I'm going to try and explain this the best that I can, I apologize if it's kind of confusing. Currently I have what is supposed to be bleach blonde hair. Half way down my head you can see a patch of hair that is like orangeish, which I'm assuming is there because it was my roots before and it didn't go as white as the rest of my hair. I have about 2-3 inches of roots now because I haven't been able to afford to dye my hair, and my natural hair colour is like a medium/dark brown. Underneath I have what is supposed to be dark brown but now it's faded a bit and the roots are showing there also. So basically my hair is a huge mess.

What I want eventually with my hair is: I want it all dark brown, almost like a black colour all over, and ontop of that I want partial highlights that are platnium blonde. I only want partial highlights on the top of my head (my hair is layered where the back is longer), I want the bottom to be dark brown without any highlights.

I'm going to a salon to have this done but I have to wait awhile because I don't have the money right now, so I was just wondering how is this process most likely going to be done? Would I be better off dying my hair all one colour (the dark brown) and keeping it that way for awhile and then adding the highlights later? Or would that be more damaging?

My hair used to be blond too, and I actually had done exactly what you are talking about. What my hairdresser did was, dye all of my hair underneath the dark brown, then she did the top in sections with foils. She did one section brown, then on the next foil she did a bleach blond. Alternating each color till she was done. I loved the way it turned out. :)

If you wanted to dye your hair dark, head to your beauty supply store and grab your hair dye (buy a 5 or 10 developer). Depending on the brown, whether it's a warm brown or cool brown, purchase the appropriate protein filler (warm or cool brown), 2 bottles. The protein filler is to prevent any discoloration from going light to dark. Apply the filler to your hair and brush it through then rinse it out. Mix up the hair dye and put a half bottle of filler into the dye mix to make it stronger. This should sufficiently color your hair, although the top may be slightly lighter. This process is very gentle on your hair. Id say wait on the DIY highlights. Another suggestion would be to check out Hair styling schools in your area, they usually have a functioning salon where the students do hair with a teacher close by, and the price is about half of what you would pay anywhere else.

My hair used to be blond too, and I actually had done exactly what you are talking about. What my hairdresser did was, dye all of my hair underneath the dark brown, then she did the top in sections with foils. She did one section brown, then on the next foil she did a bleach blond. Alternating each color till she was done. I loved the way it turned out. :)

That sounds like a good idea, was it expensive?

if you wanted to dye your hair dark, head to your beauty supply store and grab your hair dye (buy a 5 or 10 developer). depending on the brown, whether its a warm brown or cool brown, purchase the appropriate protein filler (warm or cool brown), 2 bottles. the protein filler is to prevent any discoloration from going light to dark. apply the filler to your hair and brush it through then rinse it out. mix up the hair dye and put a half bottle of filler into the dye mix to make it stronger. this should sufficiently color your hair, although the top may be slightly lighter. this process is very gentle on your hair. Id say wait on the DIY highlights. Another suggestion would be to check out Hair styling schools in your area, they usually have a functioning salon where the students do hair with a teacher close by, and the price is about half of what you would pay anywhere else.

Thank you so much for your advice, however I don't think I would try this on my own. There's like five colours in my hair lol and I'm too scared to do it myself, plus I've had really bad experiences in the past when I dyed my own hair. I'm willing to pay salon prices for it just because it's THAT bad :|

Well, I've been going to the same hairdresser for years, so she tends to give me a deal. It only cost me $50. I think at a regular salon, well where I live anyway, it would run around $80.00