In March, the dry and sturdy wind still blows like knife in the western frontier where a regiment of the PLA Xinjiang Military Command (MC) stationed.
室外，大风扬起的沙土拍打着玻璃窗，虽然已经进入3月，但是新疆军区某团驻地大风依旧干燥、凛冽，吹在脸上犹如刀割。
Platoon Commander Luan Xueliang, a newcomer to the western frontier, was stunned on a morning to see soldiers applying various skin care products to their faces. “How come today’s soldiers are so sissy,” he demanded, adding that his own grooming routine involved only a bar of soap.
室内，新来的排长栾学亮正在刷牙，他看到旁边战士从洗漱袋里掏出一件件护肤用品，有补水的、有调理的、有保湿的，不由瞪大了眼睛。读军校的时候，栾排长洗脸洁面就用块香皂，完了用“大宝”一搽，没那么多事儿。
Luan has always been a tough guy and he thought that soldiers must be masculine and therefore should say no to such skin care products. Skin care products are incompatible with the military training, Luan said.
在栾排长看来，洗漱时弄些瓶瓶罐罐就显得有些“娘”，不是男子汉的作风。春天来了，正是要掀训练热潮的时候，这些瓶瓶罐罐显得有些格格不入。
Luan decided to do something. After a just-concluded training exercise, Luan said to his soldiers, “Men should focus their attention on training, not on their face. Only women have so many bottles of skin care products. True handsomeness is only carved by the wind and the frost.”
作为连队的值班员，栾排长琢磨着得做点什么，消除这些“违和感”。一次训练后，栾排长利用全连讲评的时机借题发挥：“男人应当把主要精力放在训练上，而不是在自己的脸蛋上下功夫，女人才会有那么多瓶瓶罐罐的护肤品，真正的英姿帅气应该是风刀霜剑刻画出来的。”
However, Luan noticed that his soldiers were not convinced at all.
这些话在肚子里打磨了好几圈，一口气潇洒地讲完，但他却发现战士们的眼神并不买账。
Seeing all this, Company Political Instructor Zhang Wenjie corrected Luan, “There’s nothing wrong to cultivate the right dispositions in a soldier on the premise of sound health concepts. It should not come at the cost of the soldiers’ health.”
点评完后，指导员张文杰把栾排长叫到一旁说：“培养好的军人气质固然好，但前提是树立正确的健康理念，不能以牺牲健康为代价去寻求精气神。”
The plateau areas are of high altitude, the ultraviolet level is strong and the air is thin and dry. Some good habits suitable for low-altitude environment may not work well here. Excessive cleaning removes part of the grease that can provide protective effect, resulting in facial injuries, Zhang Wenjie added.
高原地区海拔高、紫外线强烈、空气稀薄且干燥，某些低海拔地区的生活习惯到了高原就未必是好习惯，比如勤洗手洗脸。过多的清洁带走了能起到保护作用的部分油脂，从而导致脸部受伤。
Zhang also said that the weather conditions in plateau areas are very harsh and therefore, in addition to paying attention to hygiene habits, the soldiers must apply skin care products in time. Without adequate facial protection, soldiers many suffer wind burn and blisters from the sun, Zhang told the new Platoon Commander: “It’s not being sissy for soldiers to use skin care products when necessary.”
“我在这里待了7年了，说咱‘戈壁滩上吹风刀’，这话一点也不假， 所以，除了注意卫生习惯，也要及时涂抹防护霜等，必要的护肤并非矫情，必要的防护不是娇气。” 张指导员说道。
