FAQ – Full Text

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Cuff:

What is the cuff for?

The Cuff is the clear or white thicker conical silicone fitting with the 3mm hole. Use it to secure weights thus:
– Apply the freshly washed device to your freshly washed skin and grip your skin with the retaining cone
– Optionally extend the Pusher 1/4″ to 1/2″ (with set screw, springs, or elastics)
– Add the 5.5 ounce (conical inside) weight against the clear retaining cone
– Optionally add other weights
– Optionally add one or two white silicone spacer cones (more weights call for less spacers) so that the Cuff is placed beyond the tugging handle.
– Add the Cuff
– Secure the whole stack by placing the spare collar and set screw against the Cuff.

CYL-X:

How are the TLC Selects used?

The CYL-X system, replaces buying longer Pushers. The reasons to lengthen the Pusher are discussed here: https://ForeskinRestoration.vBulletin.net/forum/bi-directional-tension/24437-spacers-vs-pushing-rod?p=24504#post24504 Basically it comes down to always targeting a specific part of your skin tube to serve as the induced roll-over point while tugging. If you measure and calculate the location of your Future Flaccid Roll-over Point as shown at the link, and make the induced roll-over point the FFRP as soon as possible, then you can expect the tightest most natural-looking puckered result. The CYL-X helps you do this by providing disks that get stacked between the Pusher and the Tugger body.

Expertise:

Are you a doctor?

NO! My advice is based on my own experience, my readings, and my interactions with others. You are responsible for your own health. If anything about restoring ever feels strange or uncomfortable, do see a doctor (one that has a foreskin) right away. Run to get another opinion if he/she recommends cutting anything off.

I’m always available to answer your questions via phone or e-mail. I’ll tell it to you straight, including telling you I don’t know (when I don’t know).

-Ron Low

Peyronies:

Can I wear your device if I have Peyronies?

If you have been treated (e.g. for Peyronies) we should involve your doctor in this phase of treatment. I’d be happy to speak to him/her. See our Peyronies page.

YES our VLC Tugger is a legitimate tool for penile traction during healing. But to use it you need as much available slack skin as it takes to let you temporarily force your skin into a position covering the whole glans (nudging the glans back while doing so is fine).

You need item VLC Hanger seen here: VLC Hanger kit.

If you’d like to use a traction rig like the SizeGenetics extender, add our SGC clip to attach our device to the splint. If you have a bend or curve, this can even be used to counter it by lashing your shaft to the rails of the extender. The pictures with our Velcro Strap (item PYS – Velcro Strap show this technique.

Phimosis:

Do you have any devices that would help with Phimosis?

Let me explain our philosophy about phimosis treatment. Phimosis is not a disease. It is the naturally occurring condition of a foreskin opening (preputial sphincter) that is so tight it does not permit the skin tube to roll off the glans (retract) upon erection, and sometimes not even while flaccid. Depending on culture and how it’s counted, it will occur in about 4% of intact adults, and about half of those will seek treatment to resolve the condition so that comfortable retraction is possible during erection.

See our Phimosis page: https://tlctugger.com/phimosis/

Phimosis is thought by some to result from lack of manipulation of the skin tube during childhood, but in no event should manipulation to make the foreskin retractable be performed by anyone other than the penis owner. What we would describe as phimosis in the adult is the normal state of the penis in childhood, and sometimes through puberty and beyond. Put another way, there is no such thing as childhood phimosis.

There are disease conditions with symptoms that resemble phimosis. IF YOU COULD COMFORTABLY RETRACT ERECT BEFORE, AND YOU CAN’T NOW, THEN YOU SHOULD TALK TO A DOCTOR FOR SURE. Please know that if surgery is called for there are usually options to loosen the preputial sphincter that do not involve loss of much sensual tissue. If a doctor suggests circumcision, ask why “dorsal slit with transverse closure” wouldn’t work. If this is not familiar to the doctor, leave and see a competent doctor instead. In any case, a second opinion and plenty of independent research is always advisable before any surgery.

Phimosis can usually be resolved with 3 – 6 months of gentle stretching. PhimoCure.net makes a device to help with this. You will also want/need Betamethasone ointment (available by prescription) in 0.05% to 0.1% strength. You would apply a bit of ointment to the skin, then squeeze the device, work it into the opening, and carefully let it gently spring open. Wear it as often and as long as possible. NEVER tolerate pain. Some men wear it all day under clothes and all night while sleeping. After a few weeks a wider device can be swapped in.

Piercing:

Will the piercing interfere with the device or the restoration procedure?

When I started I tried for 24/7 tension and I made good progress. But in 2010 we did a study with 250 volunteers recording their tugging hours and carefully measuring their growth for 6 months. Only 10% of the men actually completed the data logging as required, but they reported remarkable average progress of 3mm per month improvement in Forced Erect Skin-tube Reach on an average of 11 hours per day under tension.

So we say wear your tugging gear 50% of the time and leave your jewelry in half the time. And see our User Forum section on support for piercings.

Pusher Size:

How do you determine appropriate size for the pusher?

You determine your FFRP https://ForeskinRestoration.vBulletin.net/forum/bi-directional-tension/24437-spacers-vs-pushing-rod?p=24504#post24504 and then mark it on your skin. Apply a device. If the mark is facing out, you lengthen the device by the distance from the roll-over point where the mark is located.

If the mark is facing in, make a mark at the roll-over point. Reduce the device length by the distance between the marks.

The device lengthening can be achieved by using a longer Pusher, but more recently we have developed TLC Selects Spacer Disks to let you add or remove 3mm from the device as desired.

Tight Foreskin:

Is there a way to stretch a tight constricted foreskin?

See our Phimosis page: https://TLCTugger.com/phimosis/

To learn more about the normal foreskin I can highly recommend https://15square.org.uk/, a registered charity in England (where having a foreskin is the norm) run by doctors. Most of the world is intact. Only about 2 in 1000 intact men choose to get circumcised. I think the rate is low because people realize the foreskin includes over half the male pleasure-receptive nerve endings.

A foreskin which does not retract is not automatically a problem. Up to 4% of intact adults have this and about half do nothing about it.

If you’d like to become retractable while erect, the method is to gently stretch the foreskin opening wider with your fingertips morning and night. Set your alarm a few minutes earlier so you don’t have to rush. You should do this while applying Betamethasone ointment which you will need a prescription for. Your doctor will keep the topic of your visit private if you wish.

It could take several months to get results. Be patient. Stretching too aggressively could cause cracks and tears in the skin. If these scar over the foreskin will just be tighter and the scar tissue may scratch at the glans. A doctor might look at that scarring and say you have LS/BXO and need a circumcision. Run from the that doctor. In fact, I’d say you need to ask before making any appointment: “Does the doctor have a foreskin?” The first treatment for LS/BXO is Protopic ointment, basically a stronger branded version of Betamethasone.

IF you just don’t have the patience to do the stretching, there IS a surgery to make you retractable. It IS NOT circumcision. It DOES NOT amputate any sensual tissue. It is called dorsal slit with transverse closure preputialplasty. If your doctor has not heard of this, s/he is certainly unqualified to comment on your condition.

Urination:

Can I pee through the device?

I assure you that you will never succeed at drilling or carving a suitable passage for urine into our silicone device. It’s DANGEROUS to even try. I’ve broken drills and had devices go flying. Such a hole must be molded in.

I’ve experimented with pee-through devices for a few guys. IT DOESN’T WORK. Urine gets everywhere and dribbles out for hours, and makes the device loosen.

If you can help me understand what you’re looking for maybe I can help.

Credit Cards:

If I use PayPal, will ‘Penis Tugger’ appear on my credit card statement?

If your PayPal purchase is funded by a credit card, then HOME ARTS will appear on your credit card statement. Some people transfer money directly to their PayPal account, and then pay from “existing PayPal balance” so the transaction is never directly referenced on their credit card statement.

I’m sorry, I can’t process your credit card number directly through the mail or over the phone. Most folks would rather just give their credit card numbers to one trustworthy entity like PayPal instead of handing that info out to every online merchant. Thanks for your understanding.

YOU DON’T NEED A PAYPAL ACCOUNT to pay us with PayPal. They can process a one-time checkout with your credit card, just like you would do at any other online merchant.

Credit Cards – No Paypal:

I don’t have a paypal account can I use my credit card?

After ordering click checkout. When it asks you to log in, don’t. Click Pay with a Credit Card. Enter your credit card billing details and finish. Send me an email if the shipping address is different from the billing address.

Glans Width:

How do I determine my glans width?

See our sizing examples. Please supply your glans width (flaccid and erect, measured at the widest point with a straight ruler from side to side). If you supply your Forced Erect Coverage (the percent of your glans you can temporarily force skin over while erect, or the distance past the tip you can temporarily force skin while erect, see Forced Erect Coverage) I can advise you on which options are in play and how we would size your gear.

Manual Tugging:

What should I do if I don’t have enough slack skin?

If you don’t now have enough slack to temporarily hide your glans inside while flaccid (only while you’re forcing the skin forward), you’re also going to need to either do some focused manual tugging or use a tape method for a while. I imagine if you want to exploit your sleeping hours that will involve tape, even after you’ve got tapeless working for daytime.

A tapeless tugger can help with your manual tugging. Even if you don’t have the slack to get the retaining cone to grip your skin over the tugger, you may be able to force skin high enough onto the tugger to grip it with an O grip (thumb and first finger). Once you have the skin there you can pull on the tugging handle with the other hand. A bic straight pen or other slender bar placed crossways through the handle can give you a comfortable grip.

Packaging:

Will the package show up at my office with ‘PENIS CONE’ stenciled on all sides?

We ship very discreetly in plain white 6×9 inch sturdy Tyvek mailing pouches or boxes, with no business name in the return address and no identifying documents inside (unless you request them). “Hey Smithers, this package came for you.” “Ah good, my…uhm…vacuum cleaner parts have arrived.”

However, for non-US and military shipments, a customs form with a description of contents is required. We can write “hygiene kit” or “post-surgical brace” or any non-fraudulent thing you like on the form. See our Packaging page.

Resizing:

What if I need a different size?

For resizing we will need you to send flaccid and erect glans-width ruler pictures modeled after our sizing examples. We will determine your size.

Shipping Confirmation:

What information is in the shipping confirmation?

Some services (AOL, Hotmail, NetZero, Yahoo) seem more likely to reject our long shipping confirmation. If you didn’t see it recently, read it online here:

https://foreskinrestoration.vbulletin.net/forum/tlc-tugger-user-group/30995-tlc-tugger-shipping-confirmation#post30995

Sizing:

Does it come in sizes?

Yes. See our note about sizing measurements http://TLCTugger.com/device-sizing/. The outer Your-Skin Cone retaining shell part should be matched to your anatomy to work well by itself. The inner TLC Tugger part can only be as small as your level of slack skin will allow. We have wide latitude to size the TLC Tugger. The TLC-X Tugger is supplied in 7 discrete girth sizes, and is adjusted to your degree of slack by changing the Pusher section. Just send us a note or call and we’ll meet your needs. When you supply your measurements to the nearest 1/16″ or nearest mm, you have our Right-Size guaranty.

TLC Packers are available in 27mm, 30mm, 34mm, and 38mm widths to match your girth, and lengths to match your present state of slack, and TLC Tuggers are available as TLC Stretch Tuggers in similar girths and extended lengths. SenSlip is sold in sizes as well.

If you’re concerned, send me your measurements. No TLC sale is final until you have the device that works for you.

Warranty:

Is it guaranteed?

I can’t guaranty your results since so much depends on how you were cut and how you use the devices. I do warrant all the silicone products for 1 year (it should last a lot longer with proper care), and all the other stuff for 3 months – refund or replacement, your choice. If you supply your measurements, you have our Right-Size guaranty. If you decide Tugging is not for you or you’re convinced you’d be better off with a different brand of device, you can exploit our 3-month no-questions-asked refund policy*. And TLC is a corporation that will probably exist to serve you even if the founder gets hit by a bus or something.

Enlargement – PE – ADS:

Will this make my penis larger?

Thanks for your note. I have definite feelings about PE.

It “should” work the same way skin expansion works, except for two things:

1) Even more various types of tissue are being asked to expand (with skin it’s “only” epithelium, basal layer, muscle cells, blood vessels, and nerve fibres). The various types may be able to expand at different rates so the growth would be limited by the slowest thing. But even bones can be made to grow if they’re stretched, so anything’s possible.
2) Since the cross-sectional area of the whole shaft is like 5 to 10 times as great as the cross-sectional area of just the skin tube, it would take 5 to 10 times as much tugging force to get the same productive stress in the shaft tissues that we easily get in the skin. (Engineers define Stress as applied Force divided by the Area the force act upon.) Tugging that hard 10-12 hours per day is just not feasible with comfort and safety. We can get up to 2-3 times the force with our VLC Tugger ADS which comfortably tensions the whole shaft, so that may induce growth – but nothing like the elongation we expect tensioning the skin.

The only method that might really work effectively is low-stress vacuum, but there is no 24/7 wearable vacuum fixture that I’m aware of. Using high stress for a short interval is just dangerous – I mean there are real horror stories.

Jelqing is absurdly destructive. And the noose-like grip used by just about every extender rig precludes comfortable 24/7 wear. There are passive vacuum-grip cup ADS pullers on ebay that might give a fairly comfortable pull, but they need to grip about 1/3 or more of the shaft to hang on so you’re basically pulling a lot on your suspensory ligaments and not fully on your shaft tissues.

If you try a VLC Tugger, know that guys have used them with the extender rigs, in place of the noose gripper. I think the VLC is perfect with our weights systems TLC Hangers and TLC Danglers.

