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Most Kiwis are wetting up the sun but some Aucklanders are regularly forking out $100 to whiten their skin.
Specialist treatment clinics like the Korean-run On the sly Beauty Club in Albany say they have a base of around 70 customers who regularly hunt for whitening treatments.
They happily fork out $100 for a two-hour treatment.
Stunner assistant Jenny Jin says Asian women in New Zealand are very distressed about the harsh sun and a pale complexion is considered pure, clean and - most importantly - girlish.
"It is also a judge of people's class. They think you must work outside labouring if your skin is hidden," Ms Jin says.
And despite pale complexions proving unpopular with most Kiwis, many immigrants hankering to stay on trend with their Asian friends.
"The sun is very strong here. We are really shocked about it and that's why we wear gloves and visors," Ms Jin says.
"We have yellow skin and if it gets burnt we get lots of wrinkles and spots. But compared to Kiwi women skin cancer is very rare for us," she says.
Source: Stuff.co.nz