Hair Fiasco

I was attempting to dye my hair close to its natural color (so that I could quit messing with dye) but the dye I used was bad and I ended up with almost black hair... and not uniformly so. Although, it wasn't too noticeable, but I didn't like it.

I am currently mid-second attempt at making myself a brunette again. The first time I tried to lighten it with permanent dye, that didn't work. Now I'm trying to "strip" the dark color, then use a soft permanent to give me a normal brown until my natural color grows back in.

Here's hoping it works and I can quit spending my hard earned money on hair products.