An Interview With Jamie Stevens
26-10-2009
With a job as Art Director at top London salon Errol Douglas and a regular appearance on Gok Wan’s How To Look Good Naked, Men’s Hairdresser Of The Year 2008, 28 year old Jamie Stevens, is fast becoming one of the UK’s most sought after coiffeurs. Nominated again this year at the British Hairdressing Awards in the Best London Hairdresser and Best Men’s Hairdresser’s categories, I caught up with the lovely and friendly Jamie to talk hair, Gok, awards, football and family.
YOU MUST BE VERY PROUD RIGHT NOW: YOU ARE ON GOK WAN HOW TO LOOK GOOD NAKED, YOU WON MEN’S HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR IN 2008 AND THIS YEAR YOU ARE NOMINATED FOR BEST MEN’S HAIRDRESSER AND BEST LONDON HAIRDRESSER OF THE YEAR. IT MUST BE A VERY EXCITING TIME FOR YOU. HOW DOES IT FEEL?
It’s…winning Men’s last year, it was the first time I entered the awards for starters…that was…I didn’t expect it, I mean. If I’m honest I had a little feeling (that I was going to win), because you do, because you can see everyone else’s pictures. It was amazing, best night of my life so far. And this year…I didn’t actually wanna do Men’s again, because I don’t want get labelled as (just) a man’s hairdresser, but I thought, if I do London and Men, they are the two hardest categories in the British Hairdressing Awards, apart from Britain – I would say, and a lot of other people would say – so I thought, if I do both I’ll get into one. I didn’t really expect to get two, so, it’s a massive, massive bonus, so over the moon! Yes great!
HOW DID YOUR TV CAREER START? HOW DID YOU END UP BEING ON THE 5TH SERIES OF GOK WAN’S HOW TO LOOK GOOD NAKED?
I basically…do you know a guy called John Scott who’s basically a fashion designer on This Morning? He was basically the first celebrity that I met up in London. I used to do his assistant’s hair and then she left This Morning and went to work on the first series of Gok’s Fashion Fix, so she knew Gok. Gok’s hairdresser was away and they wanted him to have a restyle she recommended me, I went around his house and cut his hair for a year and a half, so basically that opened loads of doors. Now we are really good friends and he basically recommends me for everything. So the first thing he got me to do was a series called Miss Naked Beauty, remember it? So basically I did the hair for all the photo shoots, so all back scenes, and when he did the Fashion Fix last year, he asked me to do all the makeover sessions on that. I got filmed, but I didn’t get any credits. Now it’s better on How To Look Good Naked, I get screen time and a bit of air time.
WHAT’S THE MAJOR DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DOING HAIR ON TV AND IN THE SALON? HOW MUCH CREATIVE FREEDOM DO YOU HAVE ON TV?
In relation to the salon and the makeovers, I’ll always…any new client or any client that I get in I’ll always try and recommend something that makes them look better so with regards to the TV I don’t think it’s that much different. With regards to freedom, Gok used to be hairdresser, he’s quite… you know, he knows what he wants so he tells me, Jamie I think we should do a graduated bob and colour her hair black. In the beginning I was kind of like, brilliant, yeah, but now that we kind of know each other a lot more if I don’t agree I’ll say no. Now it’s my name going out there, so I kind of got quite a bit of freedom, but generally we are on the same wavelength – I think there’s only been one time where he said let’s do this, and I said this would look better and he said, actually you are right. But the thing we have with How To Look Good Naked, it’s not like 10 Years Younger, they(the contestants) are not on there because they look hideous (but because) they’ve got body issues, so the hair is more…none of them have really got bad hair, you know, so they are not drastic, drastic makeovers. It could be a simple thing that makes them look better, like I said to you, like a permanent blow dry (the Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy).
HOW DID YOU GET INTO HAIRDRESSING?
