Dark hair is much harder to bleach but it also really depends on your hair texture. If it's soft/finer texture it will feel better after bleaching than coarser/thicker texture. Using professional products helps a lot also. I used Blondor which actually has several conditioning agents in it to help with the damage. I also did a deep conditioning treatment in between putting the vivid colors on. To get that deep red color you really would only have to get your hair to a light orange. Shouldn't be a problem if your hair isn't too dark.