(Please forgive any ignorance I may portray when trying to explain this)

Hi! So, naturally I have dark brown, thin-ish hair. I'm half white and half Japanese and if I had to pick, would say it's either a level 2 or 3. A long time ago I used a combination of failed box dye attempts and runs to Sally's and ended up with a beautiful light brown that sadly only lasted a couple washes. It grew out gradually and I would try to dye it lighter brown a couple times but eventually just let it grow out. I now have my natural color right to the top of my neck and the rest starts to fade to a brassy brown/blonde to my middle back. I have bleached it several times to lift to blonde, toned, and washed with purple shampoo, you name it. This was over the course of about a year so it's not as damaged as one may think, but I want the ends lighter and do not want to damage it further. Color is very similar to this - http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lo8w0geg4t1qglikco1_500.jpg. So, I want to have it all dark brown again. There's an incredible amount of information on the internet, much of it contradictory. I have NEVER EVER had a good experience with a stylist, not even once time my whole life, and I certainly don't have the money to start trying now. I have read that after bleaching, it will need to be re-pigmented with red before going brown in order to avoid green. Also, I've read you should use a protein filler prior to dyeing. Specifically, what kind of red would I use for this? Do I apply it all over or just the bleached area? Just this area seems logical but the color does fade throughout, so would it actually tint my brown hair if some got on it... Or does it even matter if I'm putting brown over it? How red does it need to be before rinsing it out? And as far as the brown - no idea how to go about picking a shade out of the immense selection there is. Do I go with an ash to combat any orange undertones? (which have been my problem the whole time) If the bottom is red and the top virgin brown, won't it turn out 2 different colors.. If I have a hard time matching to my natural color, is it safest to pick on the dark side? So many questions - sorry!

I would love to also add small piecey highlights and wonder how to go about doing this if there's brown dye in my hair. Do I just pick and bleach like I would normally or is the process now different?

Thank you so much in advance for any answers! =D