I added an inch of new skin per year for 4 years. Just know that I have never seen a verifiable claim of “inches” of shaft length gain. I have heard of “legends” in the PE world finally admitting that all the jelqing and wringing of the shaft seem to have led to Peyronies disease.

Future Flaccid Rollover Point (FFRP):

How do I get the most natural look?

The swappable Pusher and Spacer disk option is one of the unique features of the TLC-X that will give you unparalleled control over the natural looking taper of your final restored result.

Generally beginners don’t worry about Pusher length, but as you gain slack, swapping in a longer Pusher using spacer disks to add device length lets you easily keep a constant part of your skin tube acting as the induced roll-over point (at the narrowest part of the device) while you tug.

If you calculate the location of your Future Flaccid Roll-over Point (FFRP) on your present skin, then choosing the right Pusher will let you keep the FFRP acting as the induced roll-over point so you be sure that the FFRP will be as puckered as possible when you’re restored.

See this link to calculate your FFRP https://ForeskinRestoration.vBulletin.net/forum/bi-directional-tension/24437-spacers-vs-pushing-rod?p=24504#post24504. Note that one of the numbers you need is not a measurement but an assumption you’ll make about your goal state. It’s the Forced Erect Coverage (FEC) level you’ll have when you’re done.

Some guys will feel “done” when they can force skin over 100% of the glans. This will mean they can enjoy some slinking and gliding during intimacy. Others will work for 150% (able to force the skin “half the glans length” past the tip while erect). This means they can probably show flaccid coverage for a little while before the skin rolls off the glans. Some guys aren’t happy until they have 200% – 300% because they want to be able to sleep with no device and never get uncovered (despite nocturnal erections).

See this link to calculate your present FEC: (Forced Erect Coverage). Measure it monthly and you can then gauge how long it will take to reach your FEC goal.

Hairy Skin Expansion:

When I tug will I have more hair on my penis?

I recommend you shave anyway. Cut-in-childhood guys have some pubic and scrotal skin on the shaft. Intact guys have less (if any) coarse hair on the shaft. I suggest trimming the hair from any skin that can be drawn onto the shaft. I start with a beard trimmer, then lose the resulting whiskers with an electric facial razor.

ALL the skin we tension will expand. However there are connective tissue that take up some of the tension before it gets to the base. Further, the coarse hairy skin is thicker and broader (if drawn from the pubis or scrotum) so it is under less stress (force divided by cross-sectional area) than the shear skin tube.

Any non-hairy skin you expand will only REDUCE the amount of hair-bearing skin drawn onto the shaft during erection or dragged into a partner. I used to pluck rather than shave because my wife didn’t like stubble. Now that I’ve restored I just shave because the hairy skin never goes into her.

– – – – –

Posted on our forum last night:

If you have hair on your shaft it’s there from a lifetime with no foreskin. (I think some guys complain about hair suddenly on the shaft only because they suddenly noticed what was there all along). If you have ANY non-hairy shaft skin at all, then expanding your skin will only decrease the amount of hair-bearing skin dragged onto the shaft during erection.

Before I started restoring I tried shaving my shaft and my wife complained immediately about the stubble irritating her vaginal mucosa. So all through my tugging years I PLUCKED shaft hair in order to be baby soft for her. But now that I’m restored I just use an electric razor on my shaft any time I’m stepping into the shower. She has no stubble complaint (and we bone about twice as often as we ever did before). The hair-bearing skin never gets near her.

The scrotum will appear displaced while you tug but it is under very little tension so it doesn’t expand much. Also, the phenomenon that causes expansion is STRESS (= FORCE divided by cross-sectional AREA). The scrotum is under low stress because it’s broader and ALSO because hairy skin is thicker than the shear shaft skin, so lucky for us the cross-sectional Area of the hairy skin we don’t want to expand is great, and thus the Stress in it is low.

Restoring Benefits:

What are the benefits of restoring?

See http://TLCTugger.com/benefits-of-foreskin-restoration/. While we can’t get back lost nerve endings or the exquisite frenulum, I can say for my wife and me restoring has been very worthwhile. The biggest surprise for me was how wonderful the slack skin feels rolling around during intimacy. Also I never guessed the skin between the glans and the circ scar would take on a whole new sort of “itch” that only intimacy can scratch. Before I restored my wife tried for years to give me an orgasm through oral stimulation but I never could finish. Now she can do it easily as often as she cares to (which of course seems like never, but that’s another story).

Restoring improves your intimate experience in a few ways. Keeping your glans covered with your own skin eliminates the drying and abrasive effects of clothing, bedding, and the air. This lets the surface of the glans and mucosa (the smooth shaft skin just below the glans) shed the unnaturally thick layer of surface cells which have built up. The result is that nerve endings are closer to the surface and respond to finer stimulation. It’s basically like the difference between with and without a condom. (Intact and restored guys are probably less resistant to using a condom since they have more tactile sensitivity).

Adding slack skin also lets the rest of the shaft skin work better. The nerve endings are structured to fire when the skin rolls over on itself, as the skin must make a tight bend at the roll-over point (the transient tip of the skin tube) when the skin slinks up and down the shaft. Until you have enough skin to let it slink around during arousal, you really aren’t feeling what those nerve endings seem meant to make you feel. I also notice – especially as I first become erect and the skin rolls off the glans – that when the skin first must flare to clear the widest part of the glans I get a whole new sort of sensation as the skin tube stretches in width. Forgive me but it’s very hard to describe, I’m sure like trying to describe the difference between pink and purple to a blind person. It just feels great, a sort of itch, and a stretch that relieves the itch.

Slack skin also makes intercourse better for a receptive partner. My wife – being past her mid-40s – is just not always as wet as she used to be, but she loves the way the slinky slack skin creates a plush full feeling. Upon each withdrawal the skin bunches up to give subtle flicks like from a ribbed condom, but in general intercourse is more comfortable, with no unwanted friction. The skin is like a rolling bearing that creates a frictionless gliding action.

It used to be that she would get rubbed raw. She would climax several times during intercourse, but by the time I finished she would be sore. Now we can both go as long as she cares to. When I want to finish, I just sort of let myself go and reach orgasm with her easily.

She says since I got my slack skin I’ve also gotten better at rubbing her clitoral hood. I suppose I have a better appreciation for what it must feel like to her, as I now enjoy very much the feel of her hand rubbing my glans by rolling my skin over it. I get the glans stimulation, plus the stimulation of the newly-supple skin touching it, at the same time. She can also draw the skin over the glans and plunge her tongue between the skin and glans and swirl it around. Before I restored I never climaxed from oral stimulation with my wife despite 10 years of earnest effort. Now she can finish me that way easily as often as she wants. Since it’s less work, she’s more willing to try it, although it’s still never often enough, right?

I gained about an inch of new slack skin per year using the TLC Tugger with comfortable tension as close to 24/7 as I could manage (probably 80% of all hours). Each inch of new skin covers an additional 1/2″ of the exposed glans (since the outer skin tube extends toward the tip, rolls under, and then extends inward to the attachment just beneath the glans).

Scar location:

What happens to the circumcision scar?

See the notes about inner/outer and roll-over point in our user forum’s glossary section: https://ForeskinRestoration.vBulletin.net/articles/foreskin-restoration-aa/294-glossary-of-foreskin-restoration-terms

I’ve found that it doesn’t much matter that some original outer skin will face in, because re-purposed outer skin that you force to face in will get soft and smooth much like inner skin – once it has been in contact with the glans and protected from the elements.

My main problem with choosing the scar as a roll-over point is that the muscle fibers there are damaged and may be less responsive for puckering up. Also, the scar may be jagged, asymmetrical, or simply not lined up to do the job, plus the scar tissue may not be very sensitive. Also, aiming for this result would require most restorers to gain inner skin at a much higher growth rate than for outer skin. Why not grow ALL the skin at that maximum rate for MORE slack?

Having the scar in the outer facing area seems sub-optimal because that means some original mucosal skin is now facing out to be dried and abraded.

Slack Skin:

Why do I need to tug for new slack skin if the Your-Skin Cone restores my sensitivity?

Glans sensitivity is great, but slack skin is even better. The slack skin becomes the only moving part of the penis, making it more fun to play with. The skin tube allows for a whole new frictionless rolling/gliding mode of stimulation which you will love. The slack makes intercourse more gentle and interesting for your partner.

The slack also allows your partner to, for example, squeeze the shaft very hard while frictionlessly rolling a hand down the shaft; this flushes the engorgement from your glans, leaving it aroused but very supple for deep kneading. Or maybe roll the skin forward over the glans and plunge a tongue between the glans and skin and swirl around stimulating two surfaces at once. Oral sex is a whole new art form with slack skin.

Smegma:

Will my glans return to its proper glossy sensitivity while using only the TLC tugger?

How close we can get to normal suppleness is only a guess. But to max out on normal sheen, keep your skin rolled forward over the glans 100% of the time. When bathing rinse the glans and mucosa (between the scar and the glans) only with clear water. Don’t aggressively scrub away loose skin debris from the area. In a “normal” setting that skin debris stays put, dissolves, and gets digested by beneficial bacteria. The waste product of the bacteria has a musky aroma.

If we wash it’s not for health reasons, but for social reasons. Keeping the glans squeaky clean is a trade-off some guys will make at the expense of suppleness, to conform to societal expectations of minimal aromas. Some time in your life try a few weeks of no glans scrubbing and you’ll see what smegma looks like.

Wearing a silicone tugger is not exactly the same as wearing your skin in direct contact with the glans. It’s a compromise we make in order to gain slack. Glans sensitivity is great, but the feeling of slinking slack during arousal is for most restorers a far greater contributor to improved sexual experience.

Smells:

Any slight odor around your genital area due to the glans being covered all the time?

I wash the area with clear water only. I recently did an experiment where I hopped out of the shower, toweled off, popped the Your-Skin Cone on and did some chores before bed. Then the next morning I stuck my penis in my wife’s mouth (with her permission) while I was licking her. She swears she couldn’t taste or smell a thing 14 hours after the washing.

That said, if I go a couple days without showering (it happens; I work from home and sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day to indulge in the luxury of a shower) I can definitely smell myself. It’s a kind of sweet musky aroma just like the genitals of various girls I licked while I was dating. (My wife never ever has a smell or taste, I don’t know why).

If we have sex and then I just mop off with a wet cloth and cover my glans with my skin (instead of thoroughly showering), that sweet aroma turns into a SMELL – an ODOR like the stale air inside a tire – within a day. If we were going to have sex again before a shower I would definitely wash with a cloth and maybe slather something minty on there. I definitely wouldn’t put my smelly penis in anyone’s mouth.

Q: ^^ I am concerned that if I continue I may too have a worry of a scent that never plagued me as a cut male. ^^

If you ever decide you don’t want to manage your scent just stop wearing your skin over the glans. You can still enjoy your gliding action without keeping your mucosa super supple.

^^ I understand that men and women may have natural odors in the genitalia ^^

Sure. Understand this, we are evolved to crave giving head. In the ancient natural world mouths were stinky, genitals were awesome. Watch most any mammals mate. There will be some licking first. I had to explain this natural behavior to my daughters when we had a litter of hamsters.

Until 2014 there was a web site called MintyAss.com if you’re curious about which crotch smells people were more concerned about. There was once a foreskin-specific product called NodorO but it’s apparently no longer sold.

If you ever decide you want to smell unnaturally inert, you can use a non-soap liquid cleanser. In the US we buy Cetaphil Gentle liquid skin cleanser in 16 oz bottles at the drug store for about $10. There are generic and store-brand equivalents that are just as good for our purpose.

Erections:

What happens if I get an erection while wearing the device?

Daytime erections while wearing the device should be rare, and the problem will be not so much what to do with the device, but rather what to do about the erection. The device will sometimes get loose even when you don’t have an erection.

I highly recommend Tug N Wear to keep all pieces from hitting the floor. You need SOME sort of fail-safe scheme. Some guys pin the Tugging handle to their boxer shorts. Others use the “loin cloth” trick shown in our instructions files. You need something that works for you, based on the circumstances you’re in and the consequences of a device hitting the floor.

Night time erections are not much of an issue. The device will either stay put, come loose, or get uncomfortable enough to wake you up. Try any sleep technique while you are awake and erect first before falling asleep. Only you can decide if it’s safe for you to tug while sleeping. Some guys tug while awake and wear just the Your-Skin Cone in bed.

Get Cones to grip:

How can I get my cones to grip.

The best way to ensure a super grip is to start with freshly washed skin and cone. Washing the skin dusts away loose skin cells and helps the cells at the surface seal flat against each other. Washing the cone eliminates skin debris or emollients that might make things slip. If I’m out of the house all day, I’ll take a wet paper towel into a toilet stall after lunch and wipe my skin and my device to keep me gripping strongly for the whole day.

Hours per Day:

How many hours per day should I tug?

In 2010 we had 250 men volunteer to carefully log their tugging hours and measure their restoration progress for 6 months. 25 men actually completed the regimen and data logging. On average they tugged 11 hours per day and they improved their forced erect skin-tube reach (see Forced Erect Coverage) by 3mm per month. My prior best estimate had been 1mm per month.

Granted these are numbers from the 25 most dedicated/enthusiastic participants and maybe many of the other guys stopped logging because their progress was bad. Maybe all of them lied, I don’t know, but it’s the most rigorously measured sample I’m aware of.

Back when I did most of my tugging I tried for 24/7 but probably achieved 80% of that. I think the above numbers show 50% is plenty. Whether even fewer hours per day will do anything remains to be seen, but you won’t know unless you measure objectively (see Forced Erect Coverage).

