Love in the tub.

Rub-a-dub-dub, have a twosome in your tub! A supersensual bath with your boy will strengthen your bond while getting you both strokably soft. These tantalizing, couples-specific spa treatments are guaranteed to lead to a steamy good time.

Photographs by Anna Palma at TheGreenhouse Spa NYC

* The perfect antidote to winter chills and holiday-season stress? A long and totally sensual bathtub date. It's just as sexy as skinny-dipping, only far more intimate...and beautifying to boot. So set aside time for a hot, steamy tub session for two. Use therapeutic rubs and luxurious scrubs and oils to get each other squeaky-clean, silky soft, and gloriously uninhibited. 'When you're in the tub with someone, you've let down all of your defenses, so each touch becomes all the more intimate," says Helen Fisher, Ph.D., a New York City anthropologist.

At this point, you're probably tempted to plunge right in, but before you do, take time for a few prep steps to make your soak extrasensual. First, scan the spa-inspired recipes on the next two pages. (While each treatment will work wonders on its own, you can combine all of them for a bath-time blowout.) Right before you start your tantalizing treatment, set a serene scene in your bathroom. "Create a boundary between yourselves and the rest of the world," advises Celeste Dunn, president and CEO of TheGreenhouse Spa. 'Turn off your phone, TV, and lights. Now's a great time to use flickering (and flattering) candlelight." Put on a softly romantic CD like Sade's Lovers Rock or Bebo Gilberto's Tanto Tempo. Once your bastion of bliss is all set up, slink on in with your man...and let the pampering begin.

 
The Mind-Blowing Buff 
 
Ingredients: 
 
3 cups raw or coarse sugar 
2 tablespoons honey 
 
Gentle exfoliation can do much more than getting rid of dulling 
dead cells and yielding smoother, softer skin. According to 
Michael Simon, a pampering pro at Ole Henriksen Face/Body spa, 
L.A.'s celeb mellow-out hangout, sloughing-especially with 
something good 'n' gritty like salt or sugar also revs up your 
circulation and stimulates your sensory receptors. 

1.Combine the ingredients and place the mixture in a bowl by the bath. (If you're too lazy to whip up the recipe, try Estee Lauder Crystal Glow Sugar Rub, $35.)

2.Luxuriate a deux in the tub for a few minutes. Both of you should warm some scrub between your palms, then use gentle, circular strokes to massage it into each other's skin.