Getting your tresses to that exact shade that you love takes time, patience, skill, if you do it yourself, and most of all, money! The tab for professionally colored hair can run into the hundreds of dollars, depending on the procedure and how often you must visit the salon for touchups. You can reduce that frequency by taking care of your hair, pre- and post-color. Before you head to the salon or purchase that box of color, take a couple of weeks before to deep condition hair and get it in the best shape possible. Healthy hair holds color much better than dry, damaged hair. Allow natural oils to build up and protect hair while allowing color to adhere better by not washing hair 24-48 hours before coloring. Give the color about that long to take before washing again after coloring. Very hot water and heat styling will make color fade, so keep things as cool as you can. Remember, the closer you stay to your natural color, the less obvious your natural roots will be – try to stick to a color that’s within one to three shades of your natural color. Use a shampoo that’s made expressly for color-treated hair, and it can’t hurt to give shampoos made for your specific hair color a try. Some color-enhancing brands can keep highlights shiny and alive a bit longer than regular shampoos. Many stylists swear by sulfate-free brands to prolong color – most salon brands do not contain sodium laureth sulfate, the sudsing agent in many shampoos, soaps and even toothpastes. You may miss the big lather SLS creates, but you won’t miss the drying, color-sapping effect, so it’s worth a try. Be nice to your beautiful hair color, and it’ll reward you with longer, more vibrant color.