Tannin smoothing: the disadvantages, the risks and who it is not for

Yes, a tannin smoothing has disadvantages, and you should hear them before you book, not after. It costs time in the chair: at least 30 minutes of product and a slow flat iron in thin sections. It is a commitment of three to five months, depending on the aftercare, with a line at the root as the hair grows. And it is not for everyone: not on an irritated scalp, not without an allergy test, not during pregnancy without a doctor's word. What it does not carry is the question that hangs over most smoothing treatments: no formaldehyde, no formaldehyde releaser and no glyoxylic acid appear in any of the 30 ingredient lists Salvatore publishes.

This page is the honest list. What a taninoplastia is and how the tannin works is in our taninoplastia explained guide; the wider question of aldehyde-free smoothing is in the formaldehyde-free keratin treatment guide. Here we take the objections one by one, the way a client puts them: is it bad for the hair, why did mine go dry, does it fall out, is it forever, can it be done pregnant, and who should say no.

What are the real disadvantages of a tannin smoothing?

• Time. The Step B bottle prescribes at least 30 minutes on the hair, then a slow iron in thin sections, 10 to 20 passes according to the need. On long, thick or afro hair that is an afternoon, not a lunch break.
• A season-long commitment. The result lasts three to five months, depending on the aftercare; Salvatore prints no month figure and the range is common practice, not a promise. The new growth comes in with its own texture, so there is a line at the root that only a new treatment or a haircut removes.
• Aftercare is not optional. The hold fades faster with the wrong shampoo. Salvatore's own line for the treated length is the Chemical Repair duo; the routine is in the aftercare guide linked below.
• Not for every scalp, not for every moment. Irritated scalp, no allergy test, pregnancy without a doctor's word: any one of these is a no.
• Blonde and bleached hair asks more. Salvatore prints a stricter temperature and a colour warning for blonde hair on the Blue Gold Premium bottle; that hair is a separate page, linked below.
• It is not permanent straightening. For someone who wants the curl gone for good, a tannin smoothing is the wrong service; for someone who wants it gone for a season and back afterwards, it is the right one.

Is a tannin smoothing bad for the hair?

Separate the product from the tool. The product, Salvatore's Step B, acts on the salt bonds and the hydrogen bonds of the keratin and is set by the iron; it does not touch the disulphide bonds, which is what a relaxer breaks. That is why the result washes out instead of growing out. Nothing in the 30 ingredient lists Salvatore publishes for its professional and home lines is formaldehyde, a formaldehyde releaser or glyoxylic acid, the three names behind the complaints about fumes, burning eyes and hair that snaps months later.

The tool is where the risk lives. A flat iron at high temperature, passed too often over a section that is too thick or already fragile, dries and weakens any hair, treated or not. Salvatore says so on its own bottle:

“always flat ironing more the root than the ends, avoiding, this way, dryness by overheat”Directions, Salvatore Blue Gold Premium, Step 2 (1000 ml)

So the honest answer is: the tannin is not what damages hair; a badly handled iron is, and a tannin smoothing is an iron service. That is the reason we print the iron rules on every page of this cluster and why the Tanino Therapy steps A to O guide is written around the bottle text rather than around a competitor's video.

Why does hair go dry or hard after a tannin treatment?

This is the complaint behind most of the negative reviews you will read, and it has four usual causes. None of them is the tannin.

1. 1
   Too much heat

   Salvatore prints 180 to 200 °C on Blue Gold Premium for blonde hair, to avoid dryness and tonality loss, and prints no temperature at all on Step B. We do not go above what the brand prints, whatever a video says about 230.

2. 2
   Too many passes, or passes in the wrong place

   The Blue Gold Premium bottle prescribes 1 cm sections and an average of 10 passes according to the strength of the hair fibre, more at the root than at the ends. Twenty passes at the ends of fine hair is how hair goes hard.

3. 3
   No finish after the iron

   Blue Gold Premium ends with a moisturiser with pH stabilisation; the Tanino Therapy system has its own pH and moisture steps, F and D, for the same job. Skip it and the hair is left where the iron left it.