But given the 1mm to 3mm per month forced coverage gain, you can estimate your total time based on your starting state and your goal. One popular goal is to have 100% forced glans coverage while erect, for slack that can be manipulated during sex. Another common goal is 150% FEC for a better shot at slack you can walk around covered with for extended periods. To lie down in bed and wake up still covered with no device might take 250% – 300% FEC.

Short answer: give it at least 3 – 4 years, but the benefits start accruing within weeks.

How Long?:

So how long does this take?

It depends a lot on where you’re starting from, and how persistent you are. The most important thing is to define your goal, then tug until you hit (and we say tug 10% more, like 50 months becomes 55 months – to account for slight recession of the stretched out skin). This goal needs to be precise so you’ll know when it has happened, like “I can walk from the lockers to the showers and back with flaccid coverage, ten attempts in a row” or “I can go to sleep with no device and wake with glans coverage” or similar clear statement.

With the Your-Skin Cone alone, you should notice a gradual improvement in sensitivity within a month if you keep covered 24/7. You should take “before” pictures. Every few months, try taking a jog without the cone. If you just can’t stand the irritation of your glans banging around in your briefs, you’ll know you’ve made great progress.

For restoring slack skin with the TLC Tugger, the results are harder to predict. Your expectations and goals may shift during the process. A major milestone will be the first time your skin stays rolled forward over the corona by itself for more than a few seconds. It can take from 6 to 18 months to reach that. Getting to where you can walk around with your skin rolled forward and expect it stay there – covering at least half your glans – can take 1 to 3 years. Many tuggers realize the slack skin is adding so much to their pleasure that they just don’t want to stop until they could fool a urologist into thinking they’re intact. Some guys won’t declare themselves done until 6 years or longer.

I added about an inch of slack per year using the TLC Tugger with comfortable tension as close to 24/7 as I could manage. I wore the Your-Skin Cone to keep my skin forward over the glans every non-tugging minute (except for bathing, urination, and intimacy). In 2010 a group of 25 volunteers measured carefully for 6 months and logged their tugging hours. They improved the Forced Erect Reach (see Forced Erect Coverage) of the skin tube by an average of 3mm per month on an average of 11 hours per day under tension.

The benefits begin the day you start, and just keep getting better.

Inner vs Outer Skin:

Can I tension the inner and outer skin?

When you tension your skin, we think all the surviving skin that’s tensioned expands at about the same rate. So if you presently have say an inch of skin between the glans and circ scar and another 3 inches of skin between the circ scar and the base, then you could tug until you have say 50% more skin and that would be 1.5″ of inner skin and 4.5″ of outer skin.
Now in my case, my restored skin is such that the circ scar now faces inward toward the glans. The scar and the normal skin adjacent to it which is now facing inward have both reverted to a very smooth and shiny texture like inner skin. To me, the improvement in the inner skin is far more significant than the improvement of the glans. But I would say if outer skin can start acting like inner skin, then having it in contact with your glans shouldn’t be a problem. It’s got to be better for your glans than clothing and air.

Night Tugging:

Can I tug at night?

Only you can decide what to risk wearing while you sleep. Test any sleep technique while awake and erect first. Put the device on, get erect, and carefully flop around on the bed to think about worst case scenarios. Google ischemia and broken penis.

If you decide to use a tugging strap in bed, never route it down toward your leg. A nocturnal erection must be allowed to point where it will. Use the shoulder strapping technique or TLC Danglers routed up past your face.

Romance:

What if I’m on a date and things get intimate?

I wouldn’t tug on a date, but I would wear the Your-Skin Cone. The moment you sense things might lead to intimacy, slip the cone into your pocket. It’s soft silicone rubber, so no one would ever guess what they’re feeling if they grabbed at you through pants. Trust me, after you’ve been using the cone and you’re more sensitive, leaving the house without it will be out of the question (until you have enough skin to stay covered on your own). Your sensitive glans would be either intolerably irritated by your clothes, or so tickled that you would be walking around somewhat stiff all night.

I highly recommend you share your restoration project with everyone who is close to you (and complete strangers, for that matter).

Shorts:

What do you do if you are wearing shorts?

– For concealment of the tugging strap I sometimes wear an Ace knee brace on my knee for comfort, and wrap the strap over that. Then I put ANOTHER Ace knee brace over the strap to hide it. so then I look like a guy with a knee problem, which isn’t the worst thing. Since the “long” shorts extend below the top of the knee brace (see Tugging in Shorts picture), nobody has to see anything unless they’re really rudely staring, to which you can respond rudely: “Yes there is strap from knee to my penis, healing a mutilation that was imposed upon me.” Other options are to wear the cone alone with briefs, wear the TLC Tugger with no strap, wear a strapless TLC-X, or wear a TLC Tugger or TLC-X with a TLC Hangers weight.

– Catching stuff that might loosen. Fail-safe schemes are essential to give you the confidence to never skip a day. I recently tugged right through a speech in front of 100 experts that was even being videotaped for posterity. You can use a safety pin to attach a tugging handle to your boxers or briefs (if you use my loin cloth trick to turn the briefs into a loin cloth). If you wear a cone alone, you could instead add a Packer0 to give you a metal loop handle for routing a safety lace through, pinned to the pocket inside your pants to catch everything if the device loosens. Or we can make you a retaining cone with a metal ring that also lets you add a safety lace. Or forget pins and laces and use the Tug N Wear jock (my preference) even when wearing the cone alone.

Springs:

How do you use the TLC-X springs?

To use the springs (if desired), slide the rod out of the TLC-X. With Pusher attached to the rod, slide a conical spring onto the rod, wide end first. Then slide a washer onto the rod over the spring. If a second spring is desired slide another conical spring onto the rod, skinny end first. Slide the rod back into the TLC-X.

Compress the spring during application (you could hold it with the set screw), then carefully release it after you’ve gripped your skin with the retaining cone.

You could wear the TLC-X with spring tension, without the collar and set screw, for minimal bulk in your pants.

Another option with two springs would be to stack the second nested over the first (pointing the same direction; in parallel rather than series) before putting the washer on the Rod. This mode would make the springiness feel twice as stiff.

Strap Adjustment:

How do I adjust the straps?

A roughly 42″ long setup is for tugging over the shoulder at night. Adjusted to about 32″ and with a twist they’re ready for tugging below the knee during the day. See the 4-Hour Rule for fine-tuning tension.

* * * Below the knee: (video)
(NEVER tug downward when erections are likely. Use over-the-shoulder or around-the-waist.)

1) Secure the Tugging device to your penis.
2) Clip the single-thick end of the ComforTug strap to the device.
3) Run the strap down to the inside of the knee joint.
4) Apply the safety pin in the strap at a level even with the hinge of the knee joint. Be gentle with the pin so it goes between elastic fibers rather than tearing them.
5) Hold the pinned strap against the knee while running the remainder of the strap around the front of the leg below the knee. Wrap it around the back and all the way around a second time.
6) Clip the double-thick end of the strap to the safety-pinned spot on the strap. The pin prevents the clip from slipping.
7) Rotate the whole strap setup around the leg so that the strap bears more from the front of the leg than from the inside. (This allows for more consistent tension between walking and seated modes).
8) Fine-tune the strap length adjustment for comfort by the 4-Hour Rule. This could take a week or more of trial and error.

In practice, I don’t go through these steps every time. Since I wear a tubular elastic knee brace under the strap for comfort, I just unclip and then slip the knee brace and strap off as a unit. It goes back on quickly as a unit. Launder the knee brace and straps only as often as necessary.

* * * Over the shoulder: (video)
1) Apply the Tugging device to your penis.
2) Clip the single-thick end of the ComforTug strap to the device.
3) Run the strap up your chest and over one shoulder (say left).
4) Reach around to lead the strap down your back and under the ribs on the opposite side (say right).
5) Clip the double-thick end of the strap to the single-thick section at a point 3 to 10 inches above the tugger, after first applying a safety pin in the single-thick strapping for the clip to grab on to. Be gentle with the pin so it goes between elastic fibers rather than tearing them.
6) Fine-tune the strap length adjustment for comfort (to about one pound of tension or less) by the 4-Hour Rule. Start with a properly fitting device and an application that minimizes skin wrinkling. Wear the device with zero added tension. Then sneak the setting tighter every few days. You’ll know you’ve just passed your ideal setting when getting through 4 straight hours in comfort starts to be impossible. This could take a week or more of trial and error.

GENTLE tension will get the job done. Measure your FEC (Forced Erect Coverage) now and monthly to convince yourself that your gentle tension is working for you. For your less aggressive night setup, the 4-hour rule becomes an 8-hour rule. For PE the 4-Hour Rule can become a 2-hour or 20-minute rule; it just depends on how long you plan to wear it.

The straps have a sliding adjuster in the middle. It’s just like the one on bra straps, but it’s bigger. Change the strap length to tighten/loosen. Setting it so there is more of the doubled section means making LESS strap length. You will also alter the position of the anchoring safety pin to affect the fit.

Tension :

How much tension should I use?

I believe in persistent gentle tension rather than a short-interval high-stress regimen. I think regardless of the method you continue with, you should wear the Your-Skin Cone during all non-tugging hours. With persistent gentle tension, stress on the cells creates chemical signals that eventually trigger cell division. When that happens (not necessarily while the tension is applied) a “parent” splits into two “daughter” cells, and the two daughter cells must situate themselves in the 3D matrix of cells in roughly the space formerly occupied by the parent cell. After the division, the cells swell and each grows to be a full-sized cell. If your skin is constrained into the desired elongated shape at the time divisions occur, then the tendency will be for the daughter cells to orient themselves in the elongation direction, rather than at random, and the skin tissue will gradually conform to that constraining shape in due time. See historic Chinese Foot Binding for non-tugging examples of constraint conformance. So for a natural-looking result, ALWAYS wear at least the Your-Skin Cone to keep your skin rolled comfortably forward over the glans.

For tension, set your target based on getting through 4 hours comfortably during the day (the typical span between trips to the washroom). If you’re doing your best application – rolling the skin up and down to reduce or eliminate skin wrinkles before popping the retaining cone on, and covering as much of the device as is comfortable – then you should back off some tension if you’re not getting through 4 hours, and consider adding some tension if 4 hours seems too easy every time. For night, your setup needs to instead work for 8 hours of course, so it should be less aggressive, but the same scheme is followed.

Workplace Tugging:

You really do this tugging at your 9-5 job?

I tugged in bed every night and under trousers every day. I chose to confide in only a couple co-workers at the beginning. To be frank, some folks may have occasionally noticed the bulge of my penis hanging slightly low since I tugged toward my knee. If they want to stare at my crotch and think I’m equipped like a horse, that’s their problem. I’m slender, so it was easy to find very loose-fitting or relaxed-cut Dockers on ebay.

Air Tugger conversion:

Can my tugger be coverted into an Air tugger?

People ask how to turn their existing device into an air version. A non-air Tugger body can’t be air-equipped.
To convert a non-air TLC-X requires ‘only’ a new body, air Pusher, and steel air Tube – plus the air hose and stuff – to be a TLC-X Air. At least the Selects (CYL-X), collar/collet, and retaining cone are common to air and non-air.

Air Tugger options:

What type of Air device should I buy?

The Air is available in four configurations: TLC Air Tugger, TLC FlexAir, TLC-XAir, and TLC SimpleAir.
The TLC Air Tugger has only a steel inflation tube, instead of the wavy chrom wire tigging handle. It would be good for air only, or for air with weight, or for hanging weight only. Using a strap is possible if you loop a 1″ ring over the set screw.
The TLC FlexAir has the inflation tube PLUS a regular chrome tugging handle. So it adds the option to easily use it with straps while inflated. The tube screws out so the Tugger can be used in non-air mode with straps alone. The presence of the handle means the tube has to stick out further, especially if hanging weight. Thus it’s less discreet.
A TLC-XAir is just like the TLC-X except:
– the hole for the Pusher’s Rod is air tight,
– the Pusher has an air hole through it, and
– the aluminum Rod is replaced by a steel tube.
Because the hole through the tugging body is snug fitting, the TLC-X spring and Rubber Band modes are ruled out with the TLC-XAir.
The TLC SimpleAir is very compact. It’s just a handle-less tugging body and a 1-way air valve.
All the air systems use a one-way valve and squeeze-bulb pump to pressurize the interior of foreskin space. Also a conical silicone Cuff helps keep the air pressure from making the retaining cone lift and a collar with set screw holds that Cuff to the steel tube.

Restoration for a toddler:

Is there any device appropriate for a toddler?

See our Minors page. We can make our Your-Skin Cone (nudity) in any size. We tried early on with two families to see if a child in diapers can wear a cone. In one case (where there was a history of very serious issues with the circumcision) the mom of an 8-month old said it wasn’t working. In the more recent case, we sent the cones and never heard back.

Q: ^^ I’ve thought that maybe if we can do something now while he’s young, his skin might be more pliable and easy to maneuver. ^^

I have a hunch you’re right. One thing’s for sure; not having a foreskin has known drawbacks. But if you decide to help him wear a cone, you’ll need to be very attentive to possible irritations. Perhaps start with 20 minutes of wear and then observe for a while. Keep doubling the duration until he’s wearing it pretty much always. It’s hard to envision anything bad happening, as we’re only helping the skin to act as it is evolved to act.

^^ Is there anything that they could wear at night that might not be too irritating for a little one? ^^

The most irritating thing would probably be if it came loose and the glans was rubbing against diapers or bedding for a while.

So what you need to do is get me his flaccid glans width (see our Sizing page). Just hold a ruler from side to side near the head of his penis, or take a photo of him and then put a ruler in the place where he was and take another photo from the same fixed location. Then put both photos on your screen at the same time to estimate that width.

