Emo hairstyles are characterised by rich and deep colours (e.g. black or deep brunette) with shades that often include hair highlights. These highlights are preferred to be in contrast to the background hair colour so they stand out. For example, if your hair was black, you might have white or vibrant red highlights. If you had a white blonde hair then you might prefer something purple or even red! Emo hair styles are also not restrained by any of the popular hair accessories. They may have long bangs over the left or right eye depending on the rest of the emo look. Because these styles reflect a person's personality, they also tend to be messy in some cases and it's great. They are popular with teens, their popularity increasing since 2006 onwards because they are so good at expressing one's emotions. What are some of the emo hairstyles misconceptions? Often people associate emo styles with long hair. That is not true - short mullet can be classified as emo hair style if it has the right cut and colours; and short mullet is a short hairstyle. The other association people make is that only guys wear them because they are more stringent on them. That couldn't be more false - everyday I see more girls wearing the emo haircuts than guys. But as I said, an emo style may look better on a girl than on a boy but that's completely stereotypical, not the case at all.