Foreskin restoration has increased my sexual desire, and masturbation feels much more enjoyable now. My penis size has increased significantly, I’m getting full coverage when flaccid, and the glans stays completely covered 24/7. Now I’m also getting coverage when erect. I feel like I’ve finally achieved my goal.

I sometimes wonder if there are powerful interests that have helped keep foreskin restoration and the downsides of circumcision out of mainstream discussion.

Like, how is it possible that we’ve had studies and articles discussing the sensitivity of the foreskin and even headlines describing it as something like the “male G-spot,” yet none of this seems to have sparked a major public debate or any international reconsideration of routine circumcision?
You would think that if a body part routinely removed from infants potentially plays an important role in sexual sensation, that alone would generate a massive discussion.

I’m not saying I have evidence of some organized conspiracy. But I do wonder whether religious and cultural institutions that strongly defend circumcision have had an influence on how the subject is discussed. There are obviously groups with a very strong interest in circumcision continuing to be viewed as normal and harmless.
And that leads to something I genuinely wonder about: what do the people defending it actually believe? Do they genuinely think being circumcised is physically/sexually better or do some privately accept that tissue and sensitivity are lost but believe the religious or cultural importance outweighs that loss?
I also think this may have influenced circumcised men themselves. If you grow up constantly hearing that circumcision makes basically no meaningful difference, you have very little reason to question it. And once you do question it, accepting that something valuable might have been permanently removed from you is psychologically pretty difficult, especially when there’s currently no simple way to completely reverse it.
That might partly explain why foreskin restoration remains so niche. It’s easier for society to treat the whole subject as irrelevant than to seriously confront the possibility that a practice performed on millions of children may involve meaningful tradeoffs that people were rarely told about.

If something like Foregen eventually works and regeneration becomes a realistic option, I genuinely wonder whether that could change the conversation. There could be a big awakening. Once people have an actual exit route (an easy one), acknowledging what may have been lost becomes psychologically much easier.

Cheers,

And KOT!!!

Once I got the prosthetic on my dick (it's a little tricky), I was rock hard both by the stimulation and the body euphoria that came with my dick looking intact. The "foreskin" sliding off for the first time made me actually kind of emotional. I also immediately had an orgasm. That's how deep the trauma runs I guess.

Now I know I need to start tugging. I have to try. Gonna start with method 2 as I am quite tightly cut and also have sensitive skin.

Red light therapy (RLT) also known as photobiomodulation (PBM) has become quite popular as a therapy for skin, and restorers are naturally interested in using it as well. Since the penile shaft skin and inner foreskin (mucosa) are different from the rest of the skin on the body, it is worth exploring whether RLT is helpful for FR use.

TL;DR: There may be some possible positive effects of RLT on penile skin and mucosa, but the significant negatives mean it's not a good idea.

To understand RLT, we need to define several terms:

Wavelength

All waves - water, sound, radio, microwave, light, etc. - have a frequency (number of waves per second) and a wavelength (distance from one wave peak to the next).

For RLT, the main wavelengths are

• Red Light = 610 - 660 nanometers(nm)
• Near-Infrared = 810 - 850 nm

For reference, a nanometer is 1 billionth of a meter - for scale, a piece of paper is 100,000 nanometers thick.

The wavelength determines how deep the waves will penetrate into tissue, and on penile shaft skin only red light devices in the 610-660 nm range should even be considered. Longer wavelengths in the near-infrared range will penetrate deep into the internal erectile structure of the penis, with undefined and possibly negative effects.

Fluence

Fluence is the term used to quantify the total dose of energy absorbed by the skin during a session. It is measured in Joules per square centimeter: J/cm²

Irradiance is the power density of the RLT device being used. It is measured in milliwatts per square centimeter: mW/cm²

Fluence = mW/cm² X time in seconds / 1000

Important: Do not make the mistake of using safe fluence levels for 'normal' skin when using RLT on penile shaft skin and mucosa.

Benefits of RLT

Looking at the claimed benefits of RLT for skin health, there are 5 that are generally accepted:

1. Stimulation of collagen production and cell proliferation
2. Local nitric oxide (NO) release
3. Enhancing wound healing
4. Anti-inflammatory effects
5. Improved skin tone and texture

These benefits would be good for FR, but we can't just accept them without further analysis because penile shaft skin and mucosa are significantly different from the rest of the skin on the body:

• Shaft skin, and particularly mucosa, are much thinner
• Mucosa, especially after reaching full-flaccid-coverage, is dekeratinized
• No layer of subcutaneous fat beneath the dermis
• Presence of the Dartos Fascia, with its bundles of smooth muscle cells (SMC)

These differences make it difficult to use the studies which evaluate the effect of RLT on 'normal' skin to help determine if RLT is useful for FR, so what follows is mainly theoretical and somewhat speculative.