Keep the cones clean in a little Tupperware type container and keep the worn ones in a separate container until you can run them through the dishwasher.

One consideration is how to educate caregivers. The sooner he can manage application himself the better, because handling his penis to apply these cones will sometimes cause erections. It would be best if mom practiced on dad before trying to fit the son, but if the dad is not available or up for that she’ll just have to go for it.

I can help with what you’ll tell your son. “Doctors are able to do miraculous things for sick people because they are always learning new things. When Daddy was born some doctors thought it was best to take some skin off the penis, but now they have learned it’s better to have the natural amount of skin. Wearing these cones helps your skin get back to normal.”

He can also be invited to tug on his skin while waking, while falling asleep, and with every trip to the toilet (perhaps when he has privacy vs at a care center where the bathroom doors might remain open). One lady who Jody McLaughlin (editor of Compleat Mother) knows found that her son’s skin would stay briefly over the glans after just a few months of manual tugging: “Look Mom, it covers.” (The boy had asked what he could do to look like his intact baby brother).

I think when a boy is close to 10 he might be ready to try wearing a tugging device in bed or around the house while continuing to wear the retaining cone during other hours. We have a dad and twin sons restoring at our online User Group and the kids started at 9 or 10. We sold some Tuggers to 7 year-old cousins (sons of French sisters who actually did the buying) many years ago, but we haven’t heard back from them as far as we know.

Shipping Method:

How do we ship our products?

See our Shipping page. We send discreet white pouches by 1st class mail (about 4 days) or international Airmail (about 8-20 days) from USPS.com unless other arrangements have been made. With these there is no signature required for delivery. International or military parcels require a customs form with description.

Resoring for better sex:

Is restoring is worthwhile for better sex?

Men ask me if restoring is worthwhile. It’s a lot of work to expand your surviving skin, and there is no evidence that we can regenerate the lost specialized pleasure receptors known as Meisner’s Corpuscles. The specialized layer of shear muscle cells at the preputial sphincter also do not regenerate.

The restored skin may not be original equipment, but restoring is nonetheless very worthwhile. Restoring gives radically different feelings. Among them:

– the shaft can now be frictionlessly kneaded by the slinking of the skin, to prod some sense sites deep within the shaft near the glans and elsewhere. I never knew this was possible before I restored. I suppose with enough lube I might have discovered the same thing earlier before I had slack skin.

– the mucosal skin just below the glans down to the scar has a sort of ticklish “itch” that just sparkles during intercourse or oral stimulation. The area was dry and basically numb before.

– the corona and frenular area are just a lot more sensitive/ticklish now that they are covered all the time. Some have said it’s due to “dekeratinization” and others have said there’s no such thing. All I know is I feel A LOT more now. It’s like the nerve endings are closer to the surface, and the surface is more supple and delicate so it tracks better with the fine detail of whatever it’s touching. It’s like going from wearing 3 thick condoms to a single ultra-shear one. Anybody can experience the same change by wearing a band-aid continuously for several days on any part of their body. When you take it off, the part that had been covered is very sensitive and ticklish.

– the skin at the pucker of the prepuce is very ticklish to tongue flicking when it is bunched up. Since I didn’t have enough to bunch up before, I never felt this sensation.

– the inner foreskin is delightfully aware of a tongue plunged in between the glans and foreskin and swirled around (with skin drawn forward over the glans). Since I didn’t have enough slack before for this to happen, I never felt this sensation until I had slack.

– the shaft skin that has spent its whole day puckered in front of the glans gives off a wild sensation upon the onset of an erection. It’s like the skin crackles inside as it is forced to stretch wide enough to clear the glans and retract past it, while it also has to overcome the grip of the tacky clinging adhesion to the glans. It’s like both glans and skin are kissing each other. This is brief and I really only notice it for the first couple minutes of an erotic encounter, but that’s OK. If it kept up I’d probably climax too fast. I imagine this might be akin to what it feels like to have a vagina stretched out. I can only guess about that of course.

– the shaft skin that rolls up and down the shaft gives off a new feeling as it rolls over on itself from inner to outer and back. Since I never had enough slack before to feel the skin tightly rolling like this during arousal I never felt this sensation before.

– with the slack skin sufficient to easily cover my glans during arousal, my wife can rub my glans through the skin before intercourse while I’m licking her, and there is ZERO risk of her rubbing me to the point of numbness, no matter how long we keep at that activity. Before dry friction directly on my glans would really have a negative impact on the intercourse that followed.

– after my wife climaxes once during intercourse her vaginal chemistry seems to change to where there is suddenly more friction. Not a LOT more; just like the difference between lube that’s water-based and lube that’s oil-based. At that time, I often feel my penis move inside my sheath of skin only, with ZERO friction between me and her vaginal walls. She LOVES this, because she says at that moment she would be too sensitive for any friction. Because I never had slack before, she was never able to enjoy this plush filled-up frictionless massage feeling between orgasms before. Of course when we’re finally done, this same action causes her vagina to pull my skin so my glans is actually covered as I withdraw, which is a trip.

Sex wasn’t torture before. At age 38 my wife and I would make love for like 45 minutes or an hour. She would climax about 5 times and if I wanted to finish I needed to REALLY concentrate and she needed to break out the dirty talk and the stars needed to align. But she would be utterly rubbed raw and then want to take several days off from intimacy.

She never did succeed in finishing me orally before I restored.

Now whenever she’s had enough of intercourse I just let go and finish as she climaxes again with me. But the whole ride is so fulfilling, I’m in no rush to get to a big finish. We really connect, and have intercourse more often than ever.

Sex is very much better since restoration, for physical reasons. We’re both having the best sex of our lives after 19 years of marriage.

Smegma:

Will this make me have smegma?

Keeping your skin forward will allow the natural emollients exuded by your pink skin to stay on your skin where they belong. If you stay continuously covered for more than a whole day, you may notice that sloughed-off skin cells start to accumulate. The combination of skin cells and emollients is technically called smegma, but you should get over any negative connotations that the word elicits.

You don’t need to let it accumulate if you would rather rinse thoroughly (with clear water) when you shower once a day. If you let it build up, know that it is a harmless natural anti-bacterial agent, and that it generally has a sweet musky aroma unless you’re truly unhygienic. During the initial months of restoration, guys lose a lot of dead skin cells, but eventually the rate tapers off. The outermost skin layer (epidermis) doesn’t expand, so when you see dry skin, know that your deep skin layer (dermis) is probably expanding and the epidermis is sloughing away to allow for that.

You wouldn’t let the idea of inevitable perspiration deter you from healthy vigorous exercise; you know that a shower afterward holds back the BO. Likewise, looking intact is no reason to deny yourself a shiny, healthy, sensitive penis.

If you want to smell like cut guys, use CetaPhil gentle non-soap liquid skin cleanser on your glans daily.

Success:

Does it work?

YES! The Your-Skin Cone will let you easily get your glans sensitivity back within weeks or months, and a tugging device will let you restore enough skin to cover your glans permanently. An inch of new slack per year is not unusual. See the TLC Tugger user group and online forums for first-hand accounts. Talking to other tuggers can help you decide what’s a realistic objective for you, so you’ll know when to declare success.

Cleaning:

Can I wash the silicone devices?

Yes, you must wash it daily before use. What I do is use a soft toothbrush on it in the shower with plain soap and a thorough rinse. Make sure the soap you’re using on it doesn’t leave a film or have moisturizing elements in it. Feel free to use any chemical you like except something containing silicone, dimethicone, or silicone-sounding things like silicate. Never soak a device in anything. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry. While we’re on the subject, you should not be using harsh soap on your glans or the mucosa just below the glans. Clear water is fine, or if you need something more, we in the US buy Cetaphil Gentle liquid (non-soap) skin cleanser in 16 oz bottles at the drug store for about $10.

Metal Detectors:

Will this device set off metal detectors at airport security or at government buildings?

I WANT people to ask me about restoring, so I always wear a TLC-X when I fly. I have worn the device through checkpoints in Chicago, Milwaukee, New York, San Francisco, Washington Dulles, and Manchester UK. The TLC-X has never been detected by walk-through metal detectors. See my write-up on airport security for the story of when I deliberately wore a heavy weight though a checkpoint.

I suggest we enter the security checkpoint prepared to say: “I’m wearing (or carrying) a post-surgical brace. If you’d like to see it we’ll need some privacy.” If they do bother to look at it, just explain that it’s a tension device for undoing a bad circumcision. (Of course all non-consensual circumcisions are bad, but this isn’t the occasion to quibble). Bottom line: my adventure cost me a 10-minute delay, but no nudity and no embarrassment.

Surgery:

Isn’t there a quick surgical alternative?

NO! Some men have endured experimental transplants of scrotal skin, but the complication rates are high, the risks and drawbacks are very significant, and the results are generally disappointing. Circumcision can leave the scrotum tight anyway, and borrowing more skin from the scrotum leaves one with an uncomfortably tight scrotum, and puffy, hairy, mismatched skin at the critical extreme point of the skin tube. Every surgical incision causes some die-back of nerves, and carries the risk of serious infection.

While the victim of a very extremely botched circumcision may benefit from surgery, even the handful of men who have had a successful procedure would advise an average cut male to pursue non-surgical restoration.

Tension Adjustment:

How do I know how much tension to use?

Gentle tension gets the job done. See The 4-Hour Rule for tension adjustment.

Collet:

What is a collet?

With the TLC-X the Pusher can be extended after application by pressing the Rod toward the glans. The Collet sits around the Rod in the space in the wavy chrome handle . When the Collet is tightened is won’t slide on the Rod, so it fixes the extended position of the Pusher. To tighten the Collet push on the Rod and hold it with part of the palm of your hand while you grip one part of the Collet with the fingers of that hand. Then grab the other part of the Collet with the fingers of the other hand and twist the two parts together. This causes the vanes of the Collet to squeeze the Rod.

Extenders:

Will the extender work with your product?

With the VLC your skin will only stretch as far as your shaft will stretch. Nobody accidentally grows their foreskin longer. Restorers devote years. This VLC may slacken you some in the short term. Measure your Forced Erect Coverage so you’ll know objectively exactly what is going on.

To use the VLC with an extender you need our VLC Hanger kit. Use the shopping icons and check out with a credit card or PayPal. The kit includes one of our straps to give you the chance to experiment with tugging over the shoulder in bed or down the leg during the day.

We have a 3-month no-questions-asked refund option* and a full-year warranty. You’ll need to provide your flaccid and erect measurements as shown at our sizing page.

Function:

If nothing holds it together, how does the 2-piece TLC Tugger system hold on to the skin?

It’s no more mysterious than those Chinese finger handcuffs you might have played with as a kid. The harder you tug, the harder it grips. The outer cone keeps you gripped to the inner cone by preventing the skin from rolling outward. Reverse the tension (i.e. exert compression) and the device immediately releases. See the Video Demo (on our Instructions page) and it will be clear. Note that the application demo may show a strap that is much tighter than you would really want to use.

Glans Pressure – Strapless:

Is pressure on the glans safe?

When I first started I used to worry about pushing on the glans. If tension can cause growth, surely pressure can induce changes? Since then I’ve worked out the geometry of the situation. Stress is what causes growth. Engineers say Stress is the Force divided by the Area the force acts upon. Since the area of the Pusher is like 5 to 10 times as great as the cross-sectional area of just the skin tube, the stress in the skin from a certain Force is 5 to 10 times as great as the stress on the glans from the equal and opposite force applied there. So it’s perfectly reasonable to assume that the tensile stress that is great enough to cause skin expansion doesn’t have to yield compressive stress great enough to cause permanent glans changes. Of course we can’t be certain. Gentle tension gets the job done, so if you’re concerned try wearing less tension and then do monthly FEC readings to make sure you’re still progressing.

I do think it’s a good idea to use straps or weights when possible. Strapless tugging is convenient but there is no “free lunch.” As opposed to the TLC-X’s strapless modes (fixed displacement, spring, rubber band) you will find that USING an external weight or strap means you can apply the device in a more relaxed manner so you will get a more comfortable wrinkle-free application with fewer attempts.

Going strapless/weightless on the other hand means that all the tension your outer-facing skin will feel is that which you trap DURING application. So you’ll roll skin up and through some sleight-of-hand hold it there taut while applying the retaining cone. However, the tension that’s sufficient to cause growth is very gentle, so this is TOTALLY something you can do. I’m just giving you a heads up that there is a physical reason strapless/weightless is a bit more challenging.

How I started restoring:

Why did I start restoring?

I think like most guys I never found orgasms as intense in my 20s as they were in my teens, and that’s probably true even for intact guys. But by my mid-30s I was feeling so desensitized I actually started trying to devise ways to keep my glans bathed in lotion all day. At a doctor visit I told my doctor that I was trying to get more supple and sensitive, and he pointed to an infected follicle and said “better stick with tough and leathery” so that’s what the medical establishment thinks about men who report lack of sensation.

I had heard years earlier that the foreskin was valuable and that some men restore, but tapes and weights didn’t seem like something I could tolerate. That’s why I was experimenting with the lotion my doctor objected to. So I kept researching online and started taping in April 2001. I decided that if it started to show any positive effect I would then invest in one of the tapeless devices that were available.

The gains came quickly so I ordered a RECAP-EZ. By a twist of fate the maker was between homes and ignoring his emails and paypals. So I started tinkering to make my own device. It’s 8 years later and I’ve helped thousands of men restore. My wife and I finally quit our day jobs in 2008 because there wasn’t enough time in each day to help people, go to work, and sleep. Quitting was a big pay cut from our MBA careers, but this is the most enriching calling I can imagine.

