First of all, great site guys. If only this was more widely known of.

My story so far: my stretch consists entirely of retracting, both while erect and flaccid, whenever I urinate, when in the shower and when masturbating. I have recently been able to fully retract when flaccid, which is pretty awesome. Erect, I can retract around halfway, but not much more. I don't use any creams.

Now I can almost fully retract when flaccid, I've noticed smegma - quite a lot. I shower regularly but I have never showed fully retracted. It is definitely uncomfortable, and sometimes painful. So my questions are:

1)What are the efficient ways of removing smegma?
2)Do you recommend using soap/shower gel when retracting to get some in there?
3)How can I reduce the sensitivity of my glans and the tip of my foreskin?
4)Is retraction a reasonable method for fixing phimosis?

Thanks in advance, and for the site.

First thing with smegma is not to worry so much about it. The shower water and your fingers should be all that is needed to take care of it. Soap is forbidden! Using soap removes the bacteria essential for good preputial health. Water is quite sufficient, and cleaning should never be more than once per day.

Your glans will eventually condition to touch over time. Don't try to rush it.

The habits of retraction you know employ will help to keep things working well, but they are not terribly effective for what you wish to accomplish. Take a few minutes twice per day to work on the tight spots with your fingers.

Well, a good start there, but to answer your questions:

1. Ignore it. I figure masturbation should normally loosen it (don't tell me you don't masturbate? ), and it will just wash out when you pee, or fall out if you retract. When you consider how long it has been there before now (umm, didn't mention your age ...), it can't be doing any harm!
   
   
2. Why would you want to put soap on the sensitive surfaces under your foreskin? Do you put soap in your nose, or in your eyes to "clean" them?
   
   The thing is, the irritation caused by soap when it removes the essential and protecting lubricating oils in the skin and mucosa, is the most common cause of an increased amount of "smegma".
   
   
3. I find this forever puzzling - why would you want to reduce the sensitivity of your glans and the tip of your foreskin? So you can imitate a circumcised man and masturbate using Vaseline?
   
   Do you think girls should figure out some way of de-sensitising their clitoris - which is generally similarly sensitive because it is normally protected?
   
   
4. If you take a good read through the answers here in dozens of past threads, you will find the theme that simple retraction is not particularly effective at stretching (because even an erect penis is actually relatively soft - after all, the glans is supposed to be fairly soft, isn't it - despite what you might "learn" from pornography, women do not dream of being ravaged with broom handles). Do the reading, follow the instructions.

There you go. Tell us how old you are, and your story in regard to discovering that your foreskin was not behaving as it was "supposed" to?

Well, I see smegma as neither laudable or repugnant - it is just there, if in excess then probably an indicator of some degree of irritation. You can get a build-up when the foreskin is just in the process of separating from the glans - whenever that happens - before the foreskin is fully mobile. Once it is mobile however, then whatever counts as normal manipulation - which necessarily includes the acquisition or "learning" of masturbation - should loosen it so that it flushes away.

I find it particularly disingenuous by and large for people to claim to find it offensive, particularly considering that women by and large produce more of it in the vulval folds and whether or not it is present, are by no means less likely to smell unpleasant when unwashed.

Smegma aside, the preputial space "makes every effort" to maintain health with natural emollient oils and other secretions, but may certainly be disturbed by the use of soaps, antiseptics or contagious infections of various types, and the occurrence of diabetes is a major problem.

I doubt the Pearly (Penile) Papules are actually especially functional in producing either oils or smegma; as best I understand they are sensory ("ticklers") and their general loss following circumcision is but one aspect of the consequent de-sensitisation.

And by the way, as part of the overall concept of stretching, I very much doubt the glans can be "squashed" by a congenitally tight foreskin. Erections - notably nocturnal - are sufficiently frequent that they do result in the foreskin - even with a tight opening - to be "sized" to match the glans closely, but of course, no more than that.

I can speak from experience regarding before and after sensitivity of the glans regarding widening of the foreskin at the first inch or so. With the most undesired levels of phimosis, the glans was permanently squashed and was so damn sensitive to be almost painful, plus retraction was like having a tight ring on your finger, er a tight jewellry ring.

Once I had reduced the pressure on it by achieving a permanently wider aperture, the glans, within about 5 days or less, became less sensitive. Note that it is now still sensitive to the touch, especially the frenulum, but is now a more desirable level of sensitive, as opposed to OMG!! was that sandpaper that just planed off a layer of my foreskin argh.
I hope you understand my meaning.

Of course, if you reduce your sensitivity by "skinning back" then you will end up with a circumcised person's sensitivity, ie, dull but obviously I expect that you will then be able to do a good job as a porn star.

In other words', I totally agree with Paul. Paul and Jim certainly know their stuff and I have read enough threads on here to be in awe of their helpful attitude. /endofgrovel.

RE: SMEGMA,
I read on here or elsewhere, that the penis foreskin is a naturally cleansing erm.. what to call it.......ecosystem? perhaps....... The emolient oils released and the smega from the pearly papules around the corona (base of the glans) are designed perfectly apparently.
That's what I have read, but it could be slightly inaccurate or clouded by my memory.......

Hi, me again. Some answers: I'm 18, and I found out about my condition a few months ago. The thing about my condition that is different to most people's is one that is very hard to describe. The tip of my foreskin is where it generally should be, revealing the tip of the glans. Unfortunately, the skin of my penis is long in some places, so that skin gets pushed over the tip of my foreskin, giving it a droopy look. This means the tip of my foreskin has never had any real exposure, and is very damn sensitive. I can barely touch it without it hurting.. a lot. Which is why I have been using the retraction method, not the pulling apart method. That's the best way I can explain it, hope it worked.

A few more questions: is the retraction method one that reduces sensitivity, or have I read it wrong? And the problem I had with smegma is the smell, really, and the look. When I'm retracting my foreskin, it is very prominent after approx 3/4 retraction when flaccid.

Your sensitivity issue will sort out in time as you can retract and as you are sexually active. It has really nothing to do with the manner in which you enlarge the opening. If you want results from stretching that opening, you'll get them from using your fingers to pull it open. Retracting alone will not provide sufficient tension on the tight ring.

Actually, if the "tip" of your foreskin has rarely been exposed, then it can hardly be the tip! However that is, the "secret" to sensitivity is and remains, lubrication. Use some appropriate lubricant ("personal" or "surgical" lubricant is most appropriate, but for the purpose of stretching, vegetable oil will generally work fine) on whatever fingers you use to touch the sensitive part - though you probably do not want to get lubricant on those fingers you use to grip the foreskin to open it up to access that sensitive part - and it will be quite comfortable.

The sensitivity is not due to touch per se, as there is no trouble when it is "touched" indirectly through the foreskin, but rather friction - even slight - against dry fingers.

And indeed, despite the number of fellows who state "my condition ... is different", it really isn't - it matters little whether it is the glans or the foreskin that is sensitive (but you make an interesting observation that the foreskin is indeed sensitive in its own right), the solution is still very much the same - you stretch the foreskin and the frænulum, in the process it will become accustomed to touch, and in the final result when it functions properly, will be just fine for intercourse.