Well, i must post on this one since i'm a bleach freak
(ok, this is going to be a huge post, i wonder if anyone will read it)
I have dark brown hair and its really hard to lighten. Not just because it's brown, my hair is harder to bleach that regular dark brown hair. Maybe because of my asian background, who knows...
Anyway, my natural hair color (check on the parts closer to the roots and the bangs, because the ends are bleached hair dyed black... and the color was fading)
And my hair now:
picture with flash:
And without flash, because flash can lie
My tips:
-If your hair is not healthy from the start, it will only get worse.
I bleach my hair at home, i don't trust hairdressers (i bleach/dye/cut my hair myself).
-Bleaching your hair more than once in one day usually is hair suicide. It will break, and become way too elastic (like melted bubblegum) because the keratin is all gone.
-Light you hair until you think its safe, use a toner to get rid of the brassy tones and only do it again when you feel your hair is healthy again. That usually takes about a month.
-Until then, reconstruct and mosturize it.
-Know your hair and its needs. If your hair is too elastic, then do some keratin and protein treatments. If your hair is too stiff and lack of elasticity, then moisturize it. Do a moisturizing treatment to your hair a couple of days after a protein treatment. And do that once a week too.
-The bleach is too alkaline, so after you bleach your hair, use some acid products (pH 3 to 5) to neutralize it (after you shampoo)
I use violet/bluish toners to get rid of the yellow/orange tones.
I don't spend much money at all. I invest in a good professional bleach that lasts forever, so in the end is really cheap, and redken shampoo and mask (that are expensive in Brazil). The rest of the products i use are really cheap.
This is just to show that you CAN keep a extremely bleached hair long without extensions.
Ok, i wrote waaaay too much, so if you have any questions feel free to ask me, and feel free to correct me too
I hope that helps