So my mum’s a hairdresser, my nan is a hairdresser, my great granddad was too. My mum started dragging me into the salon when I was ten, started passing her the rollers, as years went on I was shampooing, taking the rollers out, just went on from there. I was a professional footballer, my dad was a professional footballer and then I had a bad ankle injury and that finished at about 15 and then I went straight to college, did my NVQ 1, 2, 3 and then I opened my salon in Somerset at 18. Around that I won a few competitions and sort of got the bug and I decided to move to London when I was 22. My salon at the moment is called Jamie Stevens and Co. and it’s in Bridgewater, Somerset. I’m just about to go back and re-launch it, give it a facelift, change the name and I’m gonna call it Jamie Stevens Hair, launch my website and really start building up a profile to hopefully open one up here (in London).
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE THING TO DO? STYLING, CUTTING, COLOUR…
The best think I love, is when you can really transform (someone). So I do everything: I cut, I colour, I do men’s and Afro-European haircuts. If you get someone come in, feeling very down and you can say, right, let’s whack all this off, let’s completely change your hair colour. That’s the biggest buzz, Classic makeover sort of thing. Someone who comes in with long hair which is brown and you send them back with a beautiful, textured, choppy bleached blond bob, , and they look and feel completely different. I love all of that. The more creative the better, definitely.
YOU’BE BEEN WORKIN AT ERROL DOUGLAS FOR 3 YEARS NOW
Yeah, 3 years…3 and a half years now. Errol is…you know, it’s a great salon. Errol is one of the biggest hairdresser in the industry so… he actually…someone got in touch with me, because at my last job I wasn’t happy. Someone must have said something to him and he called me and basically offered me a job. I was actually earning more money (in my previous job) than when I started here, but I thought, Errol is one of the biggest guys in the industry, if I can become, kind of his young boy and (he can) take me under his wing, because he’s never really had anyone in the salon that…they didn’t have a big creative team at the time so for me to be associated with him has helped me massively. You know, he’s not …he’s the biggest hair icon in the industry, he’s got an MBE, he’s really well respected – consumer, trade – so for me to tag along and learn from him it’s been amazing. And we get on really well, we are really good friends as well.
YOU ALSO HAVE A FEW CELEBRITY CLIENTS AS WELL, KYLIE, CHRISTIAN SLATER, ELLE MCPHERSON…
I’ve been fortunate enough that I don’t sit here and say that I still…I’ve worked with Kylie, I worked with Christian a couple of times, Elle I do quite often, Gok I do full time, last week I did Hugh Grant on Monday, he came in. And I did Eva Herzigova, she was really nice, came in for a cut and colour so hopefully…I know Hugh’s coming back. He texted me saying that he really liked his haircut and I had really soft hands! (laughs). Eva said she was looking for a hairdresser so hopefully she’ll come back here. You know, it’s been good. I’ve done Sven Goran Eriksoon and Nancy Dell’Olio, I went around the house, cut their hair a few times.
HAS THERE EVER BEEN ANYBODY WHO’S BEEN REALLY DIFFICULT?
I can’t tell you that!
WITHOUT TELLING NAMES…
Massively…..I also did Geri Halliwell a bit as well.
WHOSE HAIR YOU HAVEN’T DONE BUT YOU’D LOVE TO DO? SOMEONE YOU’D LIKE TO RESTYLE?
You know I get asked this question a lot by trade magazines. They ask if there’s 2 people you’d do, man or woman? Man I always say…I always forget…big scarecrow guy…
RUSSELL BRAND?
Yeah. He’s got that hair…I know it’s an image for him but you know, I think he’s a really good looking lad and with a really cool haircut…he’d be really cool. So I’d love to get my hands on that bird’s nest. And… there’s loads and loads of women I’d like to do, someone like obviously Posh Spice, Victoria Beckham, you give her any style, you know and it sets a trend for a year, you know like the bob, when she had it short…Madonna again is another massive…I’d love to work with her hair, give her a massive restyle. And Cheryl Cole…just because I’d like to touch her (laughs).
