Final answer:
Dark hair goes through seven to eight stages of lightening, which includes progressing from dark to palest yellow, and the correct answer option is D) Eight stages.
Step-by-step explanation:
The process of lightening dark hair involves the chemical alteration of the hair's natural color pigment. Dark hair typically goes through seven to eight stages of lightening or degrees of decolorization before it achieves the lightest shades. Therefore, the correct answer option to the student's question is D) Eight stages.
These stages usually progress from dark (black or dark brown), to red, red-orange, orange, yellow-orange, yellow, pale yellow, and finally to palest yellow or almost white. The specific number of stages can vary depending on the original hair color and the desired level of lightening. However, safely reaching the lightest stages requires careful monitoring to avoid hair damage, as each stage involves a significant chemical change within the hair shaft.