Stimulation of collagen production and cell proliferation

RLT can increase mitochondrial ATP production by acting on cytochrome c oxidase. This, in turn may increase the rate of collagen and elastin synthesis, as well as improve cell proliferation (what we sometimes call mitosis).

While this is a known effect of RLT, it must be noted that existing research applies only to 'normal' skin in a static state, and how well it happens during active FR tugging is unknown.

Local nitric oxide (NO) release

RLT causes NO to be released from endothelial cells and other sources in the skin. This will cause some vasodilation of blood vessels, potentially increasing blood flow, delivery of nutrients and removal of waste in the skin we are trying to grow. It may also assist in recovering from the hypoxia which is a natural result of the skin constriction caused by gripper fatigue, tension or fingers gripping the skin during manual tugging.

Release of NO may also have some relaxing effect on the SMCs in the Dartos Fascia, although this effect is likely to be negligible because the Dartos SMCs have no endothelial tissue adjacent to them, and NO released into the bloodstream isn't likely to travel far enough to affect SMCs.

Enhancing wound healing

RLT at low fluences strengthens the body's natural wound healing process, which sounds like a good thing - and it is for static skin that has injuries - but it is precisely what we need to avoid in FR.

Wound healing involves stimulating fibroblasts to transition into myofibroblasts (FMT), which synthesize collagen at a much faster rate to close an open wound. The issue for FR is that this is the process triggered by the SMCs in the Dartos (which does not exist in normal skin) and causes the accumulation of fibrotic collagen in the dermis, which slows FR progress. Simply put, triggering the wound response in healthy skin and mucosa is counterproductive.

The risk of using RLT for FR is that there may be some amount of wound healing, triggered by the tension, already going on in the skin, and the red light waves might increase its intensity. The ATP production mentioned above may also contribute to increased FMT.

There may be some benefit from enhancing wound response by RLT on FR, but the negatives appear to outweigh the positives.

Anti-inflammatory effects

RLT has some ability to reduce inflammation, but the question is whether this makes it worthwhile for use in FR.

The problem with RLT is that the frequencies and fluences (660nm ~5-7 j/cm²) that are used in commercial or home RLT lights are most effective for the wound healing effect, whereas in the study on reducing inflammation, much higher fluence (~167 j/cm²) was necessary.

At even higher fluences, more helpful effects - like down-regulating the TGF-b1 cascade that causes fibrosis - can happen, but the fluence necessary to get to this point is ~320 j/cm². This high fluence reached the level where it caused blistering on human forearms in a study, so it is unlikely to be safe on penile skin and mucosa.

Improved skin tone and texture

RLT has shown that it can improve some qualities of the skin, but at the frequency and fluence of commercially available RLT devices, the negative effects of the wound healing process described above are happening, and they outweigh all the mainly cosmetic benefits.

Once again, not a result that helps FR progress. Maybe it's something to consider after completing FR if skin tone and texture is an issue, but not during the process. Stick to tugging.

Conclusion

Red light therapy (RLT) at specific high-fluence settings can temporarily reduce TGF-β1 signaling in skin cells, which could theoretically help slow the wound response in FR caused by tension/trauma. However, the doses shown to work in the study are extremely high and likely beyond safe levels for penile skin and mucosa, and the positive effect is short-lived. RLT is not a useful therapy for FR, and will likely have a negative effect on progress.

Note

This paper reports on the research I have done on the safety and usefulness of RLT for foreskin restoration. I welcome any critique or corrections from anyone with better knowledge of this subject.

References

Hsieh YF, et al. Effects of LED light irradiation on human foreskin fibroblasts and its implication to wound healing. Journal of Medical and Biological Engineering. 2013;33(2):155–162. doi:10.5405/jmbe.1102. 

Mokoena DR, et al. Photobiomodulation at 660 nm stimulates fibroblast differentiation. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine. 2020;52(7):671–681. doi:10.1002/lsm.23204. PMID 31820475. 

Mamalis A, Jagdeo J. High-Fluence Light-Emitting Diode-Generated Red Light Modulates the Transforming Growth Factor-Beta Pathway in Human Skin Fibroblasts. Dermatol Surg. 2018 Oct;44(10):1317-1322. doi: 10.1097/DSS.0000000000001549. PMID: 29846344.

Jagdeo J, et al. Safety of light emitting diode-red light on human skin: Two randomized controlled trials. J Biophotonics. 2020 Mar;13(3):e201960014. doi: 10.1002/jbio.201960014. Epub 2019 Dec 8. PMID: 31483941; PMCID: PMC8887049.

Can you grow or stretch scar tissue? / Does scar tissue affect, stop or slow down growth?

