Like many moms-to-be, a few weeks before my due date I treated myself to a beauty day, which included a new set of bright summer highlights. That day, as I left the salon I felt happy, beachy and even pretty! Eight weeks later, the mother of a healthy newborn boy, not only was I extremely tired, but so was my hair color – or colors, I should say, as my natural hair color had grown in significantly, leaving me with a two-toned 'do.

Not wanting to invest a lot of money in yet another round of blond that would require further maintenance, I went to a professional who helped me "get back to my roots," or rather, get rid of them. According to Sarah Kochan, color specialist at Maxine salon in Chicago, the key to achieving low (or lower) maintenance color is to ask for it. "When you meet with your colorist to discuss what you want, you should make it clear up front that you don't want to come back every few weeks for touchups and that you want highlights that will grow out gracefully," Kochan says.

The key to achieving color that will cost less time and less money to maintain is to go only one or two levels lighter or darker than your natural hair color, she says. The brighter the highlights, the more contrast you will see when the roots come in.

In my case, Kochan recommended two things: a new set of more subtle highlights coupled with a semi-permanent color that was close to my natural dark blond color to fill in the rest. The result was a more natural shade with a sun-kissed glow.

"Women who were not into heavy maintenance hair color before their pregnancies probably won't want to invest in a pre-baby look that requires a lot of time in the salon after their baby is born," says Kochan, who herself became a first-time mom in August 2003. "I always ask my clients what their time frame is and how frequently they plan to visit the salon for subsequent touchups. If they want something that's going to last a long time and still look good, I'll do something more subtle."

Which isn't to say that Kochan doesn't have her share of clients with high-maintenance hair. In fact, she says, winter tends to be the busy season for high-voltage color. "February is always very busy in our color department and we do a lot of highlights," she says. "Often they are going someplace warm on vacation or they are just sick of winter and want some warmth to their hair."