So...I have two new ideas I wanna try....one involves a red going from light (at the roots) to dark.

question uno...because I'm going from light to dark should I bleach my roots first? Would they become too light?

Question dos...
I saw the pic with the guy with a pink fro...complete awesomeness....but I do care about my hair feeling yucky. I use Blue Lightning with Salon Care 30 vol. which is what I used on my friend's hair before. It took his brunettish hair to a golden blond (and even a pale blond in some spots) and his hair felt pretty ok after washing it. After dying it and conditioning it felt just fine...not as soft as the part I left normal (the top was dyed After Midnight Blue and the bottom Pillerbox Red) but not hayish either. Only thing is...hes puerto rican....I'm not. My hair is very uncooperative and...pure afro american hair. I was kinda hoping to get a goldish color but dunno if 30 mins is a good idea. I usually just bleach to a caramel color. So...what should I do here?

question tres....
random coontail...where should I put it if I decide to do it?

1. Depends on how dark you're going. If you're going to have a lot of color going on, you should try to match the rest of your hair in tone, so bleaching your roots would be best. If you're going with dark colors, it might not be necessary, but your roots will only take on a tint, if any real color at all.

2. When hair is dark, you sometimes have to bleach in stages. Go for a carmel color, then if you want it lighter, you may need to bleach it another time. Use the lowest volume developer you can get away with. If your hair is relaxed, you may want a pro to bleach it. I've heard bleaching horror stories in regards to relaxing services.

3. If your hair is similiar to the picture on your profile, I think the coontail would look great in your bangs alongside your face. It would really stand out!

I meant like....having my roots brighter than my ends.

Yeah my hair is relaxed but it does fine bleaching actually. My sister did it last time (shes licensed) and it was pretty cool...still felt soft and all....I feel lucky to have hair like mine sometimes But yeah I know what you mean. I hear those stories too

You have 2 options here:

Bleach the roots to pale blond and run the bleach through into your auburn shade half way through the bleaching to lighten it slightly leaving the ends untouched. You'll have a fade from pale blonde to auburn. Then dye over that with a bright red and you should get the effect you're looking for.

The other option is to bleach it out to an even pale blond and then use 2 shades of red, bright at the roots, deep at the ends and blended in the middle. The effect will be similar.

Option 1 will be slightly less damaging to the hair as less of it is bleached really pale. The second option is good if you plan to change your colour as the red will eventually wash out and leave you with something you can dye over.