Christopher appleton's top tips for entering competitions

Christopher Appleton is fast making a name for himself in the hair industry and was named one of HJ's ones to watch in 2010.

He won himself a coveted place on the F.A.M.E Team in 2009 and that team became the first to be nominated for Artistic Team of the Year in HJ's British Hairdressing Awards.

In 2009, he was also named BBC Three's Young Hairdresser of the Year and was also the runner-up in the Clothes Show Live Young Hairdresser of the Year, presented by HJi.

With a CV that already boasts so many credentials, we thought Christopher was perfectly equipped to share his top tips for entering competitions...

Get organized  

Make sure you know the deadline of the entries - and that the deadline is met!   Take into consideration any unforeseeable circumstance such as postal strikes to ensure that your hard endeavours do not go to waste!   

If the competition requires you to undertake a presentation make sure that the team around you, i.e. your make up artist and fashions stylist are as organized as you. It will cause less stress on the day of the competition and make things run smoothly as well as show the judges that you are a professional.

Stick to the brief  

Briefs are a great give away as they are telling you what the winning look should look like!   Don't second guess - this is fatal.   Briefs are not a trick they are there to guide you - so if you keep to the brief, you are more than half way there.

Show your star quality  

Always ask yourself 'why me?'.   If the final decision is between six candidates - why would you, or your model stand out?   In other words sell the sizzle not the sausage!   Show your star quality and don't settle for average.  Aim to be the best and you are sure to make your mark.

Research, research, research   

Always show your ability to stick to a brief, but add a bit of your personality - show you can identify trends and personalize them without going off track.   

Research the competition you are entering, such as who the past winners have been to get an idea of what the judges are looking for in the winning look.   

You can usually have access to the past winners inspiration and learn why they stood out and won.

Always use a quality model to sell your image.  

Don't waste all your time, effort and energy putting together amazing hair looks on a bad model! 

A model is there to sell your image  - if the hair is great but is on a bad model its generally a waste of money.   Think of a model as a canvas to sell your image and bring your vision alive.