COLOR THIS TREATED HAIR SENSITIVE.

Byline: Associated Press 

Color-treated hair thrives best with special care between applications.

Some tips from Senscience International:

Shampoo and rinse with tepid, not hot, water. Hot water lifts and swells the hair's protective cuticle layer, leeching out hair-color molecules and weakening the strand.

Use electric styling appliances with care. Using a blow dryer set too high, drying hair until it is bone dry or holding the nozzle too close to the hair not only can weaken the strands but fade hair color. Over-use of curling and straightening irons, hot rollers and crimpers also can cause color loss.

Beware of chlorinated and salt water. Both can dry and damage hair and alter color. Blondes, especially, tend to develop ``chlorine-green'' or brassy tones. Use a leave-in conditioner while at the pool or beach, then shampoo and condition hair at day's end.

Get frequent trims. Have frayed ends snipped off every four to six weeks. Ends that are frizzy or split can't reflect light like healthy strands, leaving hair color looking dull.

High heels get low marks: Fewer women wear high heels on a daily basis today than 10 years ago, and the high heels they wear generally are lower.

A recent survey for Dr. Scholl's and the American Podiatric Medical Association says 54 percent of the respondents wear high heels on a daily basis, compared with 61 percent in 1986.

Of those who wear high heels, 73 percent say they do so to be in fashion, compared with 63 percent in 1986.

Although more women are working, fewer wear high heels to work - 25 percent compared with 32 percent a decade ago.

What is a high heel? Thirty-one percent said a 1-inch heel could qualify, compared with 18 percent a decade ago. And among young women 18 to 24 years, 42 percent considered a 1-inch heel to be high.

The survey questioned 1,001 women age 18 or older.