Okay, I will give you all the information I can...hope it helps. First, if you want to color your hair lighter, you can use a dye (which is the lesser damaging chemical). The only problem is if you have colored before...color will not lighten color. So, if you have used a haircolor previously (even if it was a long time ago) and any hair on your head has any left over color it will not lighten. Your hair looks pretty light in the profile photo. If not colored before, it should lighten fairly easily. I would suggest a blonde shade that you like, then do a test. Put some color on a small, out of the way spot of hair and time it accordingly. Once finished and rinsed, see if you are happy with the color. You can use this same color mixture to test the extension hair as well. Just apply it to the extension as you did your hair and at the end, see what you think. Infact, you can do your hair and the extension at the same time to ensure the timing is the same. Now, if your hair is not free of previous color, your hair will only lift with a bleach. I don't recommend bleach for dreaded hair, as it is very damaging and can cause extensive breakage. Over time, the hair can not tolerate repeated bleachings (as in touching up roots) without extreme conditioning (which you can't use with dreads). Now, if the extensions were previosly colored (as was suggested to you), they must be bleached to be lightened. If you do the test with color on them and they do not change...you know that they already have been colored. It is possible that you could bleach the extensions to get the correct color and use color on your own hair...but the colors will be alittle tricky to match. Another thing that you will want to be looking for is the condition of the extension. Sometimes, synthetic extensions are sold as human hair and when chemicals are applied...the extension melts or turns into a clump. That is why sometimes, people will say that they have already been colored when they have not (they are just trying to hide that they are not human hair). Human hair extensions are usually costly, so...if you got them cheaper...be suspicious. It is possible for you to get these to match, don't be discouraged...just proceed slowly and with caution. Start with one box of color...do tests on your hair and the extension...your results will tell you how to further proceed. Always here to answer more questions. I wish you good luck 
