Fluorescence microscopy is often limited by photobleaching, which fades fluorescent signals, and by phototoxicity, which damages living cells during imaging. Photobleaching is thought to involve the formation of fluorophore’s triplet-state that react with molecular oxygen to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), which further degrade the fluorophore and harm cells. We developed a simple way to reduce both effects by adding a near-infrared (NIR) light during normal excitation of fluorescent proteins. This additional light triggers reverse intersystem crossing (RISC), i.e. allows fluorophores trapped in the triplet state to return to the fluorescent singlet state, thereby reducing ROS formation, photobleaching and phototoxicity. Using this dual-illumination approach, we observed 1.5- to 9-fold less photobleaching of green and yellow Fluorescent Proteins in purified samples, mammalian cells, and bacteria, together with reduced phototoxicity. The method can be easily implemented on standard microscopes and can improve the duration and quality of live-cell imaging.