Salvatore Tanino Therapy Chemical Control Mask Step F (500ml) is the fibre-stabilising step of Salvatore's professional range. It is a mask made to be used before and after a colour or bleach to hold the hair steady. Its formula is built around collagen, macadamia and antioxidants. It is Step F, the chemistry-control step, and it works around the Step B tannin smoothing rather than replacing it. The 500ml back-bar tub.

Why this step

A colour, a bleach or a smoothing swings the hair's chemistry hard, and that is where breakage starts. Step F is the step that steadies it. Used before the service it primes the fibre, and used after it brings the pH back down, with collagen and macadamia to soften and antioxidants in support. We would reach for it around any heavy chemical job, because a fibre held steady through the process comes out stronger for it. Made in Brazil at Salvatore's plant in Presidente Prudente.

What the pack names

The pack builds the mask around collagen, macadamia and antioxidants, and it is meant to hold the fibre steady and keep the hair at its normal pH through a chemical service. It is a rinse-out step with a set contact time, not a leave-in. The full ingredient list on this pack is being confirmed, so read the tub for the complete INCI and any declared allergens before use.

What to expect

Hair that goes through a colour or bleach with Step F around it holds together better, with less of the snapping and roughness a hard process can leave. It will not smooth or colour the hair; it steadies the fibre so the service that does the work lands more evenly. On fragile, over-processed hair the steadier feel shows straight away.

Who it is for

• Hair booked for, or just out of, a colour, bleach or smoothing
• Salons wanting a fibre-steadying step to run around a chemical process
• Fragile, over-processed hair that snaps and roughens under strong chemistry

Who it is not for

• Anyone expecting it to smooth, straighten or colour; those are their own services
• Fine, healthy hair with no chemical history, where a light conditioner is enough
• A leave-in use, since it rinses off after a set contact time

Professional tip

The point of Step F is the timing around the service, and the mistake we see is treating it like a quick conditioner. We would work it lock by lock so you cover every strand, comb it through, and give it the full twenty to thirty minutes before rinsing. Around a bleach we would run it both before and after, because the fibre needs steadying going in and settling coming out.

How to use

Use it after the shampoo on hair you have towelled to damp, either ahead of the service or straight after it. The mask works on contact and needs its time, so the mistake to avoid is rushing the rinse before it has done its job.

Work it section by section rather than piling it on, comb it through so every strand is covered, and hold it the full time before you rinse. That way the fibre takes up what it needs across the whole head.

1. Wash and towel-dry. Wash the hair and blot it towel-dry, because product on soaking lengths is diluted before it can work.
2. Work it in lock by lock. Work Step F through the lengths and ends section by section and comb it through, so every strand that needs it is covered.
3. Leave it the full time. Leave it to act twenty to thirty minutes, because that contact time is what steadies the fibre through the chemistry.
4. Rinse and finish. Rinse until the water runs clear and finish the service, so nothing is left behind to weigh the hair down.

Where it fits in the range

Step F is the chemistry-control step of the system. It runs around the Capillary Styling Step B smoothing and after the Cuticle Prepper Step A wash, and it ships inside the ABFD Kit. We would build it into any service where the chemistry is heavy. The rest of the line sits under Salvatore Tanino Therapy.

In short

• 500ml rinse-out mask that holds the hair steady through heavy chemistry
• Actives named on the pack: collagen and macadamia
• Apply lock by lock, leave it to work, then rinse clean
• Step F of the system; it steadies the chemistry, it does not smooth