YOU MUST HAVE SO LITTLE TIME FOR YOURSELF AT THE MOMENT. DO YOU HAVE ANY SPARE TIME AND IF SO WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO?
To be honest, the more successful you get I thought the more money and relaxed… it’s the complete opposite I know, I literally… I’ve got my TV stuff, my salon stuff, re-launching my salon, I’m just about to sign with a big product company, an electrical company, so…yeah no time. But I’m lucky because my girlfriend is a hairdresser so when there’s awards and stuff, I’ll take her with me and she helps me. I normally try and have a Sunday where it’s kind of my day: I turn my phone off, you know. I’m a hairdresser, in my flat there’s me, my sister, her boyfriend and my girlfriend and we are all hairdressers so we kind of got a rule on Sundays: no hair, not allowed to talk about hair.
THAT’S REALLY NICE. IS THERE ANY COMPETITION AMONG ALL OF YOU?
Not so much me, because I trained my sister, you know I don’t think…as I said, I do cuts and colour – but if someone said you can only do one thing I would choose cutting – whereas my sister goes down the line of being a colour specialist so she came and help me do the colours on How To Look Good Naked. She coloured and I cut them because of time, so there’s no competition with her. I’m 28 – bit of a cradle snatcher my girlfriend’s only 22 – my sister’s 22 and her boyfriend’s 21 so I’m so lucky that I don’t come in that bracket anymore. There’s a big competition in the industry for young hairdressers and the cut off point is 26. I’m classed as an oldie now, but I’m actually really glad, because I wouldn’t want to compete against my sister, so it’s really good. Obviously I’ve been in the industry a bit longer, I’ve done certain bits, I can help them, I can give them advice, which is quite nice. Same with me, I can learn a lot from them, which is good.
DO YOU CUT YOUR GIRLFRIEND’S HAIR?
No. My sister colours my hair and cuts it and my girlfriend’s done it a couple of times. I think I trimmed my girlfriend’s fringe once and she said it was too short! (laughing) Trying to avoid it, as much as possible.
WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE YOURSELF IN THE FUTURE?
I wanna build the Jamie Stevens name as much as possible. I’d like to have salons, I’d like to have a product range, ultimately winning British Hairdresser of The Year which is the ultimate accolade in the industry. If I keep doing the things that I’m doing hopefully in time it will happen. And just to be…because I always thought I was gonna be famous being a footballer, I always kind of had that thing that whatever I did I would be famous, so…I don’t wanna be…you know there are certain hairdressers in this industry that are famous for the wrong reasons. So, salons, colour ranges, British Hairdresser Of The Year and…yeah, ultimately I’d like to have my big TV hair show.
YOU HAVE A LOT OF AMBITION!
My mum always used to say…she gave me a card once and it said aim for the moon and even if you miss you’ll end up among the stars, which has stuck with me. If you don’t have any goals you’ll never under achieve your goals. I’ve always had a motto: you get out what you put in. When the day comes and I think I’ve got it all, then I’ll give it up.
SO YOUR MUM AND YOUR NAN, BEING HAIRDRESSERS THEMSELVES, MUST BE VERY PROUD OF YOU
When I go home…I always try and send them magazines and stuff. It’s getting to that point when it’s kind of… every week or every month I’m in a trade magazine so I’ll send that back to them, then I go home and there’s like a book, the Jamie hair pile, which is nice. They are really proud. I’m sure if my mum had her own way… we are a very close family, so when me and my sister left… she gets a bit sad that we are not there, but at the same time she’s really happy that we are doing really well. She’d love us to give it up and go back to live with mummy and daddy!
YOUR FATHER WAS A FOOTBALLER AND SO WERE YOU. IS HE PROUD OF YOU BEING A HAIRDRESSER?
Massively, massively. But again I’m sure he would have preferred me to be a footballer, but that didn’t happen. He always said to me he knew whatever I did, I would always do well because I’ve always had the drive, passion and always wanted to achieve. (My parents) have always been very, very supportive in everything, but now it’s time for me to start giving them back. And my nan is really proud, especially (when) my granddad passed away last year and I named my collection after him. I called it Frederick, and I said when I won, I’d like to dedicate… My nan said, he would have been looking down on you. And she was right, I won!
