Complete newb - using barrier creams to help get started

[Stealth]

So I'm really fresh to pulling back and remaining bare headed for more than the few minutes a day that I pee or shower, or anything else that you'd usually expect some movement in that area. Last night, I managed to covertly keep it retracted normally with no specialist techniques or tools for about 4 hours in my PJs whilst chilling out watching TV with the family, occasionally getting up for drinks/snacks etc. After that, my corona and foreskin folds were a bit red and seemed a little enflamed. My foreskin having been bunched up for a while and pressing against the ridge.
I rubbed some sudacrem on the whole glans and foreskin area before going to bed, leaving it in its normal forward state overnight. This morning, I've decided to try the hairpin tuck technique again (supersonic's thread), but with the sudacrem - it's a barrier cream with extra ingredients to prevent thrush etc. It's usually found in the baby isle of the supermarkets as people seem to thing it's only for nappy rash, but it's got a multitude of uses.

Is there anything better that you've come across that might help me? I have seen some of you talking about 'drying out' to lose elasticity, but having suffered through my teenage years with a tight foreskin (I didn't know better at the time) I want it to remain supple, comfortable and retractable but minimise irritation whilst I'm retracting if possible. The sudacrem stays quite thick and white so whilst it's useful, it's not ideal for the slight extra residue it'll leave in underwear or for the times I may want to go swimming, it'll stand out in the changing rooms having white areas near the tip.
Any advice and opinions are appreciated, thanks.

[scotsguy27]

Welcome,

I've been retracting on and off since I was about 14/15 years old. I think i'm fairly lucky with my foreskin as I can just retract it and it stays there.

I go between the pulled back and spoon method.

I find the pulled back method can initially "puff up" around where the foreskin sits behind the head but with practice/over time it doesn't.

The spoon method works well for me and I think it looks good and how I would like my penis to look should I ever get cut. You can see my images in the gallery.

[burtonian]

Welcome Stealth.  I can imagine that Sudacrem would leave a visible residue both in underwear and around your 'tuck' that could attract embarrassing attention.  When I first started the spoon method I used Savlon, simply because it was to hand, and found that if only a very small amount was used it would be absorbed sufficiently to limit such issues.  Some would still remain, though, and be visible when the foreskin was fully retracted along the shaft.

I now use a light, water based lube, Superdrug own brand, that is clear.  Any excess left after performing the tuck can be rinsed away.  It seems to go a little tacky and provides a secure hold but can be readily reactivated for adjustments, even hours later, by dipping your spoon or other implement in water before slipping it into the tucked in area.  I typically stay retracted using this for 24/7 apart from showering and sex.  If you are fortunate enough to have a partner initiate sex whilst using a small amount of this lube I don't think they would comment.  To me it tastes like precum; I can't imagine tasting Sudacrem!

[Stealth]

Thanks for the warm welcomes!
I figure I'm probably going to try continuing with just a standard pull-back as much as possible, at least until I can get the irritation/redness and slight swelling under control if that's possible. I don't think it helps that the only available cotter pins that I have right now are metal (I've been using the rounded end of course) but I don't want to be giving myself nicks/scratches there. Though I do really like the tucked asthetic when I have been able to do it. I'm sorry but I'm too new for gallery access yet I think. I figure I can't post any pictures yet either because of that (?) I think my next experiments might be along the medical tape lines, but will have to find what tape works best and do some more research on how to do it properly. The sticky residues are maybe a bit of a put-off though

I'd thought about lubes, but wondered with having irritation there already just with my short new experiments, if leaving it on for hours at a time might actually increase the chances of more irritation - I know there's glycerin in a lot of lubes which I think is why loads of them go 'sticky' after a while, if left on too long without rehydrating them. I'll have a look into that superdrug one though and see. Even if it doesn't work in this case for me, I'm sure I can give it other uses

[slicendice]

I'd thought about lubes, but wondered with having irritation there already just with my short new experiments, if leaving it on for hours at a time might actually increase the chances of more irritation - I know there's glycerin in a lot of lubes which I think is why loads of them go 'sticky' after a while, if left on too long without rehydrating them. I'll have a look into that superdrug one though and see. Even if it doesn't work in this case for me, I'm sure I can give it other uses

the stickiness can play to your advantage (helps the skin adhere together to prevent skin slippage once it's dry-ish), or disadvantage (some folks have a slight allergic reaction to glycerine), so make a choice or try both with or without glycerine to see which works best for you. either way, glycerine is generally considered non-toxic and used in food products, so unless you've got an allergic reaction, it's safe to use.

[Stealth]

I was also thinking about it along the lines of potentially triggering/feeding a yeast infection - there's mixed messages and opinions about it'risks for that if you google search. From my own personal experiences, one of the few times I've ever had one myself was after receiving a couple of rather nice oral sessions in an evening where myself and my partner were at a party and had been drinking draft alcohol fairly heavily (neither one of us was drunk/intoxicated, we had fun and it was all consentual) but we fell asleep holding eachother. 7 hours later I was irritated/itchy. Yes, I know that could have been the yeast, but I was advised sugars also play a role.

This event trigger was the first and only time I dashed to the gum clinic (I was in my early 20s) for worriying I might have caught an STI, I'm usually very safe and clean and tested fairly regularly. The guy looked at it, handed me clotrimazole cream and advised me to be more careful of the sugars and yeasts, that I maybe more prone to future flair-ups - basically wash it straight away after any future action of a similar nature. I maybe overthinking it and I will probably try it, but it was just my first thought about wearing something that maybe sticky 'long term' (more than a few hours/upto a day)

In other news, I pulled back again last night a few hours before bedtime after being pulled back for about maybe 6 hours through the day yesterday. The evening was just straight pullback but I tucked it  when I went to bed. I slept through the night retracted and woke up again still retracted. It's been over 12 hours now. Last night it seemed to suddently get a lot more comfortable, though I'm getting erections a lot more frequently right now than usual.

[jdm]

You might want to check out skin prep products for wound care. Just google "skin prep wipes" or "skin prep spray". There are different brands, which produce slightly different results. You may have to experiment to find out which one you like the best.