NEW YORK -- The first ingredient Pilar Montero scooped into the clear bowl of warm water was three heaping spoonfuls of milk powder.

Then came four scoops of cocoa powder, a dash of cinnamon oil, a few Hershey kisses and a handful of baby marshmallows. As Montero stirred up the frothy mix, a mouthwatering aroma began to fill the air.

But instead of lifting the bowl to her lips, Montero gently took the hands of the woman sitting across from her and immersed them in the decadent concoction.

Montero isn't a Starbucks beverage maker or a restaurant employee whipping up a batch of hot chocolate. She's a manicurist at Just Calm Down, a spa in New York that recently began offering manicures and pedicures that involve hot, luxurious soaks in chocolatey blends that smell good enough to drink.

This, it turns out, has its side effects.

"This feels so smooth and creamy," gushed Molly Garretson, 19, an interior design student who had stopped in to get a "Lady Godiva" chocolate manicure with Montero.

"I love the smell," Garretson added, "but it's making me hungry."

Spa-goer be warned -- getting a manicure, facial or body scrub these days is more potentially hunger-inducing than it's ever been.

With more Americans seeking various body treatments every year and the number of spas rising to cater to this demand, spa directors have been increasingly raiding their pantries for ideas to reel in new customers.

Spas in New York, Chicago and California now offer caviar facials, a Dallas salon has been briskly selling barbecue sauce body wraps and the Four Seasons Hotel spa in Beverly Hills just introduced a Margarita salt scrub to accompany its popular tequila massage.

"People love the idea of being wrapped up in something good to eat," said Mary Shriver, spokeswoman for the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. "These treatments are fascinating to people, but there's also an increased awareness of natural foods and the effects they have on the body. So people understand that things like sage oil and tequila can have good effects on the skin."

Using food to improve the skin is hardly a new concept. J. Paul DeVierville, professor of history at St. Philip's College in San Antonio, Texas, who has researched the history of spas in America, said one of the earliest, most widely known such use of food was when Cleopatra regularly bathed in donkey's milk. In 19th-century Germany, he said, an herbalist popularized body wraps using vinegar and herbs like Hayflower.

Susie Ellis, vice president of industry development at Spafinder.com, a resource database, said spas have revived food-related body treatments in recent years as a way to remain competitive.

According to the International Spa Association (ISPA), the number of spa visits per year increased 60 percent between 1997 and 2000 in America. The number of spas also has increased. In 1990, ISPA reported there were 1,374 spas in the country; by 2000 the number was 5,689.

"This is a way for spas to differentiate themselves," Ellis said. "I'm not sure that some of these ingredients are going to be as helpful for the skin as some other ingredients, but there's certainly something fun about it, and the spa experience is mind body and spirit. There's something relaxing and joyful about doing something whimsical like a tequila wrap."

Chocolate toes

Spa owners report that customers have been eating up these new offerings.

At the Spa at the Hotel Hershey in Hershey, Pa., the two most popular services in the past year have been the chocolate fondue wrap and whipped cocoa bath. Tara Oolie, co-

owner of Just Calm Down, said her spa's manicures and pedicures using chocolate, milk and honey or green tea and mint have been so popular that this summer the spa is launching a new service called "Lemonade Stand." It will be a manicure and pedicure featuring lemon peels.

"Our whole spa is about indulgence," Oolie said. "A lot of people who come in here for the Lady Godiva start giggling, like 'What? I can put my feet on these Hershey kisses?' They're so tickled that they can play with them.

"Everyone's always on a diet," she added. "I think people feel like they can't eat it because they're trying to lose weight. So, they might as well put it on their bodies. Our customers love it because they smell like chocolate when they leave."

Oolie, like many others who run spas, fervently touts the positive effects these food items have on skin. Caffeine, she said, rejuvenates skin cells. Sharon McKee, manager of Washington's Celadon Spa, which introduced an apple and paprika facial in the fall, emphasized that paprika stimulates the complexion, giving it a healthy glow. And spa staff at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills were quick to point out that tequila has been used as an antiseptic cleanser in Mexico for years.

'A lot of it is just hype'

DeVierville, who is on the board of ISPA, asked customers not to believe all the food-related therapeutic claims they hear.

"There are some legitimate food-based treatments," said DeVierville, who also owns Alamo Plaza Spa in San Antonio. "But a lot of it isn't science-

based. The spa industry currently is plagued with doing what is new, trendy and fashionable. People everywhere are trying to create a signature service and I think a lot of it is just hype."

He urged customers to ask their spas questions about the ingredients used.

"The key thing is, what's being used, how much is being used and where is it being placed," he said.

Daniel Sauder, director of dermatology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said most food-based body treatments at spas probably do not have the benefits advertised.

"There's no science in it at all," he said. "Does it work? Who knows? It's all anecdotal at this point. It's like, my friend's mother-in-law told her she put yak's blood and tequila on her skin and it made her look 20 years younger so you should try it. These food treatments are a great marketing ploy."

Sauder said some studies have shown that vitamins and acids in certain foods can rejuvenate the skin. However, he cautioned, the skin has to absorb these in much higher concentrations to be effective than what's available in fruit or chocolate found in grocery stores.

