Portier Cacao Deep Cleansing Shampoo + Moisturising Mask (2 x 1 L) is a two-step professional service from Brazil for coily hair (cabelos crespos). Step 1, the deep-cleansing shampoo, clears built-up product from the hair, and its final lather is left for 20 minutes. Step 2, the Moisturising Mask, goes on from root to ends for 10 minutes and is then blow-dried with a brush and flat-ironed, with no rinse in between. That sequence is what sets the pair apart: the mask is worked into the finish. Both bottles are formulated with cocoa extract and arrive shrink-wrapped together.

Why the two steps work as one service

The two bottles are made to follow each other. Portier describes the shampoo as clearing out the residue of products that has built up, leaving the hair ready for the mask as step 2, and the mask's directions begin after a wash with that shampoo. So the order matters: the mask goes onto hair that step 1 has just cleared. From there it stays in through the blow-dry and the iron, which makes the finish part of the treatment. What you control is how thoroughly you wash, how evenly you lay the mask from root to ends, and the tension you put into the brush and the iron.

Key ingredients

• Theobroma cacao extract: the cocoa extract on both ingredient lists; both bottles are formulated with it.
• Amodimethicone: second on the mask's list, straight after water, a conditioning silicone.
• Cetearyl alcohol and cetrimonium chloride: third and fourth on the mask's list, the fatty alcohol and the conditioning agent that give it body and slip.
• Keratin, hydrolyzed collagen and panthenol: further down the mask's list; keratin is on the shampoo's list as well.
• Sodium laureth sulfate and cocamidopropyl betaine: the cleansing base of the shampoo, which builds the lather you massage step 1 into.
• Argan, macadamia and sweet almond oils: argan and macadamia on the shampoo's list, sweet almond on the mask's.

Who it is for

• Salons working on coily hair that carries a build-up of styling product before the service
• Stylists who finish with a brush blow-dry and a flat iron and want the treatment worked into that finish
• Salons that want step 1 and step 2 from one maker, in backbar litres

Who it is not for

• Home use: both bottles are marked for professional use
• A scalp with injured or irritated skin: the mask is not applied there
• A client who shows sensitivity or allergy to a component of the formula; run the skin test first
• A client expecting a rinse-out mask: this one stays in through the blow-dry and the iron

How to use

Portier's own directions for the two steps, translated from the Portuguese on the bottles. Work through them in this order.

Manufacturer method

1. Do a skin test before the service.
2. Step 1: apply a small amount of the shampoo to damp hair and massage until it lathers.
3. Repeat the wash. On the last wash, leave the shampoo on for 20 minutes.
4. After that time, check the opening of the cuticle.
5. Step 2: after washing with the shampoo, apply the mask to the hair, from the root to the ends.
6. Leave it on for 10 minutes.
7. Blow-dry with a brush and flat-iron.