JAMIE’S HAIR TIPS AND TRENDS FOR AUTUMN/WINTER 09/10
WHAT WOULD YOU ADVISE, IN TERMS OF CUTS FOR THE MOST COMMON FACE SHAPES: ROUND, OVAL, LONG, SQUARE, HEART…
A bob has obviously been around since your Egyptian times, your Cleopatra, obviously they’ve moved on with each different generation and it can suit pretty much everyone from their 20s till their 70s , Fringes are great, so if you’ve got a long face, then you are better off sort of taking it a bit shorter. People with a larger face should avoid fringes, because it draws attention to it. I’d say about 60% of people have an oval shaped face and they suit most things, but obviously certain people don’t and that’s when the hairdresser really comes into play to advise you on things like that.
WHAT’S HOT FOR AUTUMN/WINTER 09/10?
We are still seeing a massive influx of 80s revivals. If you look at catwalks there’s a lot of crimping going on. For guys: quiffs, new romantics. I think the short hair trend for women is still gonna be quite big and popular. Maybe not sort of as masculine and androgynous as it has been, but softer but sort of shorter: your Agyness Deyn, those sorts of people. I know it’s longer now (Agyness Deyn’s hair) but that’s sort of feel. Still sort of short and choppy texture, I think . Again, your blondes and your brunettes are always massive. Shine is gonna be a big one. Bobs are still beautiful, not so much that classic Victoria Beckham graduation, it’s kind of moved away from being so exaggerated, more of a classic-y Cleopatra sort of bob. Fringes, again, are still massive.
WHAT ABOUT COLOUR?
I still think your beautiful brunettes: shine and I think we’ll see sort of moving away from solid sort of colours going back to sort of…again, to add texture, if you have a full head of brunette, add caramel and honey highlights. Same with blondes – I still think blondes are gonna be massive – but a bit softer: honeys, ashes, not so harsh all the way through.
WHAT HAIR CARE ADVICE COULD YOU GIVE TO OUR READERS?
A must have product: invest in a good conditioner. Get shampoo and conditioner if you can, but I will always say conditioner, don’t try and scrimp and scrape with a conditioner. Regular trims, conditioning treatments – great. If you can’t afford to buy really expensive conditioning treatments just get a nice conditioner, shower, wash your hair, put the conditioner in, don’t rinse the conditioner out, leave it in, wrap your hair with some cling film or a plastic bag. Sleep with it in and just wash it out in the morning and it allows it to get in really deep, penetrating into the cuticles and you start to get some health and shine back into your hair. The only thing you’ll find that could be a negative, especially if you’ve got finer hair, is that it can make it a bit greasy and a bit limp.
Before our interview, Jamie gave me a wash and blow dry. Not only did my hair looks fantastic, but I actually managed to go a whole week without washing it and by day seven it still looked fine (I’m taking the “don’t wash your hair more than 2/3 times a week” to a whole new level). Jamie also gave me plenty of advice on how to look after my hair and suggested I try the Keratin Complex Smoothing Therapy, a must have treatment for those with dry/frizzy hair created by Coppola USA. By infusing keratin deep into the cuticles, it eliminates 95% of frizz from the hair, leaving it healthy, shiny and soft for up to twelve weeks. To try the treatment or to book an appointment with Jamie Stevens, call Errol Douglas on 020 7235 0110. I’d like to thank everyone at Errol Douglas for their time, help and kindness, especially Jamie Stevens, Errol Douglas and Gladys for answering all my questions on the Keratin Complex Smoothing System.
Gok Wan’s How To Look Good Naked is on Channel 4 on Tuesdays at 8 pm. The British Hairdressing Awards take place on the 23d of November. Errol Douglas Limited, 18 Motcomb Street, Knightsbridge, London SW1X 8LB
