Salvatore Tanino Therapy Restructuring Duo Step 1 + Step 2 (550ml) is the take-home pair for damaged hair, built for body, strength and resistance. Neither list carries formaldehyde, a formaldehyde releaser or glyoxylic acid. Step 1 is a 300 ml shampoo with silk amino acids, aloe and panthenol. Step 2 is a 250 ml mask on rice and wheat proteins, macadamia oil and three Amazonian butters. It is the daily aftercare Salvatore built for weak, brittle, over-worked lengths. It is also the pair the Chemical Repair line points to when hair needs body as well as balance.

Why this duo

Weak, over-worked hair has lost some of the protein and the lipids that hold its body. Heat, colour and daily wear all take a little out, and the lengths go limp, brittle and prone to splitting. That is what Salvatore built this pair to answer. The shampoo cleans gently and keeps the moisture in; the mask puts the protein and the butters back. We'd hand this duo to any client whose ends have gone soft and weak, because the shampoo sets up the mask and the mask does the strengthening. 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. Aloe, silk amino acids, panthenol and a moisture binder leave the lengths soft instead of stripped. Fragrance allergens: hexyl cinnamal and linalool. Step 2 is a rinse-off cream mask on cetearyl alcohol and conditioning quats. Rice protein sits fourth on the list, with wheat protein and silk behind it, murumuru, tucuma and cupuacu butters and macadamia oil for the lipids, panthenol and silanetriol for moisture, and five vitamins underneath. The mask lists no sulfates, and neither product lists parabens or a formaldehyde releaser. Full INCI on each product image.

What to expect

Ends that feel stronger, lengths that comb through without snapping, and body that holds without a heavy finish. What we tell clients is honest: this does not straighten and it does not smooth, it puts body and strength back into hair that has lost them. Used daily, brittle lengths stop feeling limp within a week or two. It is a maintenance routine, so the result holds for as long as you keep it up.

Who it is for

• Clients coming off heat tools, colour or bleach with soft, weakened ends
• Fine hair that needs body, since the pair is built not to weigh the strands down
• Salons that want one take-home duo to hand over after heat and colour damage

Who it is not for

• Hair fresh from a colour or a smoothing that mainly needs its pH settled, where the Chemical Repair pair fits better
• Anyone expecting a smoothing effect from the bottle, because this pair adds body and does not straighten
• 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 the mask piled on while the shampoo was rushed. Salvatore's own shampoo directions are precise: "Distribute the product from the length to the tips, without rubbing the fiber." Your hair is at its weakest wet. Let the lather do the work and keep your hands open. On the mask, comb it through with a wide tooth comb before you count the minutes, because it only works where it touches. And when your client is also fresh from a chemical service, alternate this pair with Chemical Repair so the hair gets both the strength and the pH.

How to use

Run the two steps as one routine, in this order: Step 1 cleans and holds moisture, Step 2 feeds the fibre and adds the body. Use it daily if the label's daily-use line fits your client, or on wash days at the very least. Rinse water can be cool or warm; hot water is hard on hair that is already fragile.

The order matters because the mask feeds the fibre best on lengths the shampoo has just cleaned and left holding moisture. 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 few weeks.

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 if the hair carried product.
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 with your hands. Comb it through with a medium comb so the whole length takes it up.
4. Leave 3 to 5 minutes. That is the time the label gives, because the mask is absorbed within it and a longer wait adds little.
5. Rinse and finish. Rinse thoroughly, because any mask left in the hair weighs it down, then style as you like. Keep both products closed between washes and out of the shower spray.

Where it fits in the range

Restructuring is the body-and-strength 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 body-and-strength aftercare for damaged hair
• A gentle wash, then a protein-and-butter mask that puts the body back
• Daily use printed on both labels; wash, squeeze, mask, 3 to 5 minutes, rinse
• The body pair the Chemical Repair line sends you to for weakened hair
• Each step available alone once it is clear which one your client runs through first