Please read about the specific benefits I’ve found from restoring here: https://TLCTugger.com/benefits-of-foreskin-restoration/

Natural Pucker:

What product gives the best tapering?

Here’s the deal. Any method will let you get both optimal inner tension and optimal outer tension. With T-Tape or the classic TLC Tugger you determine the inner/outer tension ratio by your selection of the point at which you apply the device. By choosing a roll-over point you fix the ratio of tensions which will be felt when you tug. One way to bias the tension toward the inner-facing skin is to get partially erect when you apply the TLC Tugger. To bias tension toward the outer facing skin force the induced roll-over point to be further from the glans by being fully flaccid and forcing skin up from the base very aggressively onto the TLC Tugger before gripping it there with the Your-Skin Cone.

With the TLC-X you have an additional level of control. That is, you can get optimal inner and outer tension, and still choose whatever roll-over point you like. We think the best location of the roll-over point to choose is the one which will be your eventual flaccid hanging roll-over point after you’re fully restored. Keeping this part of your skin tube constrained at the narrowest part of the device the whole time you’re tugging gives you the best shot at a tightly-puckered natural-looking result.

We have a formula at our User Forum to help you determine your best roll-over point: https://ForeskinRestoration.vBulletin.net/forum/bi-directional-tension/24437-spacers-vs-pushing-rod?p=24504#post24504. However, it may not be possible to put the theory into practice until you have enough slack to temporarily force coverage over the whole glans while erect. Once you locate your future flaccid roll-over point (FFRP), mark it on your skin with something non-toxic and see if it’s facing inward or outward while your device is applied. With the TLC-X you can shift an outward-facing point up to the tip by swapping in a longer Pusher or by pre-extending the Pusher before application. You can shift an inward-facing point up to the tip by swapping in a shorter Pusher, or – if you’re already using the shortest Pusher – by removing the Pusher and tugging with a strap or weights.

You would need 1 or 2 new Pushers per year to keep the FFRP properly situated as you gain slack skin.

Regardless of how you manage your roll-over point, persistent gentle tension is the key. If you regularly have discomfort or loosenings before 4 hours after application, then you should reduce tension. If never even notice the device and never have discomfort or loosenings before 4 hours after application, then you could add tension. For tugging in bed, change the 4-hour rule to an 8-hour rule.

Always apply a freshly washed device to freshly washed skin.

Products simplified:

What device should I start with?

I know we have created a dizzying array of variations and we could probably present them more logically. Let me try to sum up our 3 main options:

1) You can make your existing skin “act” like a foreskin today with our Your-Skin Cone. It keeps your skin rolled forward over the glans so the glans and adjacent mucosa can get more supple and sensitive. You’ll notice changes within a few weeks. Stop wearing it 24/7 and you’ll get back to the old dull state in no time. If you can temporarily force shaft skin over the glans while flaccid, then this should work for you.

2) You can make your skin expand, growing new skin cells between the old ones, by Tugging. Restoring slack skin gives protection for the mucosa plus it adds the awesome frictionless gliding action of the slack skin during manipulation and intimacy. Our regular TLC Tugger is what I used in order to grow about an inch of new permanent skin per year. I used a knee strap during the day (including at work), and a shoulder strap in bed. (demos). If you can temporarily force shaft skin over the glans while flaccid, then this should work for you.

3) Our newer TLC-X Tugger does what the regular TLC Tugger does, but it also gives a strapless tension option when you use its extensible feature. You’ll have fewer excuses to skip a day, like in summer shorts weather. The interchangeable Pusher sections give you the ultimate control over your skin’s roll-over point, for the most natural-looking result. (demos). If you can temporarily force shaft skin over 1/3 of the glans while erect, then this should work for you.

All our gear offers the tightest taper and is made from soft food-grade latex-free silicone. We have a three-month no-questions-asked refund policy*, plus a full-year warranty. We give unparalleled phone, e-mail, and User Group support.

For a guaranteed fit, see our sizing examples.

Recommendations:

What products should I start with?

See the note below. The strapped TLC Tugger kit is what I used to get the results you see in the before/after pics on our site. I think my more recent innovation of the TLC-X is capable of giving an even better cosmetic outcome, for reasons discussed here: https://ForeskinRestoration.vBulletin.net/forum/bi-directional-tension/24437-spacers-vs-pushing-rod?p=24504#post24504

Our new TLC Selects spacer disks system works with the TLC-X to let you alter the device length to effectively target your FFRP (see prior link) as you gain slack. See attached GIF animation. To put this into action you need the $35 set of expansion disks (TLC Selects) for the TLC-X. These give you 7 increments of 3mm each which should take you through about 2 years. Another $17 piece that’s 24mm long gives you 2 more years of gradual device lengthening. (The GIF shows both $35 and $17 options).

The TLC-X also adds strapless options like Rubber Bands and Springs. I do think it’s a good idea to use straps or weights when possible. Strapless tugging is convenient but there is no “free lunch.” As opposed to the TLC-X’s strapless modes (fixed, spring, rubber band) you will find that USING an external weight or strap means you can apply the device in a more relaxed manner so you will get a more comfortable wrinkle-free application with fewer attempts.

Going strapless/weightless on the other hand means that all the tension your outer-facing skin will feel is that which you trap DURING application. So you’ll roll skin up and through some sleight-of-hand hold it there taut while applying the retaining cone. However, the tension that’s sufficient to cause growth is very gentle, so this is TOTALLY something you can do. I’m just giving you a heads up that there is a physical reason strapless/weightless is a bit more challenging.

So if you want a recommendation it’s:
TLC-X
TLC Selects
Strap Tension

We call this the TLC-X Extensible kit. Additional straps and the optional 24mm TLC Selects piece might be needed eventually.

That said, I got my results with the regular strapped tugger as I said.

Short intact foreskin:

What if I have a short intact foreskin?

I suspect 33 years ago caregivers may have been erroneously instructed to force the foreskin of an infant off the glans to allow for cleaning. Normally the skin is fused to the glans for several years and the skin naturally grows longer as the penis grows. Without the adhesion, the skin tube may be so slack all hours of the day that the cells don’t get the signal to grow along with the penile shaft.

So I’m saying yes, foreskins naturally vary in length and their ability to cover the glans, but the most likely cause of an intact guy who looks circumcised is deliberate forced retraction. I’m told this is a common cultural practice by parents in Japan.

The American Academy of Pediatrics now officially advises parents “Leave it alone. Clean only what is seen.” But many never get the message, and about half of US families still circumcise infants regardless.

You can expand the skin have so that it acts like a usual foreskin with our devices. Once the skin tube is longer the glans and the mucosal skin adjacent to it will be softer, shinier, more supple, and more sensitive. You’ll also get the normal frictionless rolling/gliding mode of stimulation for you and your partners.

– – – – –

You know, some guys who were never cut WERE nonetheless harmed as infants or toddlers by caregivers who followed terrible advice from doctors. Many doctors used to advise parents to regularly force the foreskin back to clean under it. This can cause infections, pitting of the glans, and in many cases shorter-than-average foreskin growth. Normally the skin is fused to the glans (like fingernails to a finger) by a synechial bond until some time close to puberty. The growth of the penis stimulates the skin tube to grow. But when the bonds are broken and the skin sits slackened behind the glans it grows less during childhood.

Fortunately the AAP now advises LEAVE IT ALONE, but they haven’t communicated this very effectively so many parents still interfere with children’s foreskins. Many doctors don’t yet know that the only person who should ever retract a foreskin is the owner of the penis. If he can’t do it for himself, it doesn’t need done (unless extremely unusual symptoms exist).

Skin Expansion:

How does skin expansion work?’

Q: ^^ I’ve been using the TLC-X sparingly over the last month, and decided I’d like to try the hangers, as my glans being pushed down was worrying me (although every time I have used it, its returned to its shape, feel, and look within 5 minutes).

When I put the hangers on, it feels like the pubic mound area (specifically where the shaft skin meets the abdomen) has tension on it, rather than the shaft skin of my penis. This has me worried I’ll be stretching my gut rather than my future foreskin.

In addition, when wearing the hangars, if I place fingers on my shaft skin ( to “hold it in place” ), I can feel the tension shift from the area I described above to the skin below where I am holding (which seems to be where I would think the tension should be). This has me further worried the hangers aren’t tensioning the right area.

Any comments or advice on that concern? Will this still grow shaft skin? ^^

As you see the displacement of the pubic skin and feel the novel sensation there, I can see why you feel the tension at the base, but I don’t think there is cause for concern.

First of all, the expansion we desire occurs because of [strong]stress[/strong] in the skin. It is believed that stresses on individual cells distorts the cell walls and resulting chemical signals cause an increased rate of cell division.

Stress is the applied force divided by the cross-sectional area upon which the force acts. So if you can imagine hanging a 1-pound weight from a thick rope that has a diameter of 1.128 inches (and a cross-sectional area of 1.0 square inches) there would be a stress in the rope of 1.0 psi; that is 1 pound acting on 1 square inch. Now hang the same weight from a thin clothesline that has a diameter of 1/4 inch. The cross-sectional area of that skinny rope is only 0.049 square inches, and the stress in the rope is (1 / 0.049) = 20.4 psi. So the same 1 pound of tension produces either 1.0 psi of stress or 20.4 psi of stress, depending on the thickness of the rope it’s hanging from. You can imagine the spindly clothesline might stretch and sag from 1 pound of weight, while the thick rope would scarcely be affected by 1 pound.

I hope you follow that.

Likewise in the penis, we can hang weight from the end of the skin tube and that weight is felt through the skin, and somewhat through the shaft, and on up through the pubic area and the body. But it produces different [B]stress[/B] in each zone of tissue. If the double-fold skin tube near the tip is say 0.1 inches thick and about 1.5 inches in diameter, then the cross-sectional area is about .47 square inches. So the stress in the skin tube from one pound of tension would be 2.1 psi. If there are connective tissues down the length of the skin tube, perhaps at the base the tension is felt by the whole shaft. If the whole shaft near the base has a diameter of 1.5 inches, then the cross-sectional area is about 1.8 square inches. So the stress in the whole shaft from 1 pound of tension would be 0.57 psi. 2.1 / .57 = 3.7. The skin tube feels 3.7 times as much stress as the whole shaft.

But what of the pubic mound? Clearly it appears displaced while you’re tugging or you wouldn’t be concerned. But is it under much stress?

The hairy pubic skin is probably twice is thick as the shear shaft skin. And the mound radiates out in all directions. Let’s pick a spot that’s a ring of skin 1 inch out from the base of the penis and calculate the stress there. This will assume all the weight is felt in the skin at this point, but we know in fact the tension is also dispersed in the connective tissues so our stress estimate will be high.

So the diameter of a ring pubic and scrotal skin that’s 1 inch out from the 1.5″ diameter shaft is 3.5 inches. The cross-sectional area of a ring that’s 3.5 inches in diameter by 0.1 inches thick (the hairy skin is twice as thick as the shear shaft skin but it’s not a doubled skin tube) is 1.1 psi. That’s only half as much stress as in the skin tube (at most, because we’re ignoring the connective tissues).

So since the stress is half, we could expect the pubic skin even an inch from the shaft to expand at most only half as much as the skin elongation in the skin tube. It could be even less, as there may be some threshold stress level below which no expansion is induced.

A general answer is that we’re lucky. Due to the geometries involved the hairy skin will expand less than the shear shaft skin, so any shaft skin we can expand will with certainly reduce the amount of hair-bearing skin drawn onto the shaft during erection.

The same stress calculations would show that the stress on your glans from the Pusher is also much lower than the stress in the skin tube, and that’s why I’m also not concerned about gentle pressure on the glans.

Skin Growth:

How does the skin grow using tension?

I disagree with the notion of growth only close to the point where tension is applied. I believe ALL the skin we tension will
expand. I think all the skin between the attachment point of a device and the point where the skin tube is securely attached (near the glans or near the base) is tensioned.

Imagine yourself climbing a knotted rope in gym class like we did in school back in the ’70s. As soon as you grab the rope and start to climb, your weight creates tension in the rope. The tension exists right above your hands and it also exists everywhere above, right up to the ceiling where the rope is hooked to a beam. If the rope were very elastic it would all elongate by about the same percentage because the weight of the rope itself is trivial compared to your body weight.

Now our skin tubes are not ropes, and there may be connective tissues along the length of the shaft, so perhaps not all the tension applied to the end of the skin tube makes it to the base.

But I think the most significant difference between skin tubes and ropes is that the skin varies in thickness. The skin near the tip is more shear than the thick hairy skin near the base. The diameter of the skin tube can also be greater near the base. Both of these factors mean that if you took a cleaver and chopped right through your penis, you’d see a smaller cross-sectional area of skin tube near the tip than near the base. Cross section is KEY.

When we apply tension to something, it’s not the tension that causes elongation, it’s the STRESS. Engineers define stress as the applied force divided by the area upon which it acts. So if the hairy skin near the base is 20% wider and 50% thicker than the shear skin near the glans, then the base skin is under 44% less stress.

I believe lower stress in thicker/wider skin accounts for any observed effect of reduced growth away from the application point. That said, I don’t accept that this effect has been observed until I see carefully measured before/after readings. I think someone would need to have tattoos, scars, freckles, or other aberrations and stretch the skin under a repeatable weight and maybe take a photo – with a ruler in the frame – to get the kind of accuracy that would satisfy me.

Slack Skin:

Do I have enough slack skin to use a cone?

If you’re forcing the skin forward while nudging the glans back and you still can’t bunch up enough skin to wedge it into the cone, then you may need to use a tape method to get there. I started with the Canister Method, which you can read about at our refund policy*
– full-year warranty

TLC Packers:

How do you use TLCPackers?

