Anyone have highlights on their dark brown hair?

[springlamb]

My hair is dark brown with increasing gray at the front. I've been having highlights for most of this year and I'd like to continue. They seem to need doing about every two months. Never costs less than £100.
My hairdresser always insists I have the highlights combined with a toffee-ish base colour. TBH I just can't afford to keep it up anymore.
When I last kept my hair highlighted (admittedly twenty years ago!) we didn't seem to bother with 'base colours' but the hairdresser seems to feel it's essential.
Is it really? Does everyone have one? Would it look totally weird nowadays just to get her to do a half-head highlights?

i don't bother with a base colour, I have a lot of grey in the front. I have highlights on the front of the hair (normally, but not right now) and have the on top of the grey. You can still see the grey, but it is now broken up with the brown (natural) and the two different tones of blonde, and it also means as it grows out I can get away with waiting a little longer before I get it re-done. The grey does not really notice, in fact, i think it looks more natural as its all mixed up together, and then at the back it is just dark brown.

not 'on top of the grey', but sliced through the already mixture of grey and brown, but heavy on the blonde.

Ladylush - you have just made my day!!!!

morag glad to be of service

More interesting ideas. I'm going in tomorrow to discuss.
My own skin is getting quite pale (I'm 43) and I find anything dark to cover the grey makes me look like a chubby Morticia so definitely some lightening needed.
DD was watching X Factor earlier and I tried not to look wistful at Cheryl and Danni's hair.

Pavlov, my hair is exactly the same. I used to have a darker brown base colour over my own dark brown, but last time my hairdresser said that it would be better to just have 3 colours of highlights concentrated around the face to break up the grey. It works fine, am really pleased :-)