First of all, hello. I am a nineteen year old male living in the Netherlands.

I just signed up to make this topic, but have been looking at this site for a while now reading all kinds of stories and learning about stretching methods that really helped me.
I have had phimosis all my life and never knew I'm supposed to be able to retract my forsking.. So I did some research on the internet reading everywhere that circumcision would be the best solution. I really did not want to lose my foreskin though so I kept looking and eventually found this site.

now, here's the situation:

My foreskin is really tight, when I try to pull my foreskin back, all I see is an oval shaped hole which exposes the end of the urethra and a little bit of the glans around it. That's it. Same story when my penis is erect. flaccid, the hole is about 8-10 millimeters vertically, and 3-4 millimeters horizontally

I also have quite a bit of excess foreskin which makes stretching hard for me. It's hard to get a grip on the actual ring around the hole in my foreskin because most of the time I grab the skin that comes after it and I'm not actually stretching the ring. When i finally get a grip on this ring it's hard to hold it and usually my finger slide off. it's a bit hard it explain but I hope you got it.

I am trying to stretch with this method:


When I eventually get a grip of the ring. I can tretch the skin to about a centimeter horizontally, and alittle bit less then a centimeter (6-8 millimters) vertically.

Flaccid, my penis kind of looks like number 24 on this list, I have about the same amount of foreskin:

http://www.foreskin.org/33-color.htm

I hope the story wasn't too confusing, it's a bit hard to explain. Anyway. Any advice on stretching more effectively. Or are there any other methods I could use?

Thanks in advance.

Can you get the tips of a couple of fingers inside the hole? If so, do that and pull the opening apart. This is what it looks like: http://pages.suddenlink.net/manual_methods/phimosis.html
I also recommend attempts at retraction as often as you can get your hands on your penis, such as each time you pee. If you have sufficient privacy and time, do the stretch illustrated on the link.

I cannot fit two fingers in, maybe one at most if I stretch it first.

Also, When I pull my foreskin back, it doesn't go over the foreskin, it just sort of moves down. It's too tight to get even a little bit over the glans

Well of course as you probably realise, I wish to make the point that picture number 24 in that series is a perfectly normal foreskin. (Actually, they are all normal, and AFAIK all of the same foreskin, demonstrating that it can have many alternate appearances.)

I make the point that your situation is by no means unremarkable, nor of course is there any urgency in making it "normal" (and in fact, I should be interested if you could perhaps explain your own particular reasons for needing to "fix" this problem - that is to say, just what significant advantage do your perceive to making your foreskin "normal"? )

As to how you need to proceed at this point, I suggest (as indeed I always do) that you start with the position you have illustrated; that is, you stretch the foreskin forward so that "on the stretch" it becomes a "funnel", which permits you to slip a lubricated finger down into that funnel (while holding it stretched with the other hand) and through the tight part into the space around your glans (which you can then explore to verify that it is a free space except for where the frænulum attaches underneath).

The method then is to introduce the largest finger you can through this narrow part and repeat this with a view to larger fingers, up to your thumb at which point you progress to two little fingers and continue with the exercise Jim specifies.

Please take note of my mention of lubrication. A "personal" or "surgical" lubricant would be great, but for this purpose, vegetable oil should suffice. You will note people concerned about the sensitivity of the never-exposed glans, but it is of course, not sensitive when covered by the foreskin, so clearly the significant factor is friction, suppressing this with a lubricant will make it comfortable to do the stretching and explore the glans.

Do not forget to do the frænulum stretch as well.

Thank you for the advice. I will try the exercises you mentioned. Also. I used that picture to illustrate the amount of foreskin that I have. I want to be able to retrac my foreskin mainly because of hygiene . Sometimes it also hurts a little. Plus, it's bugging me that I can not actually retract it. I'll do the exercises and post back after a while.

Thanks again!

I can certainly understand that you would - having discovered that your foreskin should retract easily - wish it to have normal function, and of course we are keen to assist you to achieve this.

I do then wonder under what circumstances your foreskin - or penis; whichever part it is - "hurts a little"?

What concerns me however, is your interest in "hygiene". I am wondering whether you were concerned about this before all your "research" on the internet, or whether you have such a concern merely as a consequence of this "research"?

That's the point. Your reading on the internet suggested that circumcision was "necessary", and hopefully you understand at this point that such a suggestion is quite blatantly a deception. My concern is that along the way, you have also acquired without realising it, another part of the circumcision "mythology" which finds a justification for circumcision by suggesting that an unretractable foreskin is "dirty". I therefore challenge you to explain whether this interest in "hygiene" is indeed a genuine concern based on your own observations or in fact, an anxiety with which you have been "infected" by what you have been reading?

And I am still quite curious as to the detail of what notable event (or events) originally alerted you to the fact that your foreskin might actually be expected to retract, and which then led to your internet research?

Since the hole is big enough for me to fit one finger inside, would it be good to fit one finger in and then pull one of the sides of the foreskin to the side with my other hand? Like in the picture I put in the first post.

Would this be a good stretching technique or is it nor recommended

You'll have to bloom where planted for now. Try what he recommends until the hole gets large enough to follow the diagram linked to my first response.

is it best to stretch when erect or when soft?

