«I recommend waking up early tomorrow morning, and going for a revitalizing walk along the beach, to take in the iodine of seaside air and start your journey in the best way possible». Lying on a low couch on the sea terrace of the Tombolo Talasso Resort, I am listening to the doctor’s advice: entirely unaware of just how lazy the girl in front of her is, she is trying to give me tips on how to make the best of my two days of relaxation in Maremma, Southern Tuscany… And while she talks, I am already trying to come up with a plausible excuse to skip the walk at dawn, to go for a much lazy-girl-friendly nap in the pool, instead. I have to say that, apart from the staff’s odd ideas about walks at dawn, this feels just like the place I need: I have 48 hours ahead of me during which the most active thing I will be doing is walk between the different tubs of the Talasso path, and try not to fall asleep during treatment, if possible.

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The reason why I am here is to understand what thalassotherapy is, and what its benefits are. It’s all about making the best of all the elements that water can offer: saltwater, sand and mud from the seabed, seaweed, and generally the typical microclimate of seaside areas. You know that feeling of coming back from a holiday, and feeling like you are more beautiful? It’s not just about being tanned, though that also helps. The thing is, spending a lot of time in seawater is good for flushing excess liquids out of your body, fighting cellulite and reshaping your figure. If you also go for a good swim, of course the effect will be doubled, but you’re on holiday after all… So doing nothing at all is perfectly acceptable, too. The idea here is: take all the benefits you would always have from spending a weekend at the seaside, and pair that with a series of treatments that exploit the potential of the sea in the best way possible. The results will be explosive.

Imagine falling asleep wrapped in a warm-water blanket that cradles you as if you were immersed in sea water, while keeping your body at the ideal temperature for it to absorb the active ingredients of the locally-sourced mud being applied all over your body. The mud used for at Tombolo is entirely locally made using Caulerpa and Zostera seaweeds, both with draining and decongestant properties. You will have your mud treatment after being treated to an oil and salt scrub: this will be applied onto your body while you lie under a light rain of seawater. I know you can’t possibly imagine it… It’s just stratospheric, and I am not just talking about how it feels, I am also talking about the effects of this on your skin.

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It’s not a coincidence that there are so many products that try to obtain the same benefits, from those that contain sea salts — not only scrubs, but also cleansers and masks for your face and body — to those that focus on seaweed, from anti-cellulite mud to moisturizing treatments that make your skin amazingly soft.

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Of course, having it done to you in a thalassotherapy center is very different, in the first place, because treatments come with the added benefit of the wellness treatments you’ll have in the tubs. Tombolo has 5 of them, filled with heated seawater, each with different characteristics and functions, like toning hydro-massage and vascular exercise, whose effects are aided by the contrast between hot and cold. The other difference is that at a spa like Tombolo you can go into the sea right after the treatments, and that you will be surrounded by beautiful greenery that will make you relax, enhancing the positive effects of the treatments you had. Who knows, maybe next time the doctor will manage to get me to get up for a walk dawn, too…