Protect Your Color.

Byline: Ellen Miller

Five easy steps that keep hair color bright and shiny.

There are certain looks we'd like to see fade away--Crocs, leggings, Heidi Montag's fashion line--but our vibrant new hair color isn't one of them. Unfortunately, the chemicals in hair dye that deliver gorgeous color also break apart the hair's cuticle. That makes strands more porous and color more vulnerable to damage from UV rays, heated hair tools, and harsh minerals in water--which in turn leads to brassiness and fading. To prevent this, "use products that restore the cuticle and protect hair," says Jim Hammer, a cosmetic chemist. If your hair fades or turns brassy, don't reach for color-depositing shampoos and conditioners--they use semipermanent dyes that can change and flatten your color. Instead, try an at-home glaze, which contains translucent dyes that coat--but don't penetrate--the cuticle, so "your color looks much richer," says Hammer. And that's a look we're happy to embrace.

Squirt a quarter-size blob of shampoo for color-treated hair into your hands, rub your hands together, and work the shampoo into your scalp. Rinse immediately with tepid water--hot water causes color to fade faster.

Apply a rich conditioner to ends, then spread what's left on your hands through the rest of your hair, avoiding the roots. Rinse after three minutes, and do not stand directly under the water for the rest of your shower.

Once a week, after shampooing, coat hair from just below roots to ends with a deep-conditioning mask. (On fine hair, apply from midshaft down.) Leave it on for ten minutes in the shower--the steam helps it penetrate--then rinse.

Before using a blow-dryer or hot iron, spritz damp hair with a heat-shielding spray and comb it through, then style as usual. If you're going out in the sun, apply a UV-protecting spray or cream after your other styling products.