What can i use to get a smooth look when wearing a ponytail,
five minutes after putting my hair in a ponytail i have little
short "new growth" hairs everywhere.
I don't want a wet look, just neat & held in place. something
very low maintenance, all suggestions appreciated.
Perhaps you could try smoothing some American Crew Fiber over your hair just before or just after gathering it into a ponytail. AC Fiber dries with a matte finish--no wet look. But it is a cream-colored "paste" (not the best choice of a descriptive word) so, before applying it to your hair rub your hands together until the color disappears. And use only a LITTLE bit per application--not much is needed at all.
What I like to use is a Citre Shine product. I just realized I'm out, so I don't know what it's called, but it comes in a squeeze tube. It's a hair gel, I guess. What I do is to first run my hands under the water, then squeeze a small amount of the gel on my web hands and rub them together. This dilutes the gel and spreads it around evenly on my hands. Then I take my hands and pass them over my hair. Adjusting the ratio of water to gel, you can get just the amount of control you need.