Just sharing: I was sick for most of April and May (I'm disabled). During that whole span of time, I might have washed once. I know, I know, terrible, but I just couldn't commit to the whole transitioning wash day thing. I stayed in the house, so I just did twists and put them into bantu knots. I detangled with my hands every few days and twisted it right back up. Well. At the end of that period, I had crazy curl definition. When I first took it out, I thought the texture resulted from the twists and I was like, wow, looks nice. But then I washed (not 'cowashed', I mean I washed with a regular old sulfate shampoo) and my curls stayed popping. So. I have read of such a thing, but this experiment proves that staying away from the comb a) is possible without it turning into dreads, and b) encourages clumping.
The 4b sections of my hair had definition that I didn't know was possible without any styling products or conditioner whatsoever. (Additionally, my hair never really felt dry during that period. Interesting, right? For comparison, my relaxed hair was and remains akin to the Sahara, parched.)