I think that this will grow out better, which is what I was looking for. I do have natural reds in my hair, which causes it to still look somewhat red right now, but it is way more brown so...hopefully, this won't be a train wreck.
Stripping is actually very damaging (or was). I once colored my hair myself and it turned out purple (don't ask) so I went to the hairdresser to have them strip it out. They used a very strong bleach-type chemical and it actually burned my scalp and some of my hair fell out. Of course this was over 10 years ago so maybe the chemicals are better now.
yes they are different from 10 years ago...yet still its quite hard on your hair and scalp especialy if its a full head.
Yet thats nothing compared to chemical straightening...
however there is no need to strip color out of hair much these days as there are salon only products such as Wella Magnum colors which cover anything.