Me, having no experience at coloring hair, I decided to try the at home method of coloring. I have naturally Dark hair, I'd say level 2 or 3. I have been wanting to go blonde for years and finally decided to try going lighter first. I used Loreal Preference 5G and all I ended up with was Dark hair with a red hue to it. First attempt was a failure at doing anything except adding red tones to my already dark hair. (I don't like the red)
Having taken the plunge and failing, I read that you can't re-color hair to a lighter color without removing the old color first. So I bought a Loreal color remover kit and a Dark Blond #7. After using the color remover I had a beautiful Orange head of hair. I then used the Dark Blond and assumed it would lighten my hair to a reasnonable lighter brown... Wrong! Well not exactly, I did lighten my hair, but it was very red and since I don't like red in my hair, I decided to call my Stylist.
My stylist had me use a clarifying shampoo for a week, and leave my conditioner in my hair for 4 or 5 minutes before rinsing. Then my trip to the stylist. She Stripped my hair again till it was a lovely color of orange. I believe she used Peroxide and some packets of something (I didn't ask) But it wasn't bleach. After drying, she applied peroxide with an ash toner. After washing and conditioning, she didn't want to dry it since she said my hair had been tortured enough for one day, and I went home with damp hair.
Once dry, I do have a much lighter hair. More like a 6 and in it, there is quite a bit of red still there. With the right light, I can see blond in there as well, but mostly the red undertones. Did I say I didn't like red... I called her and asked if anything cold be done. Her answer was that since my hair is naturally dark, I will always have some red, and what I've got is the best I can hope for. To help remove some red she suggested I go to a shade darker.
Wait! I don't want to go darker. I wan't to go lighter with very little red if possible. Now this is my question. Is she right, and a level 6 is the BEST I can hope to achieve or should I seek a new stylist? Is there something I can do to get some of the red out. I want to have golden blonde, but all I have now is mostly light reddish hair. I need some serious professional help now. Please Help

Ah what a tangled web we weave when we don't look before we leap.

When you color hair with a single-process haircoloring (the 5G you used), the developer, (aka hydrogen peroxide or just simply peroxide) does two jobs. 1) it lightens your natural pigment and 2) it "develops" the color. Most developer that you'd buy over-the-counter is "20-volume" or 6%. You can buy stronger peroxide solutions (commonly up to 12%) at places like Sally Beauty to get a little lighter.

Unfortunately, hydrogen peroxide is limited in its ability to lighten hair. It can lighten pretty well up to two "levels" above your natural level. In addition, as hair is lightened (by whatever means), the natural pigment in the hair turns various colors, red, orange, yellow, pale yellow. If your hair is dark, it's unlikely that you can get past the red or reddish orange stage.

As you saw, level 5 (5G) isn't very light. As a rule-of-thumb, you average the level of the colorant with your natural level to get the final level. If your natural level is a level 3, you'll end up with level 4 hair -- and reddish tones are the rule.

L'Oreal makes two types of color removers. Color Oops is a reducing-type color remover that is more gentle on the hair. Effasol or the Color remover kit is actually a modified hair bleach. I suspect that's why you ended up with the orange. Basically, your undertones (natural pigment) aren't light enough. The "packets of something" that your colorist used was a bleach-based color remover. Too bad she didn't use ColorFix.

Most people don't like red in their hair. If you wish to get past the red and into the blonde (or even light brown) stage, you have to bleach the hair to the yellow or pale yellow stage, and then "tone" it or dye it back to the color you want.

The reason your colorist suggested a darker color is because that's the easy way to solve the problem. She's also afraid of breakage since your hair has been through a lot. In addition, very few colorists actually understand the chemistry of hair. It is commonly believed by stylists that waiting or allowing the hair to rest will result in an improved hair condition. This is not true. Hair won't "get better" by resting. Hair isn't alive. It has no blood supply and rest doesn't happen. It may be true that your hair was "tortured", but it won't get better simply by going home wet.

Without knowing how much damage your hair has accrued, I can't make any good suggestions. If you were to grow it out and start again from scratch, I'd suggest you bleach and tone (double-process). If your hair will stand bleach (you can do a strand test on the head, and wait a week to see if the strand will break), you can actually bleach it and then tone it. With hair as dark as yours, the "golden" color won't be hard to get. However, don't use a "golden blonde" shade as that will make it too 'golden". You'll need an ash shade.