TWO hairdressers from Chelmsford are having the time of their lives – styling hair for X Factor contestants.
Zoe and Nathan Jasztal, both 36, own the Silhouette du Barry salon in Moulsham Street.
But every weekend, they leave their hairdressing business and head up to Wembley in London to have their talent shown to millions by the eight remaining contestants – including Sam Callahan – who hope to sing their way to fame.
The pair, who work with award-winning hairdresser Jamie Stevens on the ITV show, look after the contestants' hair plus 10 dancers' hairdos and are always working due to the constant rehearsals and camera runs that occur throughout the day before the curtain goes up.
"It's amazing fun," said Zoe.
"For us it's just the fact that it's live and there's a lot of jumping and leaping around.
"To make sure that their hair looks good throughout the shows, it's edge of the seat stuff for hairdressers."
Zoe, who has styled contestants' hair with her husband on the show for the past three years, has also styled Sam Callahan's hair, saying that "he is very picky about his hair, but so would I be if I was going on TV".
She also added that "the boys are the vainest" of the contestants and the designers "spend up to twice as long than the girls" fixing the boys' hair.
Despite the pressure of running a six-day-a-week salon, Nathan and Zoe also managed to find the time to help on style guru Gok Wan's live fashion show which was broadcast in the summer.
But despite their foray into TV, it is the salon that they still call their home and main project, and Zoe said clients and staff there had been very supportive during their 10-weekend absence.
But after the show is over on December 15, there will be no let-up for the pair: they'll be heading into one of their busiest weeks of the year before Christmas.
