Salvatore Tanino Therapy Curly Hair Trio Step 1 + Step 2 + Step 3 (850ml) is the take-home routine for curls and waves. No formaldehyde and no formaldehyde releaser appear on any list. Step 1 is a 300 ml shampoo that cleans and softens. Step 2 is a 250 ml mask with shea butter, macadamia oil and two proteins. Step 3 is a 300 ml leave-in that shapes the curl before it dries. The three run in order and finish springy.

Why this trio

A curl is fragile where a straight hair is not. It bends, so it loses moisture quickly, and it is dryness that flattens a coil and lifts it into frizz. Salvatore built the set around that. The wash cleans without stripping, the mask puts oils and protein back into the fibre, and the leave-in draws the shape while the hair is still wet. The same two proteins run through all three steps, and a curl with a little give holds its spring longer than a brittle one. We hand the trio to clients leaving a curl service, since a salon result lasts about as long as the routine that feeds it. Made in Brazil at Salvatore's own plant in Presidente Prudente.

What is in the trio and what each step does

Step 1 is a sodium laureth sulfate cleanser, softened with betaine and cocamide. It lathers and rinses without squeaking the coil dry, and a brassica conditioner keeps it combable. Step 2 is a rinse-off cream on cetearyl alcohol and conditioning quats. Shea butter sits high on the list, with macadamia oil, collagen, elastin and rice protein under it. Step 3 is a light leave-in on the same protein pair, with silanetriol, panthenol and two soft silicones for slip. The mask and the leave-in list no sulfates. Full INCI on each product image.

What to expect

Softer, springier curls from the first wash, a coil that clumps where it used to frizz, and definition that carries to the next wash. What we tell clients is plain: the set feeds and shapes the curl, it does not straighten it and it does not loosen the pattern. Given a few washes as a routine, the dryness settles and the shape comes back on its own. Most people see the change inside the first two or three washes.

Who it is for

• Curly, coily and wavy hair that turns dry and frizzy between washes
• Clients home from a Tanino curl service who want to hold the definition
• Anyone who prefers a shampoo, a mask and a leave-in built to run together

Who it is not for

• Straight hair with no pattern to define, where a light conditioner is enough
• Anyone chasing a smoothing or straightening effect, which is a separate salon service
• Clients who avoid animal-derived ingredients, since the set carries collagen and elastin

Professional tip

The habit we see most is the leave-in brushed through and blown straight, which pulls the clump apart. Do the opposite. Work Step 3 into soaking-wet hair with your hands and scrunch upward toward the scalp, then let the coil form in your palm before you dry. If you diffuse, cup the curl and keep the heat low. If you air-dry, leave it be until it has set, since a hand on a drying curl breaks the clump into frizz. We reach for the mask on rough days and the leave-in every wash, and the routine bends around the week.

How to use

Run the three steps as one routine, in order: Step 1 cleans, Step 2 feeds, Step 3 shapes. Wash as often as the curl needs, from daily to a few times a week, and rinse the first two cool or warm, since heat on the rinse roughens the cuticle.

Order does the work here. The mask sinks in best on freshly washed hair, and the leave-in shapes best while the lengths are soaking wet. A small amount is the printed quantity for each, so the set lasts a good while.

1. Step 1, wash. On wet hair, work a small amount through the scalp with your fingertips and let the lather slip down the lengths on its own; a scrubbed-open coil is where frizz starts. Rinse until the water runs clear.
2. Step 2, mask. Squeeze the water out, glove a coin-sized amount through the lengths and comb it with a wide tooth. Give it three to five minutes so the oils and protein have time to settle, then rinse.
3. Step 3, leave-in. Press a little through soaking-wet lengths and scrunch upward toward the scalp. Whatever shape you set now is the shape that dries in, and this step stays put.
4. Dry with care. Diffuse on low or leave it to air-dry, and keep your hands off until the curl has fully set; a coil frizzes the moment a hand lands on it mid-dry.

Where it fits in the range

Curly Hair is the curl routine in Salvatore's home line. Each step is also sold on its own: the Step 1 shampoo 300ml, the Step 2 mask 250ml and the Step 3 leave-in 300ml. That suits the client who finishes one before the others, though we would start with the set, since the three are built to follow each other. The whole home line sits under Salvatore Home Care, one routine per concern.

In short

• The full curl routine in one box: shampoo, mask and leave-in built to run together
• Softer, more defined curls that hold from one wash to the next
• Shea butter and macadamia feed the fibre while collagen and elastin give it spring
• No formaldehyde on any of the three lists
• Each step also available on its own, once you know which one runs out first

The Curly Hair trio is the home routine for the curl route. The Salvatore home care chooser shows which set follows which service, the aftercare guide covers the first thirty days, and the Tanino Therapy on curly and afro hair guide explains smooth or defined.