1. Measure your hair's health
Healthy hair is shiny, supple and silky. If none of these adjectives applies to your locks, take a strand test to identify what could be doing the damage: Pull a wet strand from your scalp and stretch it out. Hair should stretch one-fifth of its length without breaking and bounce back. If it breaks, it's lacking moisture.
If the hair keeps stretching, it's lacking protein, probably due to chemical treatments that have weakened the bonds in each strand––like color processes, straightening or perms. The right conditioning treatments can help in both cases.
2. Opt for a cut that has substance as well as style
If your hair takes more than 15 minutes to style and even then seems mis-shapen, you've got the wrong cut. Next time you go to the salon, meet with your stylist before you shampoo to talk about alternatives that will work with your natural texture.
Also: Consider a cut that flatters your face shape. A square jaw will be softened by a loose, layered cut. Bangs (swept to the side if you don't want to get regular trims) complement a longer face, and a center part balances a round face.
3. Find a hue that's you
The golden rule of low-maintenance, low-risk, great-looking color is to go one shade brighter or darker than your normal hue. Then you can keep kicking it up a notch, but you won't be in for any big surprises along the way.
Just be sure that whatever shade you choose contrasts with your skin tone. You'll look washed out and need more makeup if everything matches too well.
Finally, if your dye job goes horribly wrong, ask your colorist to fix it. Most salons will grant you a grace period of a week or two to request a free redo.
3 more steps for healthier hair can be found at Shape.com!
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