I think of the TLC Packers as a sort of secondary solution for occasions when you can’t strap up and you need the minimum bulk in your briefs. The tension you can get is limited to what you induce during application, so it can be uncomfortable applying them so aggressively. I use carefully applied lotion to help my skin slip into place. You may not have lotion with you when you go to re-apply and that could make it hard to get a good fit. But any method you can integrate into your life will get the job done.

To use just Packers start to finish, you would need to add an average of about 1mm per month to the length of the device. In practice that can be 4mm every 4 months, or 1/2″ every year, or whatever.

TLC product comparison:

What are the comparisons in the products?

It’s not quite as confusing as I make it out to be. If you can temporarily force skin over the glans while flaccid, you really just need to decide between the TLC Tugger and the TLC-X (and if you can’t then we recommend our tape-based Canister Method until you have some more slack to work with).

Whichever one you’ll use the most consistently is right for you.

The photos at the web site show the results I got before I ever made the TLC-X, so you can do very well with the regular TLC Tugger. I grew about an inch of skin per year using comfortable tension and got a quite natural-looking result. See our demos.

The TLC-X adds the strapless option for fewer excuses to skip a day (like in summer shorts weather). It also gives you better control over exactly where your skin rolls over while you’re under tension. This could theoretically give rise to a tighter more natural looking taper, but it’s only been available for like a year so nobody has used it long enough yet to prove the fact. Another thing about the TLC-X is that it takes longer to re-apply after every trip to the washroom (maybe 40 seconds vs 20 for the regular Tugger), and it costs about $40 more with straps. See our demos.

I use the TLC-X when I tug these days.

In either case you’ll have the retaining cone that holds the device on. It can also be used by itself when you aren’t tugging, to keep your skin rolled forward over the glans. See: See our Your-Skin Cone page.

The TLC Packers are sort of a secondary solution for occasions when you can’t strap up and you need the minimum bulk in your briefs. The tension you can get is limited to what you induce during application, so it can be uncomfortable applying them. I use carefully applied lotion to help my skin slip into place. You may not have lotion with you when you go to re-apply and that could make it hard to get a good fit.

TLC Restoration:

Does TLC offer the best restoration devices?

This IS the best way to restore, but it’s not trivial to explain why.

For starters, it’s made of soft food-grade silicone so you’ll maximize your comfortable wear duration. Every device is custom sized to the user. TLC gear has a 3-month no-questions-asked refund option*. We have the largest online support community and tireless phone and email support.

TLC devices were recently (2010) upgraded to feature clear retaining cones for a better application – free of excessive skin wrinkles – for extended comfort. And the surface uses our new SuperGrip technology so it grabs like cling wrap for less slippage.

The TLC-X specifically is our best because it uses engineered materials to ensure a slender tapered design for the most natural-looking puckered end result in a bi-directional method. Interchangeable Pusher sections give it the unique ability to be lengthened as you gain slack, so the induced roll-over point while tugging remains at a constant point on your skin tube even as you gain slack. This again contributes to the tightest possible flaccid pucker.

TLC Tugger:

How did TLC get its name?

When I started offering Tuggers on ebay to go with the Your-Skin Cone, I called them CT Tuggers, for “Conical Tapeless.” One of the first 5 people who ever bought one wrote me back and said I should call It the “TLC” Tugger for Tape-Less Conical.

Of course realizing how catchy and common the notion of “Tender Loving Care” care was and how appropriate that would be for a gentle silicone gripping device (when the alternative then was hard plastic), I immediately registered the web site TLCTugger.com and sought trademarks.

TLC vs TLC-X:

What are the comparisons between the TLC and TLC-X?

The TLC-X adds the strapless option for fewer excuses to skip a day (like in summer shorts weather). It also gives you better control over exactly where your skin rolls over while you’re under tension. This could theoretically give rise to a tighter more natural looking taper by allowing you to always tug with the same part of your skin tube acting as the induced roll-over point the whole time you’re restoring. To put this into practice you’ll need to budget for lengthening the device a few times per year.

Another thing about the TLC-X is that it takes a bit longer to re-apply after every trip to the washroom (maybe 40 seconds vs 20 for the regular Tugger), and it costs about $40 more with straps. See our demos.

I use the TLC-X when I tug these days, with 5.5 – 9.5 ounces of weights (or a shoulder strap in bed). Using the X strapless/weightless means you’ll have to be a bit aggressive about how you apply the device. You “pre-tension” the outer skin while rolling it onto the device. Then you grip it there with the Your-Skin Cone and balance that outer-side tension with extension of the Pusher and Rod for inner-side tension. The pre-tensioning bit means it’s a little harder getting a comfortable application.

I like the way the X gives 3 degrees of freedom. With a regular tugging method like T-Tape or the TLC Tugger you can set two of these three factors: the inner side tension, the outer side tension, and the location of the roll-over point. Whichever values you choose for any two of these, the third is determined by those. With the TLC-X you get independent control over inner side tension, outer side tension, AND the location of the induced roll-over point. So if you calculate the location of your eventual finished flaccid roll-over point, you can tug with that point as your induced roll-over point from now on to give you the best shot at a natural-looking puckered result.

With either the TLC Tugger or TLC-X you’ll have the retaining cone that holds the device on. This can also be used by itself when you aren’t tugging, to keep your skin rolled forward over the glans. See: http://TLCTugger.com/YSC-instructions.htm
Both methods will give more than enough tension for an optimal growth rate. GENTLE tension will grow you slack skin. You can check your Forced Erect Coverage monthly to make sure you’re adding 1mm to 3mm of new forced reach per month.

TLC-X:

How does the TLC-X work?

There is no generally fastest method. Whichever methods allow you to apply consistent gentle tension within your life constraints will expand your skin at your body’s fastest rate. A separate issue is the quality of the final result. I believe stretching your skin around something wider than necessary will give a poor result. I also believe using the same part of your skin tube as the induced roll-over point while tugging will allow that spot to stay snug as the rest of your skin expands, for a natural-looking puckered result.

Our TLC-X is unique in its ability to be made longer (by swapping in different Pusher pieces) as you gain slack. You can exploit this to make it easier to always tug with the same part of your skin tube acting as the induced roll-over point.

There is no free lunch. As opposed to the TLC-X’s strapless modes (fixed, spring, rubber band) you will find that using an external weight or strap means you can apply the device in a more relaxed manner so you will get a more comfortable wrinkle-free application with fewer attempts.

Going strapless/weightless on the other hand means that all the tension your outer-facing skin will see is that which you trap DURING application. So you’ll roll skin up and through some sleight-of-hand hold it there taut while applying the retaining cone. But the tension that’s sufficient to cause growth is very gentle, so this is TOTALLY do-able. I’m just giving you a heads up that strapless/weightless is a bit more challenging.

– – – – –

^^ TLC-X does not require a strap? ^^

If you use the X strapless, then you must be more aggressive about the way you roll your shaft skin up onto the device during application to “pre-tension” the outer skin as you grip it with the retaining cone. Then you balance that outer-side tension with inner tension by extending its Pusher/Rod. The pre-tension bit means that you’ll require an extra attempt sometimes to get a comfortable application, or you’ll settle for a less-optimal application with perhaps more unevenness or more skin wrinkling. This is very minor to most guys.

– – – – –

^^ I was reading on the forum that someone thought that using the TLC-x with pusher rod only grows inner skin and won’t grow the outer tube. ^^

A bi-di device like the TLC-X WILL tension all of your skin. The outer facing skin gets tension from the application step. Work the skin into position and apply the retaining cone while the skin is taut. Then balance that with inner-side tension by extending the Pusher part.

I recommend using a strap or weight when possible so you can be more relaxed about the application step and focus on getting a comfortable application.

TLC-X and Hanger parts explanation:

What are all these parts that came with my device?

What’s What:

1. Tugging strap, adjustable length with safety pin as a cleat

2. 5.5 ounce weight, goes against clear retaining cone

3. 8 ounce set of fine-tuning weights, go against 5.5 piece

4. NEW Rubber band clip, lets you hook rubber bands to handle as shown (or with longer Rod, loop them to the end of the Tugger handle)

5. Safety Lace – route it through handle and pin to the inside of your slacks pocket so nothing hits the floor.

6. TLC-X Tugger with body, chrome handle, Rod, Pusher, Collet, springs, washers, and clear retaining cone

7. Spacer cone, goes against last weight if stack doesn’t reach past handle

8. Pusher – swap onto blue Rod when slack permits. See also TLC Selects and FFRP

9. Long Rod for TLC-X, for use with weights or rubber bands

10. Cuff, goes on after last weight, or after spacer cone, to secure weight stack

11. Collar (and spare set screws), goes on after Cuff to hold whole weight stack to Rod.

12. Rubber bands, provide forgiving strapless tension to help the device stay on through nocturnal erections.

TLC-X springs:

How do you use the TLC-X springs?

To use the spring, slide the rod out of the TLC-X. With Pusher attached to the rod, slide a spring onto the rod. Then slide a washer onto the rod over the spring. Slide the rod back into the TLC-X.

Compress the spring during application (you could hold it with the set screw), then carefully release it. Some people use multiple springs, stacking washers between them. You could wear the TLC-X with spring tension, without the collar and set screw, for minimal bulk in your pants.

Turkey neck skin:

Will turkey neck skin be a problem in wearing the device?

Not in my opinion. Any shaft skin you expand will only decrease the amount of non-shaft skin you draw onto the shaft during erection. The non-shaft skin may appear temporarily displaced but it is under very low stress so it will expand less than the shaft skin.

If you want to try to restrain the non-shaft skin you could try around-the-waist tugging where the other end of the strap is looped over the base of the penis, or try using an extender rig as splint to derive your tension (see attached) from pressure at the base.

Variations of the flex air tube:

What are the reasons to vary the Flex-Air steel tube?

Stainless tubes are about $11 each. You get one with your FlexAir. They swap out like the TLC-X Rods but tubes let air pass through.

We could make it minimally just long enough to reach 1.25″ past the tugging handle so you’d be able to affix the Cuff, collar and hose. OR we could leave it full length (5.5″ total) so you could hang up to like a pound of weights plus add the hose and stuff, but then the Rod would not be not so discreet.

Ventless shaft tensioning:

Do you offer a penis enlargement device?

We are primarily about skin tension, but we have a ventless version of each device. Lack of ventilation causes it cling to the glans and the shaft takes a lot of the tension. Because of this, greater tensions can be used than with the skin stretching versions. That’s good because by basic geometry we can see that it would take 5 to 10 times as much tension to get the same stress in the shaft that we know grows new skin effectively.

I added 1/4″ of erect length while I added 4″ of skin tube using only the skin stretching version.

We call the ventless versions the VLC. We make the standard VLC Tugger, and for guys that want to use weight we have a device called the VLC Hanger. For guys who want to gain slack skin at the same time we have the VLC-X Tugger and TLC Selects spacer disks.

I have no personal experience with enlargement. Foreskin restorers apply gentle tension 10 – 12 hours per day with straps, weights, an extender rig (like the SizeGenetics), or a self-tensioning device. They can expect 1mm to 3mm per month improvement in their ability to force skin into position to cover the glans while erect. The whole shaft of the penis has a cross-sectional area of maybe 5 – 10 times the cross-sectional area of just the skin tube, so it would take perhaps 5 to 10 times as much force to get the same productive stress in the shaft that easily helps men grow their skin tubes longer. That’s why we recommend the VLC line for PE.

It clings by vacuum to the glans and imparts some of its pull to the shaft instead of just the skin, and so greater tensions can be used without compressing the skin too much. Still, you must only use comfortable tension and never tolerate pain.

Measure the forced erect reach of your skin tube now and monthly, and remember that you have a 3-months no-questions-asked refund option* period if you don’t like the way things are trending.

VLC-X:

How does a VLC-X (formerly TLC-XPE) work?

I believe the VLC-X is capable of giving a good cosmetic restoration outcome (for reasons discussed here: https://ForeskinRestoration.vBulletin.net/forum/bi-directional-tension/24437-spacers-vs-pushing-rod?p=24504#post24504 (Future Flaccid Roll-over Point write-up)) while tensioning the shaft.

Our TLC Selects spacer disks system works with the VLC-X to let you alter the device length to effectively target your FFRP as you gain slack.

Wearing a tapeless device:

Do I have enough skin to wear a tapeless device?

When I started, I hadn’t made a silicone device yet, so I started with tape. However, lots of guys do start right in with a tapeless device. Generally a CI-2 (on the coverage index chart) can use a tapeless device.

The real test is this: If you can temporarily force skin over the whole glans while flaccid (roll the skin forward while nudging the glans back) as shown here (Your-Skin Cone instructions) then you can wear a tapeless device. If not you may need a few months with the taped Canister Method (I survived it). You may find you’re ready to go tapeless during the day (flaccid) at some point while you’re still only able to get through a whole night tugging if you use the tape.

Your skin cone:

How does a Your Skin Cone work?

The Your-Skin retaining Cone (demo http://TLCTugger.com/YSC-instructions.htm) will rejuvenate his mucosal parts (glans and all skin beyond the scar line), plus any skin facing inward during wear. But it won’t grow him a lot of slack.

^^ I’m really trying to convince him for both of us ^^

Once he’s more ticklish he’ll need to slow down during intercourse and focus more on what his hands and mouth are doing.

