Salvatore Blue Gold Premium Tannin Smoothing Kit Step 1 + Step 2 (2x100ml) is the boxed trial size of Salvatore's two-step plant-tannin smoother, with a 15 ml pH stabiliser added free. Step 1 is the anionic prep shampoo, Step 2 the realignment conditioner you set with a flat iron, both 100 ml and both the same formula as the back-bar litres. The carton is marked professional use and export only. Neither step lists formaldehyde, a formaldehyde releaser or glyoxylic acid.

Why the compact kit

Salvatore packs the Premium duo two ways: litres for the column that already runs it, and this carton for the salon that has not. The box carries the three pieces a first service needs, including the finishing step the litre bottles only mention. We'd treat it as exactly that, a trial. Run the strand test, run one head, and let the result decide whether the litres go on the order. The formulas are identical to the 1 L bottles, so what you see here is what the back-bar size does. Made in Brazil at the brand's own plant in Presidente Prudente.

What is in the box and what each piece does

Step 1 is a sulfate clarifier, sodium laureth sulfate and betaine, salt-thickened, with a paraben preservative system. Its job is to strip silicone and mineral build-up so the tannin lands on clean cuticle. Step 2 carries the plant tannin with keratin, collagen and gelatin proteins, silk protein, tucuma and cupuacu seed butters, macadamia and linseed oils. Underneath sit panthenol, niacinamide, B6, E and a vitamin C derivative. The blue is CI 44045, listed in Step 2. The 15 ml stabiliser is the moisturising finish that settles the cuticle after the iron. Its ingredient list is not printed on the carton, so we describe it by its job and no further. Fragrance allergens on Step 1: amyl cinnamal, coumarin, hexyl cinnamal, limonene and linalool. On Step 2: coumarin, cinnamal and cinnamyl alcohol.

What to expect

The same result the litres give: frizz drops, wave loosens, shine comes up, and the hair keeps its movement. The tannin binds to the hair's own proteins and the heat of the iron realigns the fibre from inside the cortex, so the smoothing comes from within rather than from a coating. The blue pigment is there for colour clients, and it fades out with the regrowth instead of leaving a line. Salons usually book the next service at three to five months.

Who it is for

• Salons that want to test the Premium tier on a real client before stocking the 2x1000ml
• Stylists who run tannin smoothing occasionally and do not want a litre open for twelve months
• Educators and mobile stylists who need one complete service in a box

Who it is not for

• Home use, since the carton says professional use and Step 2 needs an iron and a trained hand
• A busy smoothing column, where at 100 ml per step the litres cost less per head
• Anyone after a permanent chemical straightening; this realigns and softens, it is not a relaxer

Professional tip

The instruction on this carton that we like most is the one about drying. Salvatore says: "Dry the hair by about 50%, providing special attention to parts that have resistant curvatures and allow the parts that are already smooth or sensitized, to be more wet." Read it as a map of the head. Take the resistant curves drier before Step 2 goes on and leave the fine, sensitised or already smooth sections wetter, so they take up less. That one habit spares more damage than any temperature setting. Our rule for blondes stays at 180 degrees until the strand test earns you 200.

How to use

Work it as one service in this order: Step 1 cleans and anionises, Step 2 lays the tannin, the iron sets it, and the stabiliser closes it. Do the patch test first, a little Step 2 on the forearm and the nape, and stop if it reacts. Section the head as for any smoothing service and use what each section needs, no more.

The order matters because each step sets up the next. Skip the clarifier and the tannin sits on build-up instead of on the cuticle. Iron before the hair is dry and the alignment does not hold. Shake the Step 2 bottle before every use; the pigment and the butters separate when it stands.

1. Step 1, clarify. On wet hair, apply the shampoo along the full length and massage gently until the residue is gone; repeat as many times as the hair needs. Check the front hairline and the nape, because the tannin shows every patch you missed. Dry to about half, drier on the resistant curves, wetter on the smooth or sensitised parts.
2. Step 2, lay the tannin. Shake the bottle well. On damp hair, brush Step 2 on section by section, root to end, and comb it through with a fine-tooth comb until every strand is evenly wet. Leave it 30 minutes, the time the carton gives for the actives to be taken up.
3. Rinse and dry. Rinse thoroughly with cool or warm water. Blow-dry it straight and take it fully dry, because the iron cannot set tannin through moisture.
4. Set with the iron. Pass the iron slowly through 1 cm sections, about 10 passes each, more on the root than the ends. Set the temperature from your strand test, 180 to 200 degrees maximum on blonde or lightened hair, which loses tone if you overheat it.
5. Close with the stabiliser. Work the 15 ml pH Stabilizer through the lengths as the moisturising finish, which settles the cuticle after the heat. Send the client home on Salvatore's everyday-use line and book the next visit for the regrowth.

Where it fits in the range

This is the smallest pack in the Blue Gold line and the only one that ships with the stabiliser. Once the trial has convinced you, the Premium 2x1000ml is the back-bar size of the same two formulas, and the Original duo is the standard tier for routine smoothing. We'd keep one carton on the shelf even after the litres arrive, for the client who wants to see the service before booking a full head. Everything Blue Gold lives on the Blue Gold line at Salvatore. For the same tannin chemistry in lettered steps, look at the Tanino Therapy range.

In short

• One boxed service, Step 1 and Step 2 at 100 ml each, plus 15 ml pH Stabilizer free
• Same formulas as the litres, so the trial predicts the back-bar result
• Clean INCI on the two things pros ask about first: no formaldehyde, no glyoxylic acid
• Half-dry, brush, 30 minutes, rinse, dry, 1 cm sections, stabiliser
• Dates sit on the inner bottles, shampoo three years, conditioner two, 12 months once open