I have coarse, dry, frizzy, thick french hair with natural curls. I've tried so many things but my current routine is as follows (I'm still experimenting with products but this is working great):
Shampoo with sulfate-free shampoo, baby shampoo, or vinegar rinse once a week. I prefer vinegar because sulfate-free shampoo's are often less effective in removing product build-up. You wont smell the vinegar after you condition your hair so don't worry!
Condition hair every day. Apply the conditioner to your hair dry 20 minutes before showering or before bed, under a shower cap if you shower first thing in the AM.
Never touch a towel to your hair! You can use a t-shirt, as somebody mentioned or you can just lightly squeeze the excess water out of your hair as I do. (There will be some drip, of course but I'd rather use a towel on the floor then ruin my curls with it.)
Section off your hair by clipping up 2/3 of it. Use a good antifrizz product such as John Freeda Frizzease serum, distribute equally through your hair from roots to tips. Clips down another third and distribute to the newly exposed hair. Let the rest of your hair down and repeat.
Spritz your whole head with a leave-in conditioner for curly hair. I'm using Marc Anthony's but I don't find it much different than any other one I've tried. Brush through all your hair.
Use a gel, mousse, or spray made for curly hair. I like john freeda curl perfector, Mark Anthony's mousse and soma curly cue. I hear that Aveeda makes wonderful products but they're quite expensive. Section off your hair again and apply liberally by scrunching small sections with the product.
Once you've applied to all of your hair, use a blowdryer with a diffuser to enhance your natural curl. Use the setting "low" or if you have a high-tech blow dryer you can use a low fan speed with high heat but that's not necessary. Do not completely dry your hair, you want it about 80% dry, just enough to hold the style. Allow hair to air dry the rest of the way.
Use a gloss or anti-frizz spray on your dry hair to deal with any frizz. If desired, mist with a light-hold hairspray.
Your curls won't be perfect but they'll be damn close to it! I hope this works.
Finally, if you need a bit of extra help, buy a cheap curling iron in a size that matches your natural curls and use it to touch up any areas that need help. Like a straight-haired girl touching up with a flat-iron, nobody'll even know you used it!