^^ I’m afraid that he won’t even consider it if he thinks its going to hurt of be uncomfortable. The tugger systems don’t look comfy, even though they may be. The look is more what’s going to scare him. ^^

So start with the 24/7 retaining cone and see if he wants to go further with it after a few months. You can give him an incentive to keep his cone on by letting him know you look forward to finding out what it’s like giving him oral pleasure when he’s more responsive. Also, a quick victory along the path to restoration is trimming or plucking any hairs from skin that can be drawn onto the shaft, as intact men have much less of that. But the stubble may bother your mucosa more than his hair did – UNTIL he adds some slack. He doesn’t want to hurt you with abrasion so that’s a reason for him to gain some slack. We learned in 2010 that guys can improve their Forced Erect Coverage https://tlctugger.com/forced-erect-coverage/ by up to 3mm per month on just 11 hours per day tugging.

And another tip from a guy; to keep sex never boring, at least one time in ten you do need to GIVE him an orgasm vs letting him “do” you until he HAS an orgasm.

Cone Trimming:

Can I resize my own cone?

Feel free to trim the cone you have so you can get a custom fit with less back-and-forth time in the mail. See method below and view attached slide. If you wreck it using my technique I’ll replace it.

Electronic Funds Transfer:

Can I do an electronic funds transfer?

Yes, call us for the information that you need. 847-414-1692

Methods of Payment:

How do I use Western Union as form of payment?

You can mail us a check, or use a money transfer service like Western Union.

Tell the Western Union agent my information:

First Name: Ron
Family Name: Low
House number: 2020
Street: Landwehr Road
Town: Northbrook
State: Illinois
Postal Code: 60062
Country: USA

We write it like this:

Ron Low
2020 Landwehr Road
Northbrook, IL 60062
USA

Send us the 10-digit number they give you and the precise spelling of your own name and address that you give to the agent. Also note the exact dollar amount.
My phone number is 847 414-1692 but I don’t think you need to tell the agent my phone number.

Military Shipping:

Can I get free shipping if I am in the Military?

Thanks for your service. We are happy to offer free shipping. We can rebate the regular (standard airmail) shipping charge to your PayPal or credit card account after a purchase, or send a PayPal money request for the precise amount without shipping if we have your wish list.

Payment Information:

How can I pay you?

You can mail to:

Ron Low
2020 Landwehr Rd.
Northbrook, IL 60062
USA

or use the PayPal shopping icons at our site to pay with a credit card even if you don’t have/want a PayPal account. Transactions appear on your credit card statement from merchant “TLCHomeArts.” The e-mail address for direct PayPal payments is [email protected].

Private Auction:

Can I buy through private auction?

The easiest mode of private purchase would be for you to visit my web site and use the PayPal shopping cart icons. If you don’t use PayPal, go to my Purchase page for other options.

If you would rather have the protections and feedback from an ebay auction, just write
back and I’ll post one for you and send instructions.

Tapeless device usage video:

Is there a video that shows me if I have enough slack to wear a tapeless device?

I didn’t have the resources to make a video until I had been tugging for 4 years, so I’m sure I make it look easy. Luckily we had a beginner at the User Group make a video for us of his application technique. He said he was starting with very little slack and this video was within a month of when he started tugging. Note that the strap in my own demo video has NOT been adjusted, it’s way too tight. What I say now is that if you can force skin over the glans while flaccid (nudging the glans back as needed) then you can use a tapeless device.

Tugger sizing:

How do you measure your glans to get the correct size device?

Please supply your glans width (flaccid and erect, measured at the widest point with a straight ruler from side to side, see our sizing examples) so we can fit you like a glove.

Does it work?:

Do you have proof the devices work?

The results shown at our TLC Tugger category page are what I achieved using the TLC Tugger with comfortable strap tension as close to 24/7 as I could manage. I added 4″ of new slack skin in 4 years.

To address your concerns you could log in to our free online User Group users with nothing to sell discuss their methods and post pictures showing their progress. Also, your silicone device carries a full-year warranty and our 3-months, no-questions-asked re-size/refund option*.

Does the foreskin restoration look natural?:

Does the end of the ‘new’ foreskin tighten, or rather does the preputial sphincter become tighter?

Good question. Everyone has a different goal. Knowing we can add 1mm – 3mm per month to the amount of the glans we can FORCE skin to cover helps you estimate time frames and decide what’s a realistic goal based on where you’re starting from. Some guys are happy to get to 100% forced erect glans coverage, because that means the slack skin is available for manipulation in intimacy. Others believe they will need to be able to force skin 1.5″ or more past the tip to have enough slack for reliable 24/7 coverage with no device.

Some guys are concerned about not just gaining slack but about getting the best possible cosmetic outcome. A natural foreskin tapers and puckers forward of the glans while flaccid. The most important contribution to natural appearance is just gaining enough slack. Once the skin “lives” out past the tip all day, it WILL tighten more, due to the layer of shear muscle cells lining the penile shaft skin which respond to the cooler temperature out away from the shaft.

But TLC users also benefit from the narrowest tapered devices available, for no unwanted girth to the skin tube. I got my results shown here (TLC Tugger product page) with the regular TLC Tugger. Since then I came up with the TLC-X which I believe will give even better results. Let me explain.

The TLC-X conceivably leads to a better cosmetic result because it gives you better control over exactly where your skin rolls over while you’re under tension, through the use of interchangeable TLC Selects spacers. This could theoretically give rise to a tighter more natural looking taper, but nobody has used it long enough yet to prove the fact yet.

The idea assumes you could somehow determine exactly what spot on your present skin tube will eventually be right at the tip where your skin rolls over while flaccid after restoring. Imagine tattooing a dot or X right at that point on the skin. With the TLC-X you could easily tug every single time such that the marked spot was at the very end, by changing the effective device length. Fine-tune device length by including TLC Selects spacers. This allows your skin to roll out evenly to the pointy end of the Tugger with the targeted spot of skin at the end. The skin at that end spot would grow tighter (around) through your years of tugging, even as the rest of your skin tube grows longer. With the TLC-X’s Pushing action, you could have optimal inner and outer tension the whole time, independent of where you’ve chosen your special spot.

I’ve even postulated a mathematical approach for determining that key roll-over spot: http://www.foreskin-restoration.net/forum/showpost.php?p=15111&postcount=1
now
https://ForeskinRestoration.vBulletin.net/forum/bi-directional-tension/24437-spacers-vs-pushing-rod?p=24504#post24504. However, it may not be possible to put the theory into practice until you have enough slack to temporarily force coverage over the whole glans while erect.

^^ tugging methods work up till this point, at which time you need to have a tightening surgery? ^^

Nah. Lots of guys get great results without surgery. It just comes down to having enough slack so the skin can pucker. But it’s KEY to wear at LEAST the included retaining cone (Your-Skin Cone) during all non-tugging hours. The cone keeps your skin in position to protect your glans, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY it keeps your skin in position to grow into the desired shape. Our bodies constantly regenerate through the replication of basal cells (deep layer in the skin). These mature and work their way up to the surface (epithelial) layer as more of these basal cells propagate below them. Once the cell approaches the surface it flattens, dries, and becomes an epithelial cell and eventually sloughs off. All new growth occurs in the basal layer.

When any basal “parent” cell divides into two “daughter” cells, those two need to occupy roughly the space formerly held by the parent, before they absorb fluid and each swell to the full size of a mature cell. Without retaining the skin consistently, the daughter cells could assume any random 3D orientation with respect to each other. Keeping the skin gently and consistently restrained to the desired shape means the cell divisions are more likely to result in the daughter cells orienting themselves along the longitudinal direction, so the roll-over pucker can actually tighten as the rest of the skin lengthens.

The same principle is responsible for the deformity to the feet of victims of Chinese foot binding. Since many of your cell divisions will happen while we’re not under tension, and a cell that gets the chemical signal to divide doesn’t care what direction it divides in, I feel it’s important to be in the correct shape and ready to grow AS DESIRED rather than at random.

^^ The website says 1-3 years to be half covered… that seems like a long time ^^

It is a long time, but it will fly by, and benefits accrue starting the day you start. Your project timeline depends on the starting state, the consistency of effort, diet, sleep, non-smoking, DNA, and the goal. No guarantees except that tons of guys swear sex is better. Here’s a note I wrote about that: https://TLCTugger.com/benefits-of-foreskin-restoration/

^^ I am just curious as to how long I would need to wear this product to achieve the natural look. ^^

Just measure your current Forced Erect Coverage: https://TLCTugger.com/forced-erect-coverage/

Some say to have coverage that persists 24/7 though nocturnal erections and all, with no device, requires skin that can be forced over an inch past the tip while erect. So calculate mm of skin needed divided by mm-per-month gained (1mm – 3mm, you can re-estimate your own rate every few months) to arrive at total months required.

^^ after I achieve that do I need to continue to wear the Tugger? ^^

No. Skin growth is permanent. When you first start you will see some initial “stretch” that is not growth. When you finally stop, the stretch will gradually go away leaving the growth. So we say plan to tug another 10% past the goal, meaning if you hit your goal in 30 months, tug 3 more months. It’s a guess, but is also based on some peoples’ actual experience.

I guess the key is to try things until you identify a regimen you can work into your life. In my case that means loose pants, a TLC-X with a Pusher as long as the distance I can presently force skin past the tip, 7.5 ounces of weight, and also a new type of underwear called Tug N Wear http://TugNWear.com (which I don’t sell). In bed I wear the TLC-X with 1/2″ of extension plus a shoulder strap. TLC gear has a 90-day no-questions-asked refund option* on top of the full-year warranty.

Glans Coverage:

When will the glans stay completely covered?

How the skin behaves is just a function of how much skin-tube length you grow:

– If you get to where you can temporarily force the skin to cover 100% of the glans while you’re erect, you might be able to catch a glimpse of your skin staying over the glans in a covering state long enough to walk a bit or snap a photo.

– When you can make the skin temporarily reach over the whole glans plus extend past the tip by another 50% of your glans length (we call that 150% Forced Erect Coverage) then you might be able to walk around in a covered state indefinitely until you get erect, or get through a whole doctor’s exam looking intact (let him/her think you were never cut).

– When your skin can reach to 200% FEC you might be able to get through a whole night’s sleep with no device and wake up covered despite nocturnal erections.

These are just ballpark numbers to illustrate the impact of the goal you set and attain.

Milestones:

What coverage should I expect and when?

I first saw some corona coverage at 9 months, but by the time I yelled for my wife to come see, my skin had slinked back off the glans. Then at about 2 years I recall sitting through a whole nude doctor’s exam with coverage, but it was still so tenuous that it made me nervous that my skin would roll back before the doctor’s eyes and he would think I was getting aroused. That caused my pulse and blood pressure to skyrocket and I wound up having expensive thyroid tests. Then at four years I first noticed that at the end of a hot shower I needed to force my skin back just to clean the glans. Then at 5 years I first saw that after sex my wife’s body caused my skin to re-cover my glans (no hands!) as I withdrew from her.

Nerve Endings:

Does restoration make the nerve endings work better?

It is thought that specialized nerve ending organelles do not regenerate or increase in number as skin expands. However, nerve fibers expand with the lengthening skin to carry signals from surviving nerve endings (skin expansion study). As the skin sheds layers of epithelial cells, nerve endings are closer to the surface, and the surface – being more sheer and supple – is better able to track with fine-touch stimuli.

Also, the the slack skin tube can experience the full normal amount of bending during arousal once there is enough slack for the skin to roll and glide. This allows the surviving Meisners Corpuscles to give the sensations they are seemingly designed to, as they bend and straighten.

In short, think of restoration as a way to make your nerve endings work better, not a way to grow new nerve endings. These are my opinions based on casual discussions with experts, but I really lack sufficient expertise to know that I was interpreting them correctly.

Restoring for better sex:

Is restoring worthwhile for better sex?

Well, we can’t get back lost nerve endings or the exquisite frenulum, but I can say for my wife and me restoring has been very worthwhile. The biggest surprise for me was how wonderful the slack skin feels rolling around during intimacy. Also I never guessed the skin between the glans and the circ scar would take on a whole new sort of “itch” that only intimacy can scratch. Before I restored my wife tried for years to give me an orgasm through oral stimulation but I never could finish. Now she can do it easily as often as she cares to (which of course seems like never, but that’s another story).

Shaft skin:

Is it just shaft skin being stretched?

Q: ^^ it seems to me that as the skin is rolled forward the shaft skin further down from the foreskin just rolls over the foreskin, wouldn’t this mean that it’s the shaft skin that is being stretched over what is left of the foreskin or circ scar? also wouldn’t this result in the skin just being loose and baggy behind the circ scar? ^^

Well, I used that method to get the results you see here:
http://TLCTugger.com/prodTLC.htm so I doubt baggy is the word for it.

^^ from that video it just seems that he is stretching his skin from half way down his shaft. surely the tip of what skin is rolled forward should be where the circ cut was made? ^^

The video was a quick demo to show basically how the device goes on. It doesn’t demonstrate proper tension (it shows excessive tension) and it certainly doesn’t illustrate the variety of ways you can apply the device.

But to address your question, no, I don’t know why you’d want to tug with your induced roll-over point at your circ scar:

– This would severely reduce your overall growth rate by hampering you with fewer options to optimize both inner and outer tension.

– Targeting the scar for your eventual flaccid roll-over point just seems like a bad idea. Who wants to look at a scar?

– The scar area includes damaged dartos fascia. For my roll-over point I want functional dartos fascia so it can pucker effectively, at least until I retract it.

– That approach would not be generalizable to all cut people since cuts vary so widely. Some guys have so little surviving mucosa that the circ scar is just millimeters from the corona.

– Many guys don’t realize that “outer” skin worn facing in gets soft and more supple than regular outer skin. It’s just fine for wearing against the glans.

