Tv hairdressing jobs: jamie stevens provides his expert advice

TV hairdressing jobs are some of the most in-demand in the industry, with the chance to mingle with celebrities and create work for high-profile shows sparking the imagination of many hairdressers. But how do you go from salon stylist to working in TV studios and on the red carpet? HJ’s British Hairdresser of the Year nominee, Jamie Stevens has clocked up more hours on the television screen than your average hair stylist. As well as having worked on shows including This Morning, How to Look Good Naked, Gok Wan’s Fashion Fix and Stripping for Summer, Jamie has been the official hair stylist on the X Factor for the last 3 years and he and his team styled guests in the VIP Star Treatment Area ahead of last night’s National Television Awards. Here he gives his top 10 tips on making it onto the big screen with expert advice for finding TV hairdressing jobs: • Start off by building up relationships and making yourself known within the industry. Trade magazines and organisations will often be approached by television production companies for recommendations and knowledge on established and up and coming talent. • Winning industry awards will also help to get your recognised - as it did in my case -  as TV production teams will often be researching online for award-winning names in the industry. • Getting into TV is as much about who you know as what you know, so if it’s something you really want to do, get an agent or PR on board to shout about you and help get you noticed. • Production companies will often want to see a short TV showreel showcasing how you come across on camera, so get one made. It doesn’t have to be fancy, they just want to see how you come across in front of a camera, even if it’s filmed on a camera phone. • The nature of TV often means having to change and cancel things to accommodate filming schedules at the drop of a hat, so having an amazing boss, team and salon behind you that is supportive of what you’re trying to achieve will help enormously. • Working on TV is less glamorous and much harder work than most people imagine. It often means very long hours so be prepared to work early mornings, late nights and on your days off to get ahead. • Speed is key! Even though you may be hanging around on set for hours, when you do eventually get the talent in front of you it’s often not for long before they are dragged off again into make-up, styling or rehearsals. • Make sure you have a great product manufacturer behind you supporting you with amazing products and colours when needed. Matrix Haircare has been a great help in working with me to provide me with the right products and technical support on various shows that I’ve worked on. • If you want to work in TV you need to be a team player. Working on a big show means you’ve got so many people to please – production team, judges, contestants, makeup, styling – so being a diva won’t get you anywhere. You have to learn to compromise and understand that it’s not just all about the hair. • Being an all-round versatile hair stylist will work much in your favour in TV world. The fact that I work as easily with afro hair as Caucasian, cover both men’s and women’s hairdressing in equal measure stands me in good stead on a show such as the X Factor where you never know who the contestants are going to be until they are chosen.