Afro-Caribbean transition to natural hair help!!!?

I have afro-Caribbean hair, when i was little i had really loose curls but a friend of the family put vaseline in it and since then its been really tight and knotted easily. since then I've had relaxers but i really want to go back to having curly hair, I am not sure whether to go natural or to have a curly perm. any help would be majorly appreciated