Last updated on September 21, 2020
Question:
I have recently started pulling back my foreskin, which now I think is fully retractable. As I used to retract it back slowly ever day for one week, I noticed a lot of smegma which I have cleaned. Now the question is when my foreskin is pulled back toward the end there is a thick layer of smegma that doesn’t come off easily at all. As a result, my foreskin was stuck and it was not coming back to normal. I somehow managed to get it back after pulling off some smegma that was obstructing it. I am afraid. What if gets stuck again. How do I remove such a thick layer?
Please advise me. I use only water and when the foreskin was fully back and got stuck I could see something dark toward the end. What is it? Is it normal?
Answer:
Smegma is basically dead skin cells mixing with the oils your skin gives off. In other areas of your body this is easily rubbed or washed off, but under your foreskin, it gets trapped. It can become smelly and it can “glue” your foreskin to your glans.
Likely your foreskin or your glans got irritated as you worked your foreskin back. I’m guessing the dark you saw might have been a bit of dried blood from the irritation. Soak your penis well to soften the smegma. If necessary, sit in a very warm bath or get a cup of warm water to put the end of your penis in for a while. Ease the foreskin back and rinse the area well. Gently rub with your fingers or a very soft cloth. You may not get all of the smegma off. That is fine. Get what you can. You can get a bit more the next day. It may take a week or more to get the old accumulations out.
For stubborn deposits, rub with hair conditioner or baby oil to soften and then thoroughly rinse. Follow this by washing gently with mild soap and being careful to completely and thoroughly rinse off any soap afterward. Any soap left behind will irritate the foreskin.
Do not force the foreskin back. Do not scrap the smegma off as you might scrape some skin off with it. Do not rub the area roughly. Your job is to soften old deposits and then rinse off the softened deposits.
One medical article noted the use of saline solution to rinse under the foreskin and stubborn deposits were gone in about a week. There are unstudied reports that soaking in an Epsom salt bath also can help.
You need to clean under your foreskin daily to keep the smegma under control.
Response:
Thank you so much!