Salvatore Tanino Therapy Blond Hair Duo Step 1 + Step 2 (550ml) is the take-home toning pair for blond hair, bleached and grey. The formula carries no formaldehyde or formaldehyde releaser on either list. Step 1 is a 300 ml violet shampoo with silk amino acids and panthenol. Step 2 is a 250 ml mask with tucuma and cupuacu butters, macadamia oil and a violet pigment. It is the toning aftercare Salvatore built to keep cool blonde cool, and the pair to reach for once a lightening service has settled.

Why this duo

Lightened hair warms up because yellow and orange creep back as colour fades, and bleach leaves it dry while it does. That is what Salvatore built this pair to answer. The shampoo cleans and lays a cool base every wash; the mask deposits more pigment and puts softness back where lightening took it out. Violet and blue sit opposite the warmth on the colour wheel, so the two cancel it rather than covering it. We'd hand this duo to any client whose blonde goes brassy within days, because the shampoo holds the tone and the mask corrects and conditions. Made in Brazil at Salvatore's own plant in Presidente Prudente.

What is in the kit and what each step does

Step 1 is a sodium laureth sulfate cleanser softened with betaine, so it lathers and rinses clean. Violet and blue micro-pigments, silk amino acids, panthenol and a botanical extract leave the hair cool and soft rather than stripped. Fragrance allergens: linalool, hexyl cinnamal, amyl cinnamal and geraniol. Step 2 is a rinse-off cream mask on cetearyl alcohol and conditioning quats. A violet pigment does the toning, tucuma and cupuacu butters with buriti, babassu and macadamia oils rebuild the softness, and silk, wheat protein, silanetriol and panthenol smooth the cuticle. The mask lists no sulfates, and neither product lists parabens or a formaldehyde releaser. Full INCI on each product image.

What to expect

Cooler blonde from the first wash, the brass pulled down rather than bleached out, and lengths softer than a toning shampoo alone leaves them. What we tell clients is honest: this deposits a cool tone and washes down over time, so it is upkeep, not a colour change. Used together, blonde stays cool between salon visits for as long as you keep the pair going.

Who it is for

• Clients leaving a bleach, a balayage or a highlight who want to hold the cool at home
• Grey and silver hair that wants to stay cool rather than yellow
• Salons that want one take-home duo to hand over after every blonde service

Who it is not for

• Dark or natural hair with no lightening, where a violet pigment has nothing to correct and the Restructuring or Hydrating duos suit it better
• Anyone expecting a permanent colour, because this is deposit-only toning that fades with washing
• Scalp concerns, since this pair is built for the lengths and the Scalp duo covers the root area

Professional tip

The mistake we see most is one timing for every head. On the shampoo, keep it moving and short so the pigment lands even; on the mask, read the hair. Platinum and porous lengths grab colour in a minute or two, deeper blonde wants the full five. Salvatore's own jar says it: leave the mask 3 to 5 minutes, or adjust the time to the tone you want. Do a strand test on a first use and check the shade wet, because it reads a touch cooler dry. And when your client is fresh from a bleach, settle the hair with the Chemical Repair pair first, then bring in the tone.

How to use

Run the two steps as one routine, in this order: Step 1 cleans and lays the cool base, Step 2 deposits and holds the tone. Use it as often as the tone needs, from a couple of washes a week to every wash. Rinse water can be cool or warm; the pigment sets in the minutes the mask sits, not in the rinse.

The order matters because the mask deposits best on lengths the shampoo has just cleaned. A small amount is the printed quantity for both steps, so a 300 ml bottle and a 250 ml jar last a normal head of hair a good while.

1. Step 1, wash. On wet hair, apply a small amount of the shampoo and massage gently. Draw it from the lengths to the ends without rubbing the fibre, then rinse until the water runs clear. Repeat once for a stronger tone.
2. Squeeze, do not rub. Press the excess water out with your hands or a towel, because the mask spreads further on damp hair than on dripping hair.
3. Step 2, mask. Take a small amount of the mask and glove it through the lengths and ends. Comb it through with a medium comb so the whole length takes the pigment up.
4. Time it to the tone. Leave 3 to 5 minutes, less on platinum or porous hair and the full five for a deeper cool, because the pigment sets in the minutes it sits.
5. Rinse and finish. Rinse thoroughly, because pigment left in the hair can read uneven, then style as you like. Keep both products closed between washes and out of the shower spray.

Where it fits in the range

Blond Hair is the toning pair in Salvatore's home line. Each step is also sold on its own, the Step 1 shampoo 300ml and the Step 2 mask 250ml, for the client who runs out of one before the other. We'd start with the pair, because the two are formulated to follow each other. The whole home line sits under Salvatore Home Care, one duo per concern.

In short

• Shampoo 300 ml plus mask 250 ml, the toning aftercare for lightened and grey hair
• A violet wash that holds the cool, then a pigment mask that corrects and softens
• Deposit-only toning; wash, squeeze, mask, 3 to 5 minutes timed to the tone, rinse
• The pair to reach for once a bleach or a colour has settled
• Each step available alone once it is clear which one your client runs through first

Blond Hair is the toning home care that follows a salon lightening service. The Salvatore home care chooser shows which set follows which service, and the aftercare guide covers the first thirty days.