Hair - why is it such a bother.

Every now and then I realize that my hair needs professional help.  Dyeing it at home has worked pretty well, but I'm tired of the color and that's also how it looked - tired.  So I found the local coloring expert and went on Friday to let her do her magic.  Having really, really thick hair means you either go very short or let it grow longer.  Any thing in between gives me a 60's bouffant hairdo.  So I am in the midst of letting it grow in length and letting the color grow out.  To do this means a multi-step process of highlighting it in a much lighter shade than I had been previously dyeing it and low-lighting it with a color that matches my natural dark shade which is prevalent on the back of my head.  I was pleasantly surprised at the cost of all this - actually 1/3 less than I expected.