Since the opening is so tight, I think you'll probably be limited to stretching during the flaccid state.

The part of the penis that hurts a little is the frenulum part I think, somewhere around that area anyway. But it only happens when I pull my foreskin back to far, and only when my penis is erect. Since my foreskin doesn't move over the glans even a little, it just sort of moves downwards. I'm a little it worried about this, seeing as the hole is oval shaped and not in the centre of the glans.

Is it normal that it's an oval and not in the center?

After the ''research'''I read that it was not good for the glans if you could not retract your foreskin. It sort of made sense to me. Problem is that I would have no experience of it since I have not been able to retract my foreskin all my life.
During my research I found that smegma is formed and if this is not washed of it becomes smelly and can get infected. I have no idea if it's just a myth but I guess you could clarify this.
Problem is, my penis is a little smelly and I wish i could do something about it.

My research started because I was reading around on a health forum. And I found several topics concerning not being able to retract the foreskin. After a few weeks of reading about the subject, I found this forum.


At the moment, I am stretching daily. Most of the time once a day, sometimes twice. The best stretching exercise I can do is just to insert my finger in the hole a little. I can now fit my middle finger in there and I can literally feel the tension around my finger. When I pull it out ater 5-10 minutes. I even see a little red indented ring on my finger.
I am also doing the exercise I posted in my first post and the frenulum strectch, both for about 5-10 mintues each time. I am seeing little progress so far, I think the hole has become a bit bigger. But I can not confirm. It also seems to only have become bigger when my penis is erect. When it's flaccid, it looks about the same.

I will continue to do these exercises since I really want to be able to retract my foreskin.

Yes, it is working, albeit slowly. Just don't give up, and try to do it more often.

Smemga is much maligned, unfairly. Since urine is sterile, and your preputial opening is quite tight, the likelihood of getting a contaminant inside is slim. Yes, the area can be infected, but something has to cause that. The most common cause is perhaps the use of soap which removes essential bacteria. Certain antibiotics may also kill them off. Otherwise, if you do nothing to upset the natural balance, there should be no problem. That is, unless you have unprotected sex with an infected partner.

The smelly part may be true. You could try getting clear water in there to flush it out, but please, no soap of any kind.

Certain health forums are somewhat dangerous to read because of their slant toward surgery. They often contain false information which leads one to believe that circumcision has no consequences.

Continue doing what you're currently doing until the opening gets large enough to insert two fingers. Please report back at least weekly so we can monitor your progress.

Yes, that is exactly why I asked the questions I did.

It is perfectly obvious that "smegma" is responsible for "infections" under the foreskin, in just the same way as "snot" (nasal mucous) is responsible for colds and nasal infection. The connection is quite obvious and straightforward - unless of course, you were to sit down a while and think - carefully - about it.

The first point at which this concept fails, is that smegma is ubiquitous in men who have a foreskin. All have it to some degree, but not all develop an "infection" and even then, only occasionally. And of course, since the foreskin starts off at birth by being unretractable, intact men spend much of their childhood harbouring "smegma" (though the amount may increase at puberty, it is clearly present beforehand) and again, "infections" are actually - uncommon.

Now these "infections" when they do occur, certainly get some "press" and literally become "the stuff of legend" or urban mythology, from which the circumcision enthusiasts as Jim says, draw dire threats against the intact foreskin and even more dire threats against the recalcitrant, unretractable foreskin. But clearly, there must be some other factor or factors which cause "infections".

I make a point here of quoting the term because in fact bacterial infection is virtually never the primary pathology but rather, irritant dermatitis consequent to the introduction of soap as Jim mentions, and/ or contamination with Candida, the yeast organism of "Thrush" from which women so commonly suffer. When you understand this, the whole situation suddenly becomes much clearer; explaining why men or boys begin to experience these irritations and "infections" specifically at the point when the foreskin becomes partially retractile or when a particular interest is taken in "cleaning" it.

In fact, and the reason I chose to compare this to nasal mucous, excess smegma production (as against the single "discovery" on very first retraction of the foreskin, of deposits of smegma which have clearly been present for many years causing no problem at all) is proportional to the degree of irritation of the foreskin lining - just as with any other part of the skin. Start irritating it with soap, and you will cause the skin to respond by producing more smegma.

Skin is continually growing and shedding, mostly as powdery "dust" which deposits on bedding and furniture and is "recycled" by dust mites to which unfortunately, some people develop an allergy. In certain enclosed areas of the body this builds up, notably in the ear canals, the umbilicus or "belly button" (or "navel") and underneath a foreskin that is not regularly retracted or manipulated (I am reasonably sure that masturbation is beneficial as it tends to loosen and break up smegma so that it is "flushed out" when you pee). Some people have problems with ear infections (particularly related to swimming as wet ears develop fungus infections), and a few have problems with the debris in their umbilicus.

So as I gather it, your incidental reading in "health" fora led you to the discovery that your foreskin should be able to retract, eh?

