"Beauty and the Bleach"

The LA Times reports on the hottest trend in the Asian American community right now: skin brightening.

Take a daylight drive through Asian immigrant enclaves like Monterey Park and Irvine, and you'll see women trying to shield themselves with umbrellas — even for the short dash from a parking lot into a supermarket. While driving, many wear special "UV gloves" — which look like the long gloves worn with ball gowns — to protect their forearms, and don wraparound visors that resemble welder's masks.

But my question is, why not kill two birds with one stone and get an attractive and functional welder's mask that is as white as pure driven snow?