The x factor 2012 week six: jamie's favourites

The X Factor's official hairdresser, Jamie Stevens, shares his favourite style from week six of the 2012 season - and reveals how to get the Union J look.

"As HJ's British Hairdressing Awards Men's Hairdresser of the Year 2011, it's been really exciting to work with the boys this year; from individuals such as Rylan, who is always up for changing his look, to the boy bands.

"Though it was so sad to see District 3 go, I'm delighted that we are still left with Union J as they're working some really strong looks - from Josh and JJ's structured quiffed styles to Jaymi and George's textured looks that work with their natural movement.

"Now that we've created an identity for each of the boys, we cut their every week to give them a fresh, clean look and keep it looking sharp - and they looked fantastic this weekend."

"The biggest transformation for me has been Josh. He is such a good-looking lad but his hair before the live shows just didn't show him off at his best. 

"With his model looks, it was clear to me that we needed to take his hair away from his face and show those cheekbones off!

"I worked in a solid, fundamental scissor-over-comb to give a nice shape and allow the freedom to judge the length visually, taking it shorter on the sides and leaving the top a lot longer giving him a disconnection in length and enabling us to play around with shapes, textures and styles.

"We blow-dried his hair with a blow-dry lotion using a medium round brush, directing the hair back off his face, into his natural wave. Adding in some texturising powder to create volume, we finished with strong hairspray for hold."

"With Jamie Hamblett, aka JJ, he was already wearing his hair up and away from his face but with his dark colouring, I wanted to give his hair a bit more definition - going shorter on the sides and longer on top to create 'the JJ quiff'. 

"So we opted for a clipper fade with varying guards working from the bottom to the top for a sharper, more defined look. 

"To style, I blow-dried the hair off his face, before straightening the ends and finishing with a matte clay and ultra hold hairspray to keep his quiff in place all night."

"On Jaymi, we felt his original colour was slightly too dark and one dimensional so we've brought it a bit lighter to a flattering chocolate brown colour, with complementary lighter tones to enhance the natural texture in his hair. 

"With the cut, we took it shorter on the back and sides, leaving length on top for versatility. 

"To style, I curled his hair with small styling irons, before running my fingers through the curls to break them up and finishing with a firm hold hairspray."

"Last but certainly not least, George has George-ous hair! We've recently taken him slightly lighter by backcombing sections of his hair, leaving out the ends and using a glove to smudge lighter tones onto the ends of his hair for a natural, beach surfer look and colour without too much commitment. 

"The key to his hair is to do it, mess it up, then do it again. Adding a volumising mousse, I rough dried the hair, directing the blow-dryer up and into the roots. Once dry, I used a small amount of mousse into the palm of my hands and worked this into the hair to bring the curls out, drying the curls around the fingers. 

"Then we randomly picked out sections to curl around a small curling wand and let them cool down. I then messed them all up by rubbing a volumising powder into the roots and finished with hairspray to define the ends and hold."