He urged spa-goers to consult dermatologists if they think a treatment is potentially harmful and to use common sense.

"Barbecue sauce?" he said. "It's great on chicken, but not on your skin."

But for some spa-goers, it doesn't matter whether these treatments actually accomplish what the brochures claim they do.

"I personally don't care if the chocolate or strawberries didn't do anything," said Tara Goldsmith, 28, a Manhattan attorney who has been back to Just Calm Down several times for chocolate pedicures and milk and honey manicures, which include a massage done with a fresh fruit and sugar mix. "I just know it smelled delicious.

"It was nice to rub my feet on Hershey kisses," she added. "It was like playing with food and it felt great knowing the chocolate was touching my skin."

Tasty concoctions to try

Here are some of the more unusual treatments being offered around the country:

* Ambrosia milk and honey treatment ($30 for manicure; $60 for pedicure)

Just Calm Down, 32 W. 22nd Street, New York; 212-337-0032

First your hands (or feet) are soaked in a tub of hot milk, honey and creme de coconut. Then a homemade scrub of crushed fresh berries and sugar is used to massage your hands or feet. The sugar and berries are a natural exfoliant.

* Apple and Paprika Exfoliating Treatment ($100)

Celadon Spa, 1180 F Street, NW, Washington, D.C.; 202-347-3333; www.celadonspa.com

This 60-minute facial uses natural alpha-hydroxy acids in apple and grape pulp in an effort to remove dead skin and clear pores. A mask made of paprika and other herbs is then used to stimulate the skin.

* Cabernet Body Scrub ($55)

The Spa at the Crescent, 400 Crescent Court, Dallas, Texas; 214-871-3232; www.crescentcourt.com / spa.cfm

Crushed cabernet grape seeds are mixed with oils and rubbed into your skin. The 25-minute scrub is supposed to exfoliate and leave your skin feeling silky smooth.

* Caviar Facial ($150 and up)

Yasmine Djerradine, 30 E. 60th St., New York; 212-588-1771

Don't break out the champagne -- this hour-long facial doesn't involve slathering actual caviar on your skin, unfortunately. But it does feature a cream, gel and serum made with extracts of pure caviar. The extracts are supposed to be good for rehydrating.

* Chocolate Fondue Wrap ($95)

The Spa at the Hotel Hershey, Hotel Road, Hershey, PA; 717-520-5888; www.spaathotelhershey.com

A formula of warmed moor mud and essence of cocoa is brushed onto your body to revitalize and nourish the skin in addition to relaxing your body. You're then wrapped in a warm blanket to seal it all in. This spa also offers a Whipped Cocoa Bath ($45), which is a 25-minute soak in frothy milk chocolate. The best part? This scrumptious bath is also supposed to give you smooth skin.

* Crescent Honey Barbeque Wrap ($90)

Also at the Spa at the Crescent in Dallas

The first step is an exfoliation using a crunchy pineapple marinade. After that, a thick and warm honey barbecue sauce is slathered onto the body and left on for 30 minutes. Then, it's removed with warm, vanilla-

scented towels. The tangy sauce is supposed to stimulate circulation and rehydrate the skin.

* Margarita Salt Scrub ($120)

Four Seasons Resort, Los Angeles, 300 South Doheny Drive, Los Angeles; 310-273-2222; www.fourseasons.com /

losangeles /

The essential oils of lime, orange, apple and tangerine are blended with tequila, sunflower oil and salt and gently massaged into your skin. The resort also offers the Punta Mita Tequila Massage ($120), which involves a mixture of tequila and sage oil. Sage oil is supposed to relieve muscle aches and tequila is apparently used as an antiseptic, detoxifying cleanser in Mexico.

SPA RECIPES

If you want to try a delicious body treatment but can't find a spa near you that offers them, fret not. Because many of these spa services use fruit or food commonly found in your kitchen, some can be easily attempted at home.

Tara Oolie, co-owner of Just Calm Down spa in New York, offered these recipes for pampering:

1. For the Ambrosia foot soak, fill a small tub with three gallons of warm or hot water then add eight to 10 heaping tablespoons of powdered milk. In a separate bowl, mix two tablespoons of honey, four tablespoons of creme de coconut and four drops of a fruity essential oil. (Oolie recommended lemon, tangerine or orange.) Then, pour the mixture into the tub and sink your feet in.

2. For the Ambrosia foot scrub, take half a cup of fresh or frozen fruit with seeds -- strawberries, raspberries, blackberries or kiwi, for example. Crush it with your fingers, add four heaping tablespoons of sugar and mix it up.

3. For the Lady Godiva foot soak, add eight to 10 tablespoons of powdered milk and six to eight scoops of cocoa powder to three gallons of water. Stir it up with a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a few drops of peppermint or cinnamon oil then throw in a few Hershey kisses.

If you'd like to soak your fingers and not your toes in these concoctions, just use less of each ingredient. Oolie suggested experimenting with the amounts to find out your personal preference.

"You can overdo the ingredients as much as you want," Oolie said, "It's natural; it's not going to hurt you."