As an intermittent retracter, I am fascinated by the keratinization process. I never get to experience the level of keratinization that lifetime retractors get, because the longest I ever go is a few months at a stretch. Never the less, I notice a significant change in the texture and sensitivity of the glans and inner foreskin after one to three months of retraction. So this got me thinking, are there any agents out there that could be applied that might accelerate keratinization of these areas? I know some guys here have experimented with astringents; I've even tried that myself, thought not long term. But I wanted to see what else was out there, so I started googling. Not surprisingly, I didn't find many scientific articles that dealt with this specifically.
But there was a study that came close.
Apparently some scientists who believe that circumcision affords a certain degree of protection from HIV, due to the resultant keratinization of the exposed mucosa, have been exploring alternative ways to achieve increased keratinization without performing circumcision. They experimented with application of an estrogen cream to the inner foreskin, and found that this resulted in rapid keratinization (within 24 hours) which lasted for 5 days after they discontinued application. The degree of keratinization is not really clear, but I assume it would be cumulative over time, with regular application of the cream. Personally, I would never try this, as I would be afraid of possible systemic side effects from the extra estrogen absorbed through the skin. This is addressed in the article, and it's believed that at lowest effective doses, effects would be local only. I'd still be afraid to try it, so I have looked for alternative agents. (
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2396280/pdf/pone.0002308.pdf)
I also found a couple other studies which, while not specific to the penis, seemed like they might be relevant. For instance, there's this one, which seems to indicate that low dose hydrocortisone cream may cause keratinization, at least in chickens.
I don't know what to make of this, as hydrocortisone is well known to cause skin to become thinner, not thicker. So I found this article counterintuitive. Also, I would again be concerned about side effects from long term use, as topical steroid creams have been associated with, for example, vision problems.
(
http://dev.biologists.org/content/develop/25/3/365.full.pdf)
Finally, there's another study that looked at the effect of various agents on accelerated keratinization of rat skin. The language is quite technical, and a lot of it goes over my head. Some of the language may even be misleading for practical purposes, as it talks about the effects of these various substances on specific layers of the skin, as opposed to the entire skin as a whole. There is some discussion of some substances retarding growth of inner layers, while accelerating “keratinization”. Still others it says may enhance the growth of deeper layers, while causing a“failure of complete maturation of the keratin”. I'm not sure which is better for our specific application.
It's all quite interesting, but a bit too technical for me. Maybe some of you will have better luck following the deeper details of it.
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http://www.nature.com/jid/journal/v29/n5/pdf/jid1957113a.pdf)
Having said all that, what I personally gleaned from this article (possibly incorrectly, I'll grant) was that a significant thickening effect was demonstrated with the application of linoleic acid. Now, I'm not sure if there's any difference between the linoleic acid these eggheads used, and the conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) that is commonly sold as a dietary suppliment, but I had some of the latter lying around, and decided to try it. Basically, I just cut the tip of a gel-cap, and squeezed some directly onto my glans and inner foreskin. I then jacked the foreskin forward and back once or twice to spread it around the entire area, and then I applied my Kumakkey knock-off to keep the skin retracted. I've been doing this once a day now for about two weeks. I'm sure that some of it gets wiped off by the action of my penis rubbing against clothing, but a good bit does stay on, and in my experience, it does have an effect. At first the effects where subtle, and I couldn't tell if anything was happening. But after a week or so, I definitely noticed a difference. Somewhere between one and two weeks it got to the point where it felt about how it usually does after I've kept the skin retracted for a month or more, but without applying any keratinizing agents. The color was paler, and skin felt a bit stiffer. Not extremely so, but noticeably. A couple days ago I was out for a walk, and my Kumakkey came off. It was cold out, and I'd experienced some shrinkage. But to my surprise, my foreskin did not come forward. It usually takes me months to get to the point where it will stay back without any retraction aids, even while standing or walking around, as opposed to sitting for instance. I can't tell you scientifically what the linoleic acid is doing, but it's obvious to me that it is having a positive effect.
Let me note as well that I have experience no negative effects while using this stuff. In the article they talk about “irritation”, and that may be happening on a micro level, but I have not experienced any irritation that I could feel during this experiment. And since CLA is commonly used as a dietary supplement to help with weight loss and enhancing lean muscle, I'm definitely not afraid of any possible side effects from absorption into my system.
Since my positive experience with the CLA, I have been re-reading the 3rd article, trying to understand more of it. There's still a lot that makes my eyes glaze over, but I am now interested in trying the application of selenium, perhaps in alternation with the CLA. Or perhaps in combination. I have no idea which would be better, but I'm thinking that if they each have thickening effects on different layers of the skin, then it might be good to use both, one way or the other. I'm also thinking of trying some rubbing alcohol to more thoroughly dry out the glans and skin just prior to applying the CLA, because there seems to be some indication in the article that super-drying the skin surface may enhance absorption of fatty acids like CLA, perhaps enhancing its effects. I will probably try that first, since I have some rubbing alcohol, and I don't have any selenium.
I've attached PDFs of the articles in case the links go bad.