What can I do to keep my wet ponytail -curly looking without puffing up when dry?  My hair is curly when I wash it but it tends to get poofy once dry.  I donot want to use anything that will dry it out product wise.  Help!

I do not have curly hair so I have not experienced this personally.  I have researched curly hair maintenance since I have 2 young curlies in the family that I am trying to train early in how to care for their hair. 

Conditioning and moisturizing your hair, especially the ends, is critical. Use a good moisturizing conditioner and then a leave-in or shea butter. Many of the ladies on this board recommend sealing in moisture with an oil (carrot, jojoba, avocado, sweet almond, extra virgin olive oil).  Everyone is different so there is definitely a combination of products that will work for you.

Secondly, go to Naturallycurly.com, a great website for anyone interested in hair health and products.  They have tons of product reviews by people with curly hair (different types, 3A, 3b, 4B, etc) and are solely committed to finding the best products for curlies.  

My niece has wavy curls that had stopped curling and would only frizz.  It got to a point where she would only wear her hair braided.    We addressed the moisture issue and her hair is bouncing back.  Now she can wet it, use the right products and her hair is wavy and curly, not frizzy.  Currently she is using Curly Q's products that I order online and pure african shea butter from a local market.  I found out about Curly Q's through the Naturallycurly website. 

Good luck.