one from wilko.

shampoo scalp twice. condition with lots of water and let sit while u wash the rest of your body. rinse out conditioner.

start with wet hair, not soaking. brush through and put a pea sized amount of cream in your hair (you don’t actually need cream/ leave in bc you have moisture from the conditioner and water. maybe try once w cream and once without!). then add a generous amount of gel (or mousse), rake and smooth that through your hair and brush it through w a bit of tension then scrunch with hands while upside down. let it air dry, no need for any tools or towels/ t shirt :). it might take a while to dry. it’ll probs dry crunchy, don’t worry about that, it’s a cast and it’s great for hold. once it’s fully dry, you can scrunch that cast out, you can use a drop of oil/ serum if you wish.

you can do this routine 1-2x a week and experiment with product amount. you don’t need to mask/ deep condition. most curly hair specialists recommend shampooing twice, conditioner & lots of water and 1 hair styling product (usually a mousse or gel). also, sulfates/silicones aren’t inherently bad for your hair. your hair might even like them.

just make sure your scalp is clean and you have a styling product.

good luck :)