As much as we've been hanging on to any final glimpses of summer, it's officially fall in Chicago. There may just be a few remnants of summer sun still lingering in your hair. We've been calling it Summertail, Summerpony, the Overexposed Pony... and we're here to help!

Here's the deal: if you kept your hair up in a hairband for, well, the majority of the summer, your color may be paying the price. "Wherever the band ended up in your hair, higher or mid-shaft, you might be seeing some breakage," says colorist Jasen James.

What to Look For

One of the key symptoms to look would be the signature dark crown and super-light pony—and we're not talking about the ombré, dip-dyed, I-meant-to-do-this kind of look either. This is more of a damaged, unintentionally lightened ponytail that took the bulk of the abuse all summer long. 

How We Can Combat (And Fix) Summer Pony

As far as color goes, Jasen recommends a glaze to add back in some of that tonality the sun took away. "A glaze puts the pigment back into the hair softly," says Jasen, "They can quench your thirst for fresh hair color while replenishing the hair." If you're still rocking that super-summer blonde palette and you'd like to reign your hair in (while combatting the overexposed ponytail), you might also consider adding in some lowlights, which can add depth back into your hair.

How to recuperate your hair You'll also want to look for the dent—yes, the same one you fret over when you let your ponytail air-dry, but this one isn't just a kink in your coiff. This is a band of weakened hair, marked by breakage, across the middle of your hair. We recommend taking a leave-in conditioner and running it from the dent all the way down to the ends of your hair. Chances are your scalp is in good shape and doesn't need the extra product, so focus your attention mid-shaft to ends. (See right: Kérastase's new Fibre Architecte.) To protect this weakened region of your hair while you recuperate, we'd recommend laying off too-tight ponies and being careful with chemical processes. "If you know you've got a weakened section of your hair," says Jasen, "Make sure to talk to your colorist about not pulling any lighteners or stronger colors through that mid-section if they're not necessary."

Kerastase's new wonder-serum Our favorite product for recuperating damaged hair? Kérastase's new Fibre Architecte, part of the Resistance collection. The product is not being officially launched until mid-October, but it will be at Maxine Salon next week! We were able to snag two cases left over from Fashion Week—thanks, Kérastase! What makes this product so jaw-droppingly amazing? It's a reparative dual-serum that works wonders on all hair types, sealing and repairing brittle, very damaged lengths and split ends by actually reconstructing the hair fiber.