Emo hairstyles are one expression of youth culture that has seen an upsurge in popularity. The flamboyant styles are fashionable and creative and each individual look has something different to communicate to the world.
The new emo expression does in fact have it's roots in a bygone age of popular music. During the 1980's, the musical revolution of punk rock gave birth to the emotional or emotive hardcore musical sound. Emo is the modern day short form of 'emotional' and thus emo hairstyles refer to the punk movement of the past but with very contemporary cultural expressions combined. Some might like to call any hairstyle that looks loud and unconventional as emo but those who consider themselves as emo purists, have very clear ideas about what actually qualifies as a true emo hairstyle.
The whole point of emo hairstyles is to express individuality and each person tries to create their own unique look. Therefore, it is not easy to isolate exactly what a typical emo hairstyle looks like since variety is the name of the game. However, despite this, emo hairstyles do share some common characteristics that help create the classic emo look. The wearing of fringes or bangs are a very distinctive feature for example. Fringes are usually long and brushed to the side although some are much shorter and cut with abrupt edges.