Hello gents. I thought I would start a thread to document my progress. I won't be posting photos.
Here is a bit of background. I've been obsessed with my penis for as long as I can remember. I suppose most males are. I've been retracting my foreskin since I was a kid and I'm 55 now. I've been working toward permanent retraction for the past 5 years or so. I tried the spoon method for a bit, but always ended up with some swelling of the foreskin within 12-24 hours, so would let things slide back for a few days. The longest I've gone retracted until now has been about 36 hours, however, it is very common to be retracted for a full day at work or around home.
I have a couple of reasons I am taking on the journey of full time retraction. First off, I like the appearance of it better, even with the piled up skin behind my glans. I suppose that goes all the way back to when I was at least in junior high and started playing sports and experienced the locker room. As far as I can recall, the only uncut pricks I saw were mine and my brothers' (and my dad's of course). The second reason is cleanliness. I don't really like the smell and whatnot after a few hours covered. I always retract when I piss and I can always catch the smell, particularly after sex with my wife or from masturbating. Finally, I want to lower my sensitivity primarily for sex. I struggled with premature ejaculation after my wife and I started slowing down our frequency in bed after 20 years of marriage and 3 sons.
I pierced and tied my frenulum 5 years ago and am very happy with the result. It loosened up the foreskin considerably and that was likely when I started thinking more about full time retraction. I did experience a loss of some sensitivity with oral sex from it, but the increased stamina in the bedroom for regular sex was worth it. I experimented with the spoon method and made it several 24 hours stretches and enjoyed that.
Over the past few months, I simply would pull it back and for the most part it would remain retracted for up to 12 hours (dependent upon cold and activity level.) I've never had an issue with not being able to retract fully with an erection, but it hasn't been automatic. I've gotten used to my glans being rubbed on my underwear, so don't have too much sensitivity there.
Which brings me to where I am now. I've been wearing an o-ring behind my glans for about the last 48 hours and have been fully retracted for 24. I slept with it on last night and it was very comfortable. It is stretchy enough that with an erection it doesn't cause me any issues and it is keeping the skin pulled behind my head. In this short time, I'm noticing a change in texture, but not color yet and all seems to be well. I plan on removing the ring when I shower later and making certain to wash well, then dry things off completely, apply some rubbing alcohol to the inner foreskin and around my glans, then put the ring back on after I shave my face.
I'll try to update my progress regularly and let you know what works and what doesn't work. For now, I'm just going to focus on the rubbing alcohol and ring so I can isolate what is working or not working. I'm a scientist at heart, so want to limit the variables.