Salvatore Tanino Therapy Scalp Comfort Shampoo Step 1 (300ml) is the daily wash of the home line. The gentle formula pairs panthenol with a botanical complex, for roots that turn oily or feel tight between washes. The list carries no formaldehyde, no formaldehyde releaser and no glyoxylic acid. It is Step 1 of the pair: it cleans the root area and leaves the lengths soft, so the Step 2 mask can settle things afterwards.

Why this shampoo

Roots that go oily fast usually get washed harder, and washing harder is what keeps them going. This bottle takes the other route. It cleans with a laureth sulfate softened by betaine, so it lathers and rinses clean without stripping the lengths, and the plant complex does its work at the root while the lather is there. We reach for it when a client says the roots are greasy by day two and the ends are dry at the same time. Made in Brazil at Salvatore's plant in Presidente Prudente.

Key ingredients

Sodium laureth sulfate, cocamide and cocamidopropyl betaine form the cleansing base. The botanical part is long and it is the point of the formula: 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 of the list. Citric acid sets the pH. Preserved with sodium benzoate. Full INCI on the product image.

What to expect

A scalp that feels clean rather than squeaky, hair still fresh on the second day, and lengths that comb through without catching. What we tell clients is plain. This is a comfort wash and nothing more.

Who it is for

• Combination and oily roots that need a daily wash that does not provoke them
• Anyone whose roots feel tight or itchy between washes and wants a calmer routine
• Anyone replacing the shampoo half of the pair

Who it is not for

• A skin condition a doctor is looking after, which belongs with that advice, not a cosmetic wash
• Clients who need a wash without sulfates, because this one cleans with a laureth sulfate
• Clients who avoid animal-derived ingredients, because two of the proteins here are

Professional tip

The mistake we see most is a scalp scrubbed with fingernails and the lengths dragged after it. Salvatore's own directions are the opposite: massage smoothly with the tips of your fingers, then distribute from the length to the tips without rubbing the fibre. Use a small amount, let the lather travel down, and repeat only if the hair carried styling product. Rinse with cool or warm water. Hot water brings the oil back faster.

How to use

Use it as the first of two steps, daily if the label's daily-use line fits the client, or on wash days at the very least.

The order matters because the mask wants a clean scalp under it. The shampoo does that part first, so a small amount, rinsed well, does more than a large one.

1. Wet and apply. On wet hair, apply a small amount at the roots and massage smoothly with your fingertips, because that is where this shampoo is meant to work.
2. Draw down. Distribute the product from the lengths to the tips without rubbing the fibre, so the ends stay flat while the roots are cleaned.
3. Rinse and repeat. Rinse until the water runs clear, and repeat if the hair carried product, since a second pass on a clean scalp adds nothing.
4. Squeeze and follow. Press the excess water out with your hands and go on to Step 2, the part that settles things.

Where it fits in the range

This is the first half of the pair. The Step 2 mask 250ml follows it, and the Scalp Care Duo 550ml holds both. We would buy the pair first and this bottle alone when the shampoo runs out ahead of the jar. The other concerns, chemical aftercare, blond, body, curl and moisture, each have their own pair under Salvatore Home Care.

In short

• 300 ml for anyone whose roots need a calmer week
• Ten plant extracts, panthenol and five vitamins on a mild laureth sulfate base
• Daily use printed on the bottle; fingertips at the root, lengths to tips, no rubbing, rinse
• Step 1 of the pair; the 250 ml mask follows it

Where this fits in your aftercare

This pair is the home care for a scalp that needs a gentler week, and it sits alongside whatever the lengths are on. The Salvatore home care chooser shows which set follows which service, and the aftercare guide covers the first thirty days.