Super-Hair Q&A: Mollye Barrows's Pixie Cut

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Q&A

December 2006: Mollye Barrows -- Pensacola's Pixie Cut

Some women have plenty of time to spend on their hair - but others, and we suspect most working women, do not. They try to find ways to look good as quickly and efficiently as possible. There's one case along the Florida Gulf Coast where it literally means taking a "short cut."

MOLLYE BARROWS is now a morning TV news anchor in Pensacola, after working as a reporter there for several years. A loyal viewer e-mailed us this vid-cap, praising her short style. It looks so simple and easy -- but is it really? We called her in her newsroom one morning to find out....

SUPER-HAIR: He [the viewer] sent us a picture of your style. It looks very short....

MOLLYE BARROWS: It is.

S-H: How would you describe the cut you have right now? Your current style?

MB: I would describe it, I guess, as almost like a pixie cut of sorts now. In fact, I just had it cut yesterday. I like to keep it.... like a short pixie cut, with a little bit of -- I guess, mussed up a little bit. It has a little bit of texture to it at the top, and cut in layers.

S-H: How often to you get it cut? I imagine you'd have to get it trimmed regularly.

MB: Yes. Every couple of weeks. The longest I can go is about a month, and then the bangs just get to be impossible because it gets real thick and heavy on top. So it's probably ideal if I cut it every two weeks.

S-H: Why did you decide to go with such a short style? I saw a picture on the WEAR web site [left] that had your hair a little longer, but still short -- certainly not as short as you're having it these days.

MB: Right, right. I decided it really looks better short. It looks more professional for my job as a broadcaster. And then secondly, it's just a lot easier to style - especially on my schedule, because I get up so early in the morning. It only takes me a few minutes, as opposed to a longer style which I would fool with for, you know, forever. It would make me late getting out the door (laughs). It's a lot easier to work with.

S-H: We talked to Sharyn Alfonsi.... with CBS News. She told us by e-mail that she had a very short hairstyle like that when she did morning news, because she didn't want to have time to mess with it or anything.

MB: Exactly, and I can completely understand that. You're barely awake, anyway, much less want to fool with your hair for very long.

S-H: Is it fair to say your hair is low-maintenance?

MB: It's very low-maintenance, yes. All except for making sure you keep your appointments regularly to get it highlighted and cut.

S-H: So you get it highlighted.... Do you get that done regularly with the trims, or is that....?

MB: Yeah. I can go as long as a month before I get the highlights put back in. But usually I try to coincide, where I get both done at the same time.

S-H: You say you don't have much time for a routine, to get ready for the morning news. What do you do?

MB: I get up around three - shower, pick out what I'm going to wear, and then it usually only takes five minutes at the most to do my hair. I'll rinse, sort of leave some conditioner in it, and then put mousse in it, blow it dry. And then right before the show, I'll put a little hairspray in it and go.

S-H: So you do use mousse and hairspray. It looks very natural, from what I've seen.

MB: Yeah. I don't use a lot, but in order to keep it looking halfway decent - because on set, of course, there's no wind or anything. But occasionally.... especially if it's grown out a little bit, then I want to try to keep it looking fairly neat. But out in the field, if you're coming upon wind or something like that, I try to put a little bit of hairspray in there just so it doesn't get some stray hair that is distracting to people when they're looking at you.

S-H: Do you have any favorite products that you use? Any particular ones that you'd recommend?

MB: I've been using Infusium shampoo and conditioner for years.... My hair is really fine, and it doesn't dry it out. And I get it colored regularly, so it doesn't dry it out and it keeps it in good shape. But it's not as expensive as some of the more higher-end stuff. So I'm a huge fan of that, and their leave-in conditioner. And when as far as mousse goes and hairspray, I don't have a particular brand that I use. Just whatever is inexpensive, and can do the trick.

S-H: What is the biggest challenge you face, keeping your hair looking good and in place on a day-to-day basis?

MB: Probably just making sure that I haven't let it grow out too much. If it's cut, then it's easy to work with and I don't have any problem at all. But if I wait too long between appointments, then it starts to get frustrating there at the end, if I've let it grow out too long, because then it's just hard to style, so that it's out of my eyes and still looks neat and professional.

S-H: From what we've seen, it looks like there's no way in the world your hair can ever get in your eyes, and get in your face at all.

MB: (Laughs) No, no.... I keep a pretty close eye on it, I guess.

S-H: Has that ever happened? And what caused it to happen, if it did?

MB: No, not really. Not too bad. Not to the point where.... like I'm a shaggy dog or anything. But yeah, I've grown my hair out where it was about chin-length before, and I grew the bangs out as well. And so there were a couple of times when it was more difficult, more time-consuming with long hair, to make sure it keeps out of your eyes. But I've not ever really had a situation where it caused me a problem.

S-H: What advice would you give someone who wanted to have great hair, or perhaps follow what you're doing and emulate your style? What advice would you give them?

MB: I guess first of all, to discuss it with their hairstylist, to make sure that a short cut is going to be good for their face. I'm fortunate that way, because not only is it convenient, but I can carry it off to a certain extent. And I'd hate for somebody to cut off long beautiful hair and find out that short hair really isn't for them, because it really is quite a change.

But otherwise, I love it! If you think that you'd like to get that pixie cut -- it's different, most people don't have hair that short, so it's kind of an eye-catcher that way -- and I just love having it short. It's a lot easier to fool with.

S-H: One other question. We like to ask women that we talk to who they consider to have Super-Hair. Who has the best head of hair that you admire the most, from what you've seen?

MB: My goodness, the best head of hair.... I would say I love Diane Sawyer's hair. And I guess that's from one broadcaster to another.... Her hair is long, and appears to be -- which I'd like to have it long one day, which is nice - but it's fine and blonde.... appears to be that way, like mine is. And I think she does just such a great job of always looking good wherever she is, whether she's in the field or in the studio. I love her hair.

S-H: You say you'd like to have it long someday. Would you have to get off the morning shift to do that? (Laughs)

MB: Yeah, yes, exactly. I'd have to have a shift where I got more sleep and more time, so I'd probably want to play with it.

SUMMARY: Mollye certainly makes the most of the time she has -- and she's used it to develop a cut which seems impervious to any wind and humidity which a tropical storm striking Pensacola would throw her way. We're a bit surprised she uses extra products to keep it in line. But those are the secrets which make Super-Hair so perfect and successful. If you see similar success in your corner of the world, please let us know - because we never would have known about Mollye, if someone had not tipped us off to her!

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Do you know a woman who's willing to share her secrets of hair success? Is there a particular woman you'd like us to interview? Do you have a question we should ask? Simply e-mail us: SuperHair@Gmail.com .

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