does it exist?

Hey guys, and gals of course. I'm a 16 year old guy with hair a little past my ears when its stretched out, but it has a problem. If i don't use product, it curls up really really short and it bugs me, so I use (i know it's probably a bad idea but..) a conditioner, and leave it in there to keep it more or less straight. But it really bugs me that it gets hard and stuff, so my question is: Is there a hair product (preferably the kind of thing you could find in any drug store, non barbershop kind of thing) that holds hair in place, but keeps hair soft too?

Thanks in advance :)