With L’Oréal Professionnel’s ammonia-free hair color and new at-home follow-up products, a dye job won’t kill your hair

Women—and men—have been bleaching, tinting, stripping, highlighting and streaking their hair for centuries, to various points of breakage, dryness and damage. In the past, for the most effectual and rich color, ammonia was required to open the hair shaft and let the dye in. But the nasty smelling chemical isn’t exactly good for us. Several years ago, L’Oréal Professionnel set to formulate a color system that shunned ammonia in favor of a safer and less stinky oil-based product.

The result: a yogurt-like color formula called INOA (which stands for Innovation: No Ammonia and is available in these salons) that “harnesses the power of oil to maximize color performance using minimal concentrations of MEA, an alternative alkaline agent to ammonia,” says Nancy Braun, a hair color expert and balayage specialist at Rossano Ferretti Hair Spa in Beverly Hills. Last month L’Oréal released an update, INOA ODS2, which delivers even more shine to a client’s new color, and this summer welcomes the debut of INOAColor Care, a trio of at-home, sulfate-free products (a shampoo, conditioner and deeply protective masque) that boost the benefits you’ve received in the salon—and make regularly colored hair look even better. “The new INOA ODS2 glides onto the hair with ease, it covers gray beautifully and provides a great experience for both client and colorist, with no ammonia,” says Braun.

“Once your color is in place, it is important to use color-protecting hair care products to prevent fading,” says Braun, a longtime ambassador for L’Oréal Professionnel. “And INOAColor Care is the perfect compliment to INOA color—the system works together to preserve shine and strengthen hair, effortlessly.” Two natural ingredients in these formulas are behind the benefits: argan oil preserves the lipids on the outer part of hair fibers to smooth, while green tea extract, a powerful antioxidant, nourishes and heightens the color’s intensity and radiance.