Salvatore Tanino Therapy on curly and afro hair: smooth it, soften it or define the curl?

Yes, a tannin treatment works on curly and afro hair, and you decide the outcome by the letters you use. Salvatore Tanino Therapy has three routes: Step A and Step B with the flat iron for a smooth result. The Curl Transition Kit MBFNO for hair that is moving from smoothed to curly. And Steps M, N and O, without Step B and without the iron, for defined curls that keep their pattern. Because the tannin works on the salt and hydrogen bonds of the keratin and not on the disulphide bonds, none of the three is a relaxer: the result washes out over three to five months, depending on the aftercare, and the curl comes back.

What a taninoplastia is and how it works is in our taninoplastia explained guide; what every lettered step does is in the Tanino Therapy steps A to O guide. This page is only about the curly client: which route, which steps, what the bottles prescribe and what happens afterwards.

Smooth, soften or define: which route for which client?

Three outcomes, three sets of letters. Pick by what the client wants to see in the mirror in a week, not by what the hair looks like today.

What does the tannin do to a curl?

Salvatore prints it on the Step B bottle: product B acts on the salt bonds and the hydrogen bonds of the keratin, realigns the fibre and fills it, and the flat iron sets that alignment. It does not touch the disulphide bonds, which is what a relaxer does. Two things follow from that. The curl is not destroyed but held in a smoother position, and that hold fades as the tannin washes out. A relaxed length is straight until it is cut off; a tannin-treated length curls again.

“Product B acts directly on the salt bonds and hydrogen bond of keratin molecules providing the realignment and filling the fiber; this process increases the strength of hair shaft, aligning the cuticles and reflecting on a smooth and high gloss effect.”Directions, Salvatore Tanino Therapy Capillary Styling, Step B (1000 ml)

That is also the honest answer to the fear that a tannin treatment is irreversible. The treated lengths stay smoother until the treatment has washed out; the new growth is never touched. Anyone who regrets it lets it fade and does not book the next one.

How do you smooth curly or afro hair with Tanino Therapy?

With Step A and Step B, exactly as the bottles say, and with patience in the sections. This is the printed protocol:

1. 1
   Step A

   Wash 2 to 3 times with the Cuticle Prepper clarifying shampoo until the hair is clean and the cuticle is open. Rinse completely.

2. 2
   Dry to half

   Remove 50 percent of the moisture with the dryer.

3. 3
   Step B

   Apply the Capillary Styling tannin conditioner section by section from roots to ends, spread it with a medium comb and leave it on for at least 30 minutes.

4. 4
   Rinse

   With cold or lukewarm water, removing the product completely.

5. 5
   Iron

   Flat iron slowly in thin sections, 10 to 20 passes according to the need. On afro hair that means the thin end of the range in section width and the high end in passes.

Salvatore prints no temperature on Step B. On the Blue Gold Step 2 bottle it prints 180 to 200 °C for the same kind of tannin work, and we do not go above what the brand prints, whatever a competitor's video says about 230. The number of passes does the work on afro hair, not extra heat. For a chemically treated or relaxed length, the Chemical Control mask, Step F is the step Salvatore developed for use before and after chemical procedures, 20 to 30 minutes on hair washed with the Tanino Therapy shampoo.

How do you define curls without smoothing them?

With the three curl letters. There is no Step B in this route and no flat iron, so nothing changes the curl pattern; the route gives the curl cleansing, moisture and hold.

1. 1
   Step M

   The Curly Collagen Cleansing shampoo: apply evenly to wet hair, massage without rubbing the scalp, distribute to the ends, rinse, repeat if needed. The bottle names collagen against dryness and porosity.

2. 2
   Step N

   The Curly Hydrolipidic mask: a small amount on lengths and ends, detangle with a medium comb so the product is absorbed, leave on 20 to 30 minutes, rinse. The bottle names collagen and D-panthenol.

3. 3
   Step O

   The Curls & Waves Control leave-in: towel off the excess water, apply strand by strand, spread evenly, scrunch the hair from the ends upward and let it dry naturally or as you wish.

Together they are the Max Curly Nutrition Kit MNO, 2000 ml. It is the answer for the client who asks for a tannin treatment because she has heard it fights frizz but does not want to lose her curl.

What is the transition route?

The Curl Transition Kit MBFNO puts the tannin step inside the curl routine: M, B, F, N and O, 3500 ml. It is Salvatore's route for hair that has been smoothed or chemically treated and is being taken back to its curl, which is why the pH step F sits in it: the Portuguese label of F names smoothing treatments, relaxers and bleaching as the procedures it is built around. The Step O bottle itself says it is applied after the Tanino Therapy Curly treatment has been concluded.

What the packs print is each step's own directions, not the order and timing of the full Curly treatment; that protocol is in Salvatore's technical material; ask us for it with your order. What we can say from the labels: the shampoo and the masks are used as above, and O always closes, scrunched in and air-dried.

How does the client keep her curls at home?

With the Curl Hair trio, the home-care line Salvatore prints as indicated for curly, wavy and afro hair. Step 1 is the shampoo, applied to wet hair and massaged towards the ends without rubbing the fibre; Step 2 is the treatment, on lengths and ends for 3 to 5 minutes, then rinsed; Step 3 is the leave-in, from the palm onto lengths and tips, kneaded from the ends to the root for uniform, defined curls. Which Salvatore home care goes with which other salon service is in our home care chooser.

After the smoothing route the maintenance is the same as for every Salvatore smoothing: the Chemical Repair duo at every wash and the leave-in before heat, as set out in the Tanino Therapy aftercare guide.

How long does it last, and do the curls come back?

Three to five months for the smoothing route, depending on the aftercare; Salvatore prints no month figure and the range is common practice, not a guarantee. The curl comes back in two ways: from the root, as new hair grows, and along the length, as the tannin washes out. The define route lasts as long as the routine is kept up; it changes nothing that has to grow out.

What do you watch for on curly and afro hair?

• Run the allergy test before the first treatment, on the forearm and the nape, as Salvatore prescribes it for Blue Gold; ask a pregnant client to consult her doctor first and test in every case.
• No treatment on an irritated scalp; avoid contact with the eyes and rinse with running water if it happens; stop at any abnormal reaction and seek medical advice. External use only.
• Bleached or blonde curls: read our Blue Gold Premium on blonde hair guide first; the rules on temperature and sections are stricter there.
• A client torn between the two Salvatore systems reads the Tanino Therapy vs Blue Gold comparison; for the curl route only Tanino Therapy has the letters.

Frequently asked questions

All Salvatore systems, kits and the daily line are on the Salvatore Cosmetics brand page.