Salvatore Tanino Therapy Scalp Care Duo Step 1 + Step 2 (550ml) is the take-home pair for roots that go oily or feel tight between washes. Neither list carries formaldehyde, a releaser or glyoxylic acid. Step 1 is a 300 ml shampoo carrying panthenol, five vitamins and a long plant list. Step 2 is a 250 ml rinse-off jar that conditions the lengths once the scalp has been cleaned. This is cosmetic comfort for a healthy head of hair, and no claim here goes further.

Why this duo

The skin at the root and the ends of the hair want opposite things. The roots carry the oil and the build-up, so they want a real wash; the ends are the oldest hair on the head and want conditioning left behind. Washing both the same way leaves a client greasy at the top and dry at the bottom by Thursday. Salvatore split the job in two. The shampoo goes where the oil is and carries the botanical part of the formula with it; the jar goes where the oil never reaches. We hand the pair to clients who tell us they wash daily because their roots demand it, since a gentler daily wash beats a harsh one twice a week.

What is in the kit and what each step does

Step 1 is the wash. It cleans on a laureth sulfate base softened with cocamide and cocamidopropyl betaine. The plant list is the point of it: horse chestnut, aloe, arnica, green tea, ginkgo biloba, witch hazel, aniseed, rosemary, bamboo shoot and guarana. Panthenol and saccharide isomerate hold moisture, silica keeps the feel light, and five vitamins ride along, B3, B5, B6, C and E. Keratin and a gelatine protein sit near the end. Step 2 is the rinse-off jar that follows it, printed Step 2 on a pack that reads healthy scalp. It conditions the lengths and ends for the few minutes it sits there. It lists no sulfates and no formaldehyde. Its own panel is printed on the jar and that is the reference for it.

What to expect

Roots that stay clean a day longer, skin that stops feeling tight after a wash, and ends that comb through instead of snagging. What we tell clients is plain. This is a comfort routine, not an anti-dandruff product, and it makes no claim about growth. Anything sore, flaking or inflamed belongs with a doctor rather than a shampoo.

Who it is for

• Roots that turn oily within a day while the ends stay dry
• Clients who wash often and want a gentle everyday cleanser rather than a stripping one
• Anyone whose skin feels tight, warm or itchy in the hours after a wash

Who it is not for

• A skin condition a doctor is looking after, which belongs with that advice and not with a cosmetic wash
• Clients who need a wash without sulfates, because Step 1 cleans with a laureth sulfate
• Clients who avoid animal-derived ingredients, since both units carry them

Professional tip

The mistake we see most is a head scrubbed with fingernails and the lengths dragged after it. Salvatore's own directions say the opposite, so follow them. Massage smoothly with the tips of your fingers, then distribute from the length to the tips without rubbing the fibre. Keep the jar off your roots entirely, because a conditioning cream up there undoes a good wash. Rinse cool or warm; hot water brings the oil back faster. We reach for a second lather only when the hair carried styling product into the basin.

How to use

Run the two as one routine. Step 1 cleans at the root, Step 2 conditions what the shampoo has left behind. Wash as often as your client needs, daily included, and rinse each step with cool or lukewarm water.

Order and placement do the work here. The shampoo belongs at the root and the jar belongs below it, and keeping each in its own territory is most of the result. A small amount is the printed quantity for each.

1. Wet the hair through. Soak it first, because a small amount spreads much further on wet hair than on damp hair.
2. Step 1, at the root. Apply a small quantity where the oil sits and massage smoothly with your fingertips, exactly as the bottle words it.
3. Carry it down. Distribute the product from the length to the tips without rubbing the fibre, then rinse until it is completely out. Repeat only if the hair still feels coated.
4. Step 2, on the lengths. Squeeze the water out and work the jar through the lengths and ends, keeping it clear of the roots. Give it a few minutes.
5. Rinse and finish. Rinse thoroughly and style as usual, because anything left behind dulls the hair. Close both packs and keep them out of the shower spray.

Where it fits in the range

This is the two-step routine of the home line. Each half is sold on its own: the Step 1 shampoo 300ml and the Step 2 jar 250ml. We would start a client on the set and reorder the shampoo alone, since the wash empties first on a daily washer. The other concerns, blond, body, colour, curl and moisture, each have their own pair under Salvatore Home Care.

In short

• 550 ml across two steps: a wash for the roots and a jar for the lengths
• Ten plant extracts, panthenol and five vitamins on the Step 1 list
• No formaldehyde and no releaser on either list; Step 1 cleans with a laureth sulfate
• Cosmetic comfort only, with no dandruff or hair-growth claim anywhere

Scalp Care is the home routine for this concern. The Salvatore home care chooser shows which set follows which service, and the aftercare guide covers the first thirty days.