4. 4
   The wrong shampoo at home

   The treated length wants the Chemical Repair duo at every wash and a leave-in before every heat tool, as set out in the Tanino Therapy aftercare guide. A clarifying shampoo at home strips the hold and the softness with it.

On a length that has been relaxed, bleached or repeatedly coloured, the Chemical Control mask, Step F is the step Salvatore developed for use before and after chemical procedures. If the hair was already fragile before the appointment, that is the step to add, not a hotter iron.

Does a tannin smoothing cause hair loss?

Salvatore prints nothing about hair loss on any bottle, and the products act on the length, not on the follicle. What clients see is real, though: after a smoothing the first wash brings out a handful of hair. In our experience that is the normal daily shed, the fifty to a hundred hairs everyone loses, that was held in the tangle and came loose all at once when the hair was combed through thin section by thin section. It stops within a wash or two. What should not happen is shedding that continues for weeks, or a scalp that burns, itches or flakes after the service; that is a reason to stop and see a doctor, and we are not one.

Two things make scalp trouble more likely and both are avoidable: product on an already irritated scalp, and no allergy test. Both are in the who-should-not list below.

Is a tannin smoothing irreversible?

No, and this is the point most competitor pages get wrong. The treated lengths stay smoother until the tannin has washed out; the new growth is untouched. Someone who misses her curl lets the treatment fade over three to five months, depending on the aftercare, and does not book the next one. A relaxer is the irreversible service: it breaks the disulphide bonds and a relaxed length is straight until it is cut. For a curly or afro client weighing the two, we wrote the curly hair route page, including the Salvatore steps that define a curl without smoothing it at all.

Is it bad for fine or damaged hair?

Fine hair takes the same product and needs a lighter iron: fewer passes, thinner sections, the bottom of the printed temperature range. The Blue Gold Premium text already says it, the number of passes follows the strength of the fibre. Hair that is already broken, over-bleached or chemically over-processed is a different case: the tannin will not undo that damage, and the iron will find every weak point. That client gets Step F and a moisture routine first and a smoothing later, or not at all. Salvatore prints no result claims and neither do we.

Can you have a tannin smoothing while pregnant?

Salvatore prints nothing about pregnancy on any bottle, so we do not answer that question; a doctor does. What we can say is what the labels print for everyone: the allergy test Blue Gold Premium prescribes before the first treatment, no contact with the eyes, external use only, and stop at any abnormal reaction. A salon that says pregnancy is fine because the treatment is aldehyde-free is answering a question the label does not.

Is a tannin smoothing the least harmful smoothing?

No smoothing is without risk, because every smoothing that lasts is set with heat. What a tannin smoothing removes from the list is the aldehyde question, which is the one that concerns the health of the hairdresser as much as the hair of the client. The heat question stays, and it is handled by protocol: the printed temperature, thin sections, the pass count, the finish. Whether the tannin route is the right one for a given head is a conversation about that head; how it compares with the two Salvatore systems is in the Tanino Therapy vs Blue Gold comparison.

Who should not have a tannin smoothing?

• An irritated or broken scalp. Salvatore prints on Step B: in case of an abnormal reaction, stop and seek medical assistance. We go one step earlier and do not start on a scalp that is already irritated or damaged.
• Anyone without an allergy test, or with a positive one. Step B declares coumarin, cinnamal and cinnamyl alcohol as fragrance allergens on the label; the Blue Gold Premium Step 1 bottle prescribes the test with Step 2 on the forearm and the neck.
• A pregnant client without her doctor's word. See above.
• Hair that is already over-processed. Broken, over-bleached, recently relaxed: moisture and Step F first, smoothing later or never.
• Someone who wants her curls. The curl route, Steps M, N and O, gives definition without the iron.
• Someone who wants permanent straight hair. That is a different service, and it is not one we sell.
• Blonde or bleached hair without the blonde rules. Read Blue Gold Premium on blonde hair first; the temperature and the colour warning are printed there.

What do you check before you book?

That is the whole protection: test, ask, agree, finish, send the right shampoo home. Which Salvatore home care follows which salon service is in the home care chooser.

Frequently asked questions

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