Now as to your stretching - your use of (presently) your middle finger sounds just perfect (though a nice blunt object such as a marker pen or the cap from one might be a practical substitute). The "little red indented ring" on your finger and the tension you feel demonstrates that you are placing your finger in precisely the correct manner and achieving the necessary pressure. As I mention in my comments below this addressed to "Jimmy", you can see that your glans, even erect, is not capable of exerting as much pressure, let alone for as long, as your finger. One minor question: How much of your finger are you getting through the tight "ring" and how comfortable is that part against your glans?

I am taking it that you are not the "anonymous" who was posting above.

If you are attempting to stretch by pulling the foreskin back then you do need an erection. Even then, the glans is very soft and (as you would expect,) sensitive, so that severely limits the amount of stretching you can exert - not only is your glans too soft to provide much pressure but it hurts more than the foreskin being stretched and hurting the glans generally suppresses the erection (one way people try to "get rid" of an unwanted erection, isn't it?).

Now if you have a foreskin that you cannot pull back, the foreskin over it is generally "sized" to fit the erect glans exactly, so there is little "extra" space available to get your fingers or whatever else into in order to stretch the opening and your glans is going to be pretty sensitive as well. This means that until you actually achieve some stretching, you probably want to stretch the opening when flaccid (soft) so that the glans tends to "keep out of the way". But if you do have an erection - as you well may from "playing" with your penis - don't let it stop you from doing the stretching!

In order to get your fingers, a "flesh tunnel" or any other device into the opening, you will find it much more practical to stretch the foreskin away from the body as in Jim's illustration above (but of course, you will need to do this mostly with one hand as you use the other hand to get the object down the "funnel") so that the object can be guided into the narrowing and so that it minimally contacts the sensitive glans.

Also, the glans is going to be more comfortable when touched if you use a lubricant on your fingers (or the device). If you get your fingers inside the tight "ring" to stretch it, then lubricant means that the "ring" can slip around on them so that the pressure is smoothly evened out and you are less likely to irritate or even tear any one spot.

Does this all make sense?

Topic seems to become a bit confusing, to clarify, I'll put my name in the messages. I placed all of the messages here by ''anonymous''

It does make sense. I have been inserting my finger in the opening to stretch the foreskin. It is a lot easier for me than trying to grip the opening with both hands because when I do eventually get a good grip, I tend to lose this quite quickly. And indeed, When using lubricant, I barely feel it when I accidently touch the glans.

One more thing. When I did the stretching, the opening will go back to it's original state after a while, which is normal ofcourse. I am not seeing any progress when my penis is flaccid, i do when it is erect, the opening is certainly a bit bigger than. I think the thin causing this is that both the left and right side of the opening sort of tend to overlap each other. I can move them out of the way to reveal an opening, but this is not getting bigger at all.

Thanks for all the answers you already gave, it helped me a lot and I will continue with the stretching.

If you've seen progress in the erect state, it's also there when flaccid.

... is very elastic. It "springs shut" again after opening, to protect your glans - that's the marvel! That is exactly what you want it to do - as long as you stretch where it opens to, you will get it to function as it should.

{Bear in mind the need, once you achieve your goal, to keep stretching for a month or so more so that the stretching is "set" and becomes permanent - those who claim that stretching is only "temporary" have not understood this detail.}

To your earlier question about how much of my finger I can insert, Paul.

I can insert about 3.5 centimeters before it becomes uncomfortable. I tend to do this because the finger gets a little bit wider there. I think I will continue this until I can insert my thumb. (which is going to be tricky), or a thumb sized object. I think if I can be ablt to do that, i will be able to insert both my little fingers and do the exercise that was posted earlier in this thread.

I'll keep you updated.

Your two little fingers should be smaller than one thumb. The advantage of having two digits inside the opening is that you can exert tension upon the tight ring. That's where you want to go with this. The presence of just a finger alone is helping you, but you will make greater strides by increasing the tension, up to a point of discomfort but not pain. Make sense?

yes, it does.

Now comes the tricky part of actually getting the fingers in there.

3.5 cm certainly sounds impressive - clearly you have mastered the technique of introducing your finger through and into the space between your glans and foreskin with comfort.

I suspect different people's fingers vary in calibre - my two little fingers together would appear to be wider than my thumb, but Jim's may be different. No doubt Tim will sort it out one way or the other. Of course we are all enthusiastic for him to get to the stage of using two fingers - though it makes the process a little more complicated as it no longer leaves the other hand free to do something else during stretching - as it should result in speedier progress.

To cover an earlier enquiry, I would not be concerned about the shape of the foreskin opening and being "normal" - obviously when the process of developing retraction is subverted for whatever reason, you are not going to have the same shape as someone who can retract and when you have stretched it to work properly, it will sit a little differently. And you might perhaps fill us in on a little detail of just why you did not learn earlier in life, what a foreskin was and how it worked?

Well, basically. I always knew what a foreskin was, I just never knew that I should have been albe to retract it. I never learned anything about it, for example, in school.
I always thought that an exposed glans was something that only circumcised people had and I never really thought about it until I found out that I should actually be able to retract the foreskin. they should really tech this stuff in schools, or atleast mention it. Everyone gets sexual education at some point in school, well atleast in this country, you'd think they would cover the basic anatomy.