I've had my hair every color except black. I was a natural blonde as a child,which got darker as I grew up, to a light mousy brown. I started dying my hair around age 16 using "Nice and Easy" from a box. Also did the lemon-juice-and- sit-in- the- sun bit. I have even had Platinum blond to please my husband. That was a nightmare-had to get a professional to lighten my hair, she used very strong peroxide. The roots needed constant touching up every 4 to 6 weeks, and it burned every time I got a touch-up. So I let my "natural" color hair grow in, took about 6 months. I'm now light brown with some gray. Anyhow, if you are making a drastic change, you really can't do it yourself. You need to go to a pro who will remove the old color and apply the new. Or go with highlights, which if applied properly don't need a lot of maintenance, only needs to be done every 6 months or so.Good luck and let us know what you do!

Wash it a few times in a row, it will lighten considerably. Then evaluate how dark you want to go, possibly get blonde highlights. It's hard to transition but a darker blonde does make you seem less washed out, imo.... That's the way I went and I'm loving it. I do have lots of highlights though.

I used to go to a home based salon and the hairdresser (owner) had a sign up saying tipping wasn't allowed. I totally agree with this since she gets all the profits. Just last week I paid $105 for color and a haircut! I notice that hair salons don't break down the various services by price anymore - they just give you the total. My hair color was just an all over color that I could have achieved at home. It came out so dark that I bought a Loreal Highlighting kit the next day. It comes with the all over color and the highlights. I bought Toasted Coconut (the kits are on sale for $12.99 at RiteAid this week only). I used the highlight part and put some highlights in my hair and I am very pleased with it. When my roots show I will use the all over color part of the kit and touch up the roots and maybe blend some into the end. It is virtually foolproof but if you want some highlights in the back it would be easier to ask a friend or daughter - or a last resort husband - to do the back since that can be tricky. I've used this kit before and it is just as good as anything I've gotten at a salon. I've actually gotten compliments on my hair, something I didn't get when I was paying $100-$200! Also, I no longer automatically add 20% to my bill because of the outrageous prices they are charging. $10 is my limit, no matter what. Call me cheap, but I'm not a fool.

Slicing has been around for a long time. I tell the stylist not to "cut in" with scissors. It just leaves a lot of uneven ends that stick out. I still don't know how to communicate best to get a good cut, but in addition to no cutting in, I say "very limited layering. A couple of long layers that are almost the the same length is ok". And I say I want as geometric a cut as possible - "a structured cut". My hair can provide it's own randomness, thank you very much. Those mess-making techniques are for hair that is fine, or straight. Or for coarse or curly hair in the hands of a real shaping expert, and those experts are very few and far between. They exist, but you have to hunt, and wait a long time for an appointment, and pay big $$$$. I ask for a structured bob, emphasizing that I want to achieve an overall shape and definite line or edge. The behavior of my hair then softens this edge, but it looks cared for and even.