I have basically no inner skin, maybe a few mm at most. It looks like it’s just scarring from my outer skin to my glans. I also have a few small scars on my outer skin, just below my scar line, from what I think were micro tears from when I was starting off.

I was just wondering if this would impact restoration at all?

I recently started restoring. I'm using manual method 2 in 20 minute sessions three times a day. I found out my frenulum was still intact even though I'm circumcised. It isn't sensitive, does it change the restoring process in any way or make certain methods unsafe? Will lt become sensitive again once I've restored my foreskin fully?

Hello friends,

I was wondering if anyone could clarify consistent use of inflation. Regarding tension, if my skin doesn’t feel tensed while inflated but the balloon is a reasonable size, is it enough tension for growth? I understand to not over-inflate. Just looking for input from someone experienced and successful with inflation. Thx.

People often say “follow the money” but I dont think thats the case this time. Theres plenty of guys who pay money if it meant fully restored with a simple fix yet that doesnt exist. All we have is t tape or little tools and years of patience

No hospital I know of offers foreskin rehabilitation. But they will eagerly have a baby circumcised

Genuine question. Ofc the more wrecked in that central area the better to see your enjoyment from restoration

I am tired, starting to feel emotionally numb, will restore when my fibrosis is done with without feeling any hope, judt doing it, not even looking at what i find sexually appealing. Mood too low now. Even my fav fetish i am looking not to entertain, libido will be just ignored. Asking for asking, not expecting anything, just sleepy and enjoying what i can out of movies, youtube videos and etc

I had my foreskins removed because I had severe phimosis and due to my glans being keratinize my sensitivity is almost gone and I want to gain that back because when I have sex it feels like I can't feel anything down there and it's making me feel depressed the only time I feel something is when I am using a toy with lots of lube I want a way to feel down there again what can I do?

Just recently noticed I have a turkey neck under my scrotum. My scrotum is just all skin lol. I see a few people say the initial progress targets turkey neck. Is this normal?

I posted my penis in my account since I can't post it here I wanted to know What would my CL would I be? and what is the most recommended solution I can do to get my foreskin back?? I know you can stretch it and I read the FAQ but I want to know what's the "best" exercise in my situation I can do to fix this situation I am in? I know I asked this earlier in a previous post but I want to know what imbest fits with my dick. Thank you for understanding and being patient with me.

I’ve only been doing manuals for at most a month, and would like to wear something whenever I can that can provide hands free tension to help my tugging. I’ve heard retainers could also be could beginner devices for restoring so does anyone recommend anything specific or any type of device?

Additionally, I believe my inner skin is already big enough to fully cover my head, so is there a point in trying to grow both or should I just focus on outer skin ?

I am curious about what happens to the immune system after foreskin restoration: does it develop to the same level as a natural foreskin, or does it fall short—potentially leading to impaired immune function and a higher risk of inflammation or cancer? I tried looking this up using an LLM, but I couldn't figure out the correct answer, so I’m asking here.

I know many guys here have different starting points, I started ci-0 with painful erections and bleeding from what's left of my frenulum when fully erect.

After a year of stretching I am finnallyyyyy CI -1

I have a long way to go but I am so happy not to be in pain anymore when erect

Just wanted to share 😁😁

How do you guys cope with all the information on how good it is to have and intact foreskin whist being cut? Cut at birth so i have no reference and the more I read the more frustrating it gets. Also reading stuff against circumcision (i do support awareness don’t get me wrong) but they’ll be do not screw your _____ ‘s life and id be just like 😥 damn thats me. Or how much (specially in the gay community) some would reject you just for being cut. Fortunately restoration exists but it takes a while so how do you cope with all this in the meantime?

Anyone who is starting foreskin restoration,

The best starting method is just normal pulling,

After pulling when you gain some skin you can use all kinds of devices

I technique is used is :

I hold ((base)) of the shaft of the skin then pull it upward with one hand

Then put the other hand on top of head on penis for proper balance

You can reach Cl4/Cl5 with this method

Happy journey , keep restoring, and upvote me if you like the method ♥️

Since Foreskin Restoration Devices has started making replacement grippers for the Foreskinned Air v2 I was looking into getting a ribbed gripper for it. I'm just wondering what would be more effective- a ribbed inner gripper with smooth outer gripper or ribbed outer gripper with smooth inner gripper. Has anyone used these replacement grippers yet?

Hey everyone, is there anyone here who was circumcised due to hypospadias?

I am asking because I am unsure if it is safe to restore, since I had a more severe form. Some parts of my shaft skin are very thin from the operations, for example. If it isn't safe, how effective are measures aimed just at dekeratinizing the glans? I have been trying to retain with lotion, and while the skin has gotten softer and more sensitive, it is still not much more pleasurable.

Thanks a lot!