Emo bands are born practically every day, thanks to big names in the industry like Fall Out Boy, Panic! At The Disco, Coheed And Cambria and My Chemical Romance. Some people might still have no idea what specific sound emo has. And let’s face it folks, not everyone can sing like Jimmy Eat World’s Jim Adkins. However, dressing up like these emo rock stars and copying their emo hairstyle is definitely easier than starting your own garage band.

Picture this, you go to the salon and ask for a wild Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance) haircut. I bet a thumb and a finger your stylist doesn’t have a clue what you’re talking about. If they do, they’ll probably give you an unhappy look and ask you which of the millions of Gerard Way hairstyles you really want them to copy. Unless you bring a picture of the hair you want to do on your head full of emo music, all you’ll be left with is an updated haircut. The thing about an emo hair style is that it can seem too daunting and complicated, but in reality, it’s as easy as cutting your hair with a kitchen bowl on your head.

Okay, so it’s a little fancier and more artistic than just a few snips and cuts. Just like achieving any type of hairstyle, getting an emo haircut is a process. Let’s go back to our friend, Gerard Way, for a second. He’s had a few haircuts (and hairstyles he doesn’t) over the years, but today, his short platinum locks are making all the fuss. Everyone wants to sign up for The Black Parade hype, so they start by getting the same `do. It must be emphasized that this should not be another Eminem fad for dyeing blonde hair, it would be a shame. Getting your own style and sticking to a few colors instead of going straight to platinum may be better for you.

The trendiest (and obvious) emo hair style is to dye your hair a deep onyx black. Once those locks are as dark as the night sky, the hair is cut shorter from the back and sides, leaving the top and front slightly longer to create a swinging set of bangs. These bangs are usually swept to the side, covering a large part of the face. When you see Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz rock out on stage, you can only wonder how he can even see what he’s doing. Apparently being blind to the world with hair buzzing in your face 24/7 is pretty cool, I’ll take it.

The best part of having an emo hair style is that after the cut and you don’t like what they’ve done, you can always go shorter or apply styling wax to remove the hair. You know how, on bad hair days, women put their hair up in a ponytail? For unsatisfying Emo rock star hair, you can also collect all that loose hair into a messy pony. It’s either that, or you change your stylist entirely.