A day in the life: jamie stevens, tv hairdresser
I split my time between working in the salon and TV work for The X Factor while it's on. I'm also resident hairdresser on This Morning all year round, but The X Factor is the most intense filming schedule. For the live show on Saturday, my alarm would usually go off at about 5am when I would get up and have breakfast, which is usually Alpen with milk and no sugar. I'd then jump in the shower, get dressed and do my hair.
The X Factor studios are in Wembley so I take a cab to the studios. When I get there, I sit down with all my team over coffee. I will have prepared my mood boards and looks for the show beforehand, so we'll go through products and timings for the day and sort out the contestant delegations and who will look after what. Then throughout the morning, I will check that everything is running smoothly.
The focus of the afternoon is getting 90 percent of the contestants prepped, especially if there is tong work to be done. We will tong and pin the contestant's hair and liaise with the choreographers and dancers. It's a lot about working in a team and co-ordinating everything to make sure the show goes smoothly.
We usually wrap up at about 10.45pm, ready to be back in at 6am the next day. By the time I've got out of the cab, unloaded my kit, restocked any products that have been used during the show and repacked my bags, I only really have time to eat, go to bed and sleep.
The TV work all kicked off after winning BHA Men's Hairdresser of the Year in 2008-2009. I was recommended to cut Gok Wan's hair and then his hairdresser let him down for one of his shows. He called me on the Saturday evening to see if I could arrange a team to do the hair for the Sunday morning, which I did! Everyone was really happy with how it went and I became resident hairdresser on How to Look Good Naked and Gok's Fashion Fix. I went on to win Celebrity Hairdresser of the Year, which got me noticed by the producers at ITV's This Morning. ForThe X Factor I was interviewed along with 350 other hairdressers and was given the job.
The best bits have got to be the buzz, excitement and the opportunities it offers. It's amazing to have the chance to meet the people I have met. For example, I've got Kelly Rowland and Gary Barlow's numbers on my phone. The worst bits have to be the sleepless nights, bags under the eyes and the wrinkles!
