Fruit and vegetables have long been part of spa treatments. Think pieces of soothing cucumber on your eyes and being scrubbed with papaya pulp.

But now, salons are offering more exotic food-and-drink beauty treatments using herbs, dough, wine and champagne.

Such treatments come at a price - consumers are paying $488, for example, for a 45-minute massage involving having a rope that has been dipped in a mix of 14 Chinese herbs placed on your back and set alight.

The fiery treatment is said to reduce water retention, among other things.

In another massage that costs $180 for an hour-long session, lumps of Indian rice-flour prata dough - said to relieve stress - are placed on your back.

Or there is the $220, hour-long pampering involving a foamy mask made of bubbly champagne and white wine yeast extracts. The mix is said to moisturise the skin and improve the complexion.

It is offered by beauty spa chain Slimming Sanctuary at Marina Square, but is not one of its standard treatments.

Skin experts and massage therapists that LifeStyle spoke to warned that there is no scientific evidence to back the claims of some treatments.

But that does not stop consumers from warming to them.

Ms Jean Ng, 27, who is unemployed, splurged about $3,000 on a package of beauty and slimming therapies that includes 10 facials and 10 of the herb-fire treatments, which are called a Holy Tapas Massage. Tapas is Sanskrit for fire.

Ms Ng, who is just starting the massage sessions, hopes they will help her lose a few centimetres from her bottom.

She said: 'I don't know how effective it will be, but the masseuses are trained with good techniques to make it work.'

The treatment is available at spa and beauty group Citispa. At $488, the 45-minute massage costs almost five times more than its usual spa therapies that offer similar slimming and detox effects.

Despite the hefty tag, Citispa marketing director Lynn Ang said customers ranging from working young adults to older and mature women and men have signed up for it.

But certified massage therapist Lily Kew advised: 'To lose weight, you can't run away from a sensible diet and exercise programme.'

She also cautioned spa-goers to seek the right advice on the kind of treatments that suit them as individuals.

Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre consultant dermatologist Cheong Lai Leng urged users to look beyond marketing hype and be more aware of how their skin might react.

Potential problems include skin irritation which can show up as redness, soreness, an itch, dryness or flakiness, she said.

'The use of gold and champagne in facial treatments ups the luxe factor but there is no scientific evidence to support some of the claims advertised,' added Dr Cheong.

Still, it is no wonder that spas are coming up with different treatments to stand out from the crowd: Spa Association Singapore president Nancy Lim said that spas, wellness and beauty business revenues have experienced a 20 per cent annual growth since 2003. The industry is now worth $210 million.

However, luxury pampering rubs some up the wrong way.

Marketing communications and IT manager Timothy Pereira, 38, refuses to pay more than $50 for a massage.

He reckons that a simple $25 basic Thai massage with baby oil is good enough.

This article was first published in The Sunday Times on Oct 12, 2008.