56% of those of you who color say, "My hair used to be healthy. Now it's…not."

Heal it at home. Dyeing your 'do can parch hair (like heat styling does), so its bounce and shine can be hard to hold on to. To repair past damage, apply a moisturizing mask such as Aloxxi Colour Rich Treatment Masque, $25, which has shea butter to soften. Another reason to heal pre-coloring: Healthy hair holds dye longer.
Easy does it. For vibrant color that's gentler, hunt down a salon that uses ammonia-free L'Oréal Professionnel INOA. This one-of-a-kind system uses oil to infuse the inner cortex (the center of a strand) with pigment instead of forcing open the protective outer layer—damage alert!—as much as ammonia does. Smart, right?
Let there be dark. Consider going darker, as lowlights deepen color and are less destructive than highlights, which lighten hair. Why? When you highlight, your cuticle is forced open and color is stripped out, leaving strands pitted and shineless. When you darken with lowlights, your cuticle is opened, then coated with pigments that act like glue to help seal dulling gaps. Think of it like lipstick: It doesn't change your lip's color; it simply deposits a new tone on top of your natural hue.
Pamper with protein. If you do go bombshell blonde or lighten several levels (the lighter you go, the more damage you incur), sidestep problems post-appointment with Pureology Perfect4Platinum MiracleFiller, $24, a daily treatment loaded with proteins—the building blocks of hair—to fill in tiny shine-busting potholes that coloring can cause along your strands