Salvatore Blue Gold Premium Tannin Smoothing Kit Step 1 + Step 2 (2x1000ml) is a two-step plant-tannin smoothing system for salons, sold in back-bar litres. Step 1 is an anionic prep shampoo. Step 2 is the realignment conditioner you set with a flat iron. Neither step lists formaldehyde, a formaldehyde releaser or glyoxylic acid. The point of difference is printed on both bottles: colour protection, with a blue pigment in Step 2 that gives the line its name.

Why Blue Gold Premium

Blue Gold is Salvatore's answer to one specific brief: smooth the hair without giving up the colour. The tannin does the smoothing. The blue pigment and the cuticle care do the protecting, and both bottles print colour protection on the front. Premium is the name on the grey bottle Salvatore ships today; the navy Blue Gold Original 2x1000ml is the earlier pack of the same two formulas, line for line. We'd treat the two as one product with two labels, not two tiers. Same two steps, same iron; only the moisture instruction moved. Made in Brazil at the brand's own plant in Presidente Prudente.

What is in the kit and what each step does

Step 1 is a sulfate clarifier: sodium laureth sulfate and betaine, salt-thickened, with a paraben preservative system. It exists to strip silicone and mineral build-up before the tannin goes on; it is not a daily shampoo. 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, vitamin B6, vitamin E and a vitamin C derivative, plus guarana and bamboo extracts and a moisture binder, saccharide isomerate. The blue is CI 44045, listed in Step 2. Fragrance allergens on Step 1: amyl cinnamal, coumarin, hexyl cinnamal, limonene and linalool. On Step 2: coumarin, cinnamal and cinnamyl alcohol. Full INCI on each product image.

What to expect

The frizz drops, the wave loosens, the shine comes up, and the hair still moves. What we tell clients is simple: this smooths and softens, it does not flatten, and it leaves the internal structure of the hair alone. The tannin binds to the hair's own proteins and, activated by the heat of the iron, realigns the fibre from inside the cortex; it smooths from the inside out rather than coating the surface. It fades out with the regrowth instead of leaving a line, which is the part clients notice at month four.

Who it is for

• Salons running a tannin smoothing column who want colour protection built into the smoother itself
• Clients who colour or lighten and worry about losing tone under the iron
• Stylists who learned Blue Gold on the navy bottle and are moving to the current pack

Who it is not for

• Anyone after a permanent chemical straightening: this realigns and softens, it is not a relaxer
• Home use: Step 1 is a professional clarifier and Step 2 needs an iron and a trained hand
• A stylist planning to skip Step 1: the tannin needs a clean, anionised cuticle to deposit evenly

Professional tip

The mistake we see most is ironing hair that is still damp inside. Blow-dry it straight and take it fully dry before the first pass; the tannin only sets where the section is dry. Salvatore's own directions put it plainly: "always flat ironing more the root than the ends, avoiding, this way, dryness by overheat." The ends dry out first. Give them fewer passes than the root. Our rule for blondes is 180 degrees until the strand test earns you 200.

How to use

Run this as one service, in this order: Step 1 cleans and anionises, Step 2 lays the tannin, the iron sets it, and a pH step 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 you would 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. One litre of each step is back-bar quantity; the bottles are dated separately, so keep an eye on the conditioner.

1. Step 1, clarify. On wet hair, apply the prep shampoo to the scalp and massage gently, then draw it down to the ends without rubbing the lengths. Rinse with cool or warm water and repeat; there is no need to leave it on. Check the front hairline and the nape, because the tannin shows every patch you missed. Towel off to about half dry.
2. Step 2, lay the tannin. Shake the bottle well. On towel-dried hair, brush Step 2 on section by section, root to end, and comb it through until every strand is evenly wet. Leave it 30 minutes, which is the time the pack gives for the actives to be taken up.
3. Rinse and dry. Rinse thoroughly with cool or warm water until nothing slips off the hair. 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. 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 and hand over. Finish with a pH-stabilising moisture step, 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

Premium is the current pack of the Blue Gold duo; the navy Original duo is the earlier pack of the same formula. We'd buy whichever is on the shelf and follow the bottle in your hand, because the ingredient lists say there is nothing else to choose between. Both live on the Blue Gold line at Salvatore. For the same tannin chemistry in lettered steps rather than numbered ones, look at the Salvatore Tanino Therapy range.

In short

• Back-bar litres of Salvatore's tannin smoother in its current pack, sold to the chair only
• Colour protection printed on both bottles, tinted in Step 2 and heat-set
• Clean INCI on the two things pros ask about first: no formaldehyde, no glyoxylic acid
• Towel-dry, brush, 30 minutes, rinse, dry, 1 cm sections
• Rotate the conditioner first: it is dated two years, the shampoo three

If this service is new on the menu, the guide to taninoplastia explained sets out what a tannin smoothing does to the fibre. The Tanino Therapy vs Blue Gold comparison puts the two Salvatore systems side by side.

For lightened clients, start with the guide for blonde and bleached hair. The tannin smoothing disadvantages and risks guide is honest about who should be turned away.