I'm a black guy who wants emo hair...

Dear Mookychick,

I'm fourteen, a tan brown skateboarder that enjoys rock and hip hop music and I'm tired of my old usual fade haircut my dad keeps giving me. I mean, look at this pic I found, this guy looks so bored and regular.

I want a cool emo haircut like this other pic - look how alive this guy looks!!!!

But then there is one problem... Once I go emo with my hair it's going to be ages before I can go back to any hair look

So what I'm really asking you is... What should I do?

1. Be the first black guy with emo hair?

2. Get a emo hair wig? (if so where can I purchase one in Croydon?)

3. Stick to that dull fade haircut? On second thought number three is NOT an option so help

From a black guy that envies emo hair...

The Mookychick answer to your problem

Magda says...

Wow. I feel for you. Achieving a classic emo style is not going to be easy, and if I think about this really objectively, I'm not sure you should try. I don't care whether you have emo hair or not - but, like everyone else in the world, I care if you've got hair that suits you and your personality. Everyone needs hair that expresses them properly. I'm sure you can do this - but it might be worth looking at other options, not just the classic emo haircut.

I'll be honest - when I first saw this email I thought, oh my god, maybe this guy thinks we Mookychicks are all white nazi racialist emo supremacists and he's trying to catch us out with this email. But then I thought - hey, everyone wants what's the hardest to get. Curly girls want straight hair. Straight hair goths secretly want renaissance curls. Pretty much everyone in the world wishes they had japanese hair, except for the japanese who wish they had, er, alien hair. Probably. And yes, maybe there's a black skater dude out there that wants emo hair. When it comes to a haircut that really expresses us, we always want what's going to be the most hassle. Science fact.

Okay, let's break this down.

1) Your dad cuts your hair. Will he be okay with you going to a stylist and choosing your own radical cut? Because unless your dad has very foxy barber skills it's probably best to get a difficult cut or style done professionally. Also, no-one wants to upset their dad. Once you've found a haircut you like and want to aim for, it might be worth making sure you're not hurting his feelings or freaking him out just because you want more exciting hair than the traditional cut he gives you. If there's any chance of him thinking you're turning into the devil because you want more radical hair, assure him you're not, you're the same person you always were. Dads often care about this sort of thing.

2) You can be whatever you want to be - you REALLY don't need a haircut as a uniform. I've seen black guys with amazingly alive hair. Tiny dreads two inches long all over. Cornrows in front with the rest afro-ed up a little. Caucasian hair suits emo styles better than afro-caribbean hair, generally speaking, because emo hair is all about the fringe flop and that's going to be hard to pull off unless you dedicate a serious amount of time and research into the project - but afro-caribbean hair is best for structure so maybe think about other styles that really go with your personality but have amazing structure to them. Everyone needs to make the best of what they've got. If you grew your hair out a bit you could get your hair into some really great styles that would easily match the emo hair ethic and fully express the personality of someone who rides concrete.

3) Relaxants might work so your hair was closer to the emo style, but you'd still need to grow your hair out a bit to use them. I'd definitely recommend going to a stylist who's not afraid to experiment and knows their afro-caribbean hair.

4) Any hairdresser is going to be so damn grateful to you if you walk in with an idea for your hair and a photo of someone else with the hairstyle you want that shows them exactly what you mean. Search google images to get ideas for hairstyles while you're growing your hair out. Source out magazines for afro-caribbean hairstyles to get more ideas. Get to the point where you have a photo and a description to hand to a hairdresser.

5) Again, and I can't stress it enough - who you are is more important than what your hair looks like. And if you want a hairstyle that's going to be hard to pull off, work with the magic your hair can easily do, then dress your body and live your life in a way that expresses itself.

6) Lastly, here's a hairstyle I think might suit you. I think it would suit pretty much anyone. To use your words, it's alive!

7) And very lastly, you could head in a punk direction and go for more of a mohawk than a long emo style. Again, I think it would suit you. How do I know without seeing you? Me, I reckon a take on these two styles would suit pretty much any skater guy...

And very very lastly, get on some messageboards and forums on the net and ask around. The Mookychick messageboard has at least one hairdresser on it and a few girls who may be able to give advice and ideas. There may be other messageboards out there dedicated to hairstyles. It's worth a try, so hit google and see what you can find.

I'm sorry I couldn't help more, but with a bit of research I reckon you'll land the style of your dreams.

PS Croydon is in my neck of the woods, and even if they sold wigs, a wig is no way to go - wigs are itchy and don't sit right and fall off. You want hair that's all your own work that you can feel good about every morning because it's really you. A bit more research, and maybe you'll find the answer soon. Good luck, and if you get yourself the dream style, send us a photo!