The main reason really is that guys typically don’t have nearly enough inner skin left to make it work. Maybe they’ve lost half their mucosal skin and only one-fourth of their outer shaft skin. So if such a guy draws his skin forward from the scar chances are he will put his inner skin under unbearable stress before his outer skin feels anything.

Using T-Tape, TLC Tugger, or any basic tugging method, you have control over the inner/outer tension ratio, by where you affix the device. To increase inner tension put the T-Tape closer to the glans or apply the tapeless tugger while partially erect.

The beauty of bi-directional devices is you can max out on inner and outer tension at the same time independently through the extension of the inner pushing part. And with the TLC-X you have further independent control of where the skin rolls over by swapping in Pushers of different lengths.

If I was starting from scratch today with no slack, I would build on the assumption that all my skin could be expanded equally. I would get erect and see how far over my glans the skin could be forced today. I would then decide how far I wanted it to reach when I was “done” (say 2″ past the tip) and compute the inches of skin I needed to add and translate that into a percentage of the total mobile skin-tube length. Say for this example 75% more skin.

Then I would get flaccid and roll my skin comfortably over the glans and figure out how much of my present skin was hanging “inner” and how much was hanging “outer” (say 1″ and 3″ in this example). To increase all this skin by 75% means growing 3″ total of new skin measured relaxed. The section presently facing in would grow to 1.75″ and the section presently facing outward would expand 5.25 inches.

NOW (punch-line coming soon), suppose you tattooed a spot on your skin at the present flaccid roll-over point. When you were done restoring, that tattoo dot would for sure be facing in because your old outer skin grew 2.25″ while your old inner skin only grew .75″ (and we assume your shaft got no longer). So if we could somehow know where your eventual flaccid roll-over point would hang, one thing we just proved is that it’s not the spot of skin that’s presently at the end. It’s on a spot further from the glans; into the “outer” region. But where?

Well, at the start we had 3″ of relaxed outer skin and 1″ of relaxed inner skin. So the first 2″ from the base was outer skin and beyond that every inch of skin tube required an inner plus an outer component. The final relaxed flaccid roll-over point is going to be 1.5″ past the present one. This is to say we will have a total of 2.5″ facing in and 4.5 facing out. We now know that the eventual relaxed flaccid roll-over point will be 9/14 [that is 4.5/(4.5+2.5)= 64.2%] of the total relaxed skin tube length from the base, or 5/14 [that is 2.5/(2.5+4.5) = 35.8%] of the total relaxed skin tube length, measured from beneath the glans.

Got that? So what I’m saying is you could – in this example – tattoo a spot on your shaft 2.57″ from the base (measure while rolled forward relaxed) and bank on that being your eventual flaccid roll-over point.

What are you going to do with this info? You could carefully select a Pusher for your TLC-X that allows your skin to comfortably roll onto the device with the tattoo spot being at the rolled-over end. Tug with this spot at the end EVERY time from now on by swapping in a longer Pusher once or twice a year if needed. The result will be a skin tube that reaches your goal as fast as possible because inner and outer have been optimized, PLUS you will have a ring of skin at the end which has for a few years been Puckered up at the end, not under a lot of tension, and in fact constrained. I contend that this constrained zone of skin will PUCKER, just like the feet on those unfortunate Chinese women whose foot growth was stunted by foot
binding.

Is that a good thing? Your call, but I say yes.

Total Tugging Time:

What is the total tugging time?

Total time tugging depends on:

– Your starting state

– Your goal amount of slack (and that goal may shift as you appreciate what slack does)

– The consistency of your regimen

– Your balanced diet, sleep habits, non-smoking, avoidance of substance abuse

– Your DNA

That said, a typical guy might need 2 to 5 years to get slack he can walk around with long enough to get through a doctor’s exam (maybe 150% Forced Erect Coverage). As you measure your FEC FEC you can add 1mm to 3mm per month to the reach of your skin tube (measure while erect, drawing the skin over the glans forcefully).

AdhesiMed aka MRS II:

Should I Glue the device on?

The freshly washed retaining cone applied to freshly washed skin can usually be worn by itself.

We have a Packer 0, which is like a Tugger with no handle. That helps guys who turtle up when soft to keep the cone gripping discreetly in briefs. If applying a freshly washed device to freshly washed skin doesn’t keep things gripping, you can add AdhesiMed (MRS II), which is a dab-on silicone adhesive available from Advanced Devices Inc. The companion solvent is required to get the residue off.

Betamethasone:

Should I use Betamethasone?

I’m not a doctor. You would need a prescription to get Betamethasone so you’d have a chance to get a legit opinion. My take is that restoring without steroids works. The steroid has side effects and so is usually administered for only three months at a stretch, 6 months in extreme cases. Yes having part of your penis amputated is extreme, but the “remedy” is available without the steroid. And you would probably want to use gloves to avoid giving your hands the same dose your prepuce is getting.

Collet Slips:

My collet seems to slip down the Rod how can I fix it?

I know the Collet is a challenge. As shown in this video (demo) you can use a kitchen scale to see how much force your Pusher can resist once set. Many guys are surprised to realize that although the collet seems to let the Pusher slip, that is happening with more than 2 pounds of force, but in fact they only use about 1/2 pound of force while tugging. To get the best Collet grip, disassemble it and lube the threads (don’t get any lube on the center gripping vanes). Assemble the Collet to the Tugger with the vanes pointing toward the Tugger body, not toward the end of the handle. Tighten it securely.

If it’s still loose you can snug it. If you overdo it you can relax it.

If you decide you’d rather use a collar and set screw we’d comp your shipping on that. Note that our narrower TLC-X models are supplied with a narrow-opening retaining cone that is not compatible with the collar.

Cone Falls Off:

Why doesn’t my cone stay on?

Firstly, if you have enough slack so that you can force skin over the glans while flaccid then the things to check are:
– Are you wearing briefs or Tug N Wear? The Your-Skin Cone by itself is NOT meant to be worn with boxers because the fabric shears at the lip of the cone and pries it loose.
– Is the device and your skin free of slippery residue? Some soaps contains moisturizing ingredients that leave a trace. The cone needs to be squeaky clean. You can go in the stall at mid-day and wipe it with a wet paper towel.
– Are you a severe grower? Some guys whose erect size is much larger than their flaccid state find that their skin is slack while flaccid and just doesn’t pull back on the cone to keep it gripping. For them we make our Packer 0 http://TLCTugger.com/prodPacker.htm which both increases tension and gives the cone a matching geometry to grip against. We would comp your shipping if you wanted to try that as an add-on to a recently purchased Your-Skin Cone. The reason to go with a smaller size would be if the wide end was getting pried loose by clothing or bedding, or if you couldn’t get your fingers in close enough to wedge your skin into the cone.

Feel free to trim the cone you have so you can get a custom fit with less back-and-forth time in the mail. Email us for the best methohd. If you wreck it using my technique I’ll replace it.

“If the cone is too wide, you may find the fabric of your clothes or bedding is prying it loose, or you may not be able to get your fingers in close to neatly tuck your skin into the cone. If you want the wide end of the cone narrower, you could trim it with sharp scissors. Start by flipping it inside out and beveling the outside edge (that was inside before you flipped it). Then reverse it again and bevel the (real) outside edge if you like. Keep flipping and removing a tiny bit until it’s smooth and the right size. Wear it for a while each time before reducing further. The most popular fit is when the inside diameter of the wide end is 90% – 100% of your erect glans width http://TLCTugger.com/YSC-size.htm. If you wreck it I’ll replace it.”

One other thing I’ve gathered from other users is that some men tend to have an erect state that’s very much larger than the flaccid state. So while flaccid they sometimes have trouble getting the Your-Skin Cone device to hang on because the shaft acts as if it’s being pulled into the body and the skin tube sort of rolls outward and lets the device drop. We have helped a couple such guys with our TLC Packer 0 which is shaped like the TLC Tugger but without the Tugging handle (so it can be worn under briefs). It takes up the slack and helps the Your-Skin Cone hang on by giving it a matching surface to interface with. See the Packer0 at http://TLCTugger.com/prodPacker.htm and I’d comp your s&h on that add-on.

Also, I’m happy to extend your no-questions-asked refund option* to 6 months to give you time see if this is going to work for you. I’m not trying to string you on or something. If you want a refund now that’s also cool.

Devise Loosens:

Why is my device is loosening

Always apply a freshly washed device to freshly washed skin. To get a good grip, roll skin as high up onto the Tugger body as you comfortably can. Apply the Your-Skin Cone over the bunched up skin. Continue gripping the narrow end of the retaining cone while you flare the wide end to let some skin slip out, so the retained skin will be under gentle tension. If large or excessive skin wrinkle are visible, start over. Optionally extend the pusher up to 1/2″ and tighten the set screw. Optionally add 5 – 10 ounces of weight or a tugging strap.

Wear LOOSE pants use a fail-safe system that meets the needs of your situation. Most guys run a lace loosely through the tugging handle and pin the end to the pants pocket. I recommend Tug n Wear which not only helps the device stay put, it catches anything that might loosen.

Dry Skin:

How do I get the best device grip?

it’s possible for the skin to be too dry. When we tug, the flattened cells at the very surface don’t multiply, they slough off, making room for a wider skin matrix comprised of fresh cells emerging from deeper in the skin. As your body starts to shed these cells, the silicone gets a bad grip, like tires driving on a gravel road. Thoroughly wetting the skin makes the flattened skin cells seal together so the silicone can grip. Once the skin gets dry (from air or contact with clothing) or oily the grip is compromised, so we say always apply a freshly washed device to freshly washed skin.

Eurcerin and Cetaphil:

What kind of lotion or soap should I use?

I recommend Eucerin Original lotion and Cetaphil gentle non-soap skin cleanser (never use harsh soap on your glans again).

Exercise:

Do you really wear this while playing hockey in the NHL?

I deny that. (There’s a goalie/coach who has the same name). I do wear the TLC sometimes while running, and the Your-Skin Cone while swimming (it sinks, by the way). The only sports I’ve tried where tugging is unworkable are biking and horseback riding. Maybe use the SenSlip for comfort during such activities. You need to consider the risks inherent to any activity you try, and how those might be complicated by having something securely attached to your penis.

Extender:

How do I use the Tugger with the Size Genetics?

To wear a Tugger with the Size Genetics extender:

– Poke your penis through the base ring of the extender.

– Press the Tugger against your glans.

– Roll skin up to cover as much of the Tugger as possible.

– Grip the skin to the Tugger with the clear retaining cone.

– Minimize any avoidable wrinkles in the gripped skin.

– Poke the straight end of the SG Clip up through one of the round holes of the extender’s yoke piece (from underneath).

– Maneuver the SG Clip into position with the straight section laying flat against the extender’s yoke as shown.

– Hook the Tugger’s handle over the crook in the SG Clip.

– Adjust the extender’s gentle tension by the 4-Hour Rule.

Extras:

Do I need anything else beside the TLC-X?

The TLC-X is everything you need. BUT, you may wish to get some things I don’t sell:

– A knee brace like I use in the videos.
Cetaphil Gentle liquid non-soap skin cleanser.
Eucerin Original lotion.
– A Tug N Wear Jock by http://TugNWear.com

Some guys are concerned about not just gaining slack but about getting the best possible cosmetic outcome. A natural foreskin tapers and puckers forward of the glans while flaccid. The most important contribution to natural appearance is just gaining enough slack. Once the skin “lives” out past the tip all day, it WILL tighten more, due to the layer of shear muscle cells lining the penile shaft skin which respond to the cooler temperature out away from the shaft.

But TLC users also benefit from the narrowest tapered devices available, for no unwanted girth to the skin tube. I got my results shown here (TLC Tugger product page) with the regular TLC Tugger. Since then I came up with the TLC-X which I believe will give even better results. Let me explain.

The TLC-X conceivably leads to a better cosmetic result because it gives you better control over exactly where your skin rolls over while you’re under tension, through the use of interchangeable TLC Selects spacers. This could theoretically give rise to a tighter more natural looking taper, but nobody has used it long enough yet to prove the fact yet.

The idea assumes you could somehow determine exactly what spot on your present skin tube will eventually be right at the tip where your skin rolls over while flaccid after restoring. Imagine tattooing a dot or X right at that point on the skin. With the TLC-X you could easily tug every single time such that the marked spot was at the very end, by changing the effective device length. Fine-tune device length by including TLC Selects spacers. This allows your skin to roll out evenly to the pointy end of the Tugger with the targeted spot of skin at the end. The skin at that end spot would grow tighter (around) through your years of tugging, even as the rest of your skin tube grows longer. With the TLC-X’s Pushing action, you could have optimal inner and outer tension the whole time, independent of where you’ve chosen your special spot.

I’ve even postulated a mathematical approach for determining that key roll-over spot: http://www.foreskin-restoration.net/forum/showpost.php?p=15111&postcount=1
now
https://ForeskinRestoration.vBulletin.net/forum/bi-directional-tension/24437-spacers-vs-pushing-rod?p=24504#post24504. However, it may not be possible to put the theory into practice until you have enough slack to temporarily force coverage over the whole glans while erect.

So look into adding TLC Selects spacers https://tlctugger.com/?s=cyl-x+-packer&post_type=product

How to apply weights:

How do I apply the weights?

Apply the device to your penis with the long Rod installed.
-Place a conical weight against the clear retaining cone.
-Place zero or more single disk weights against the conical weight.
-Place zero, one, or two white spacer cones (they look like retaining cones) against the weights as needed to stack to the end of the tugging handle.
-Place the CUFF (looks like a stocky retaining cone with a 1/8″ hole at the tip) against spacer cones or weights.
-Secure a collar and set screw or a collet to hold the cuff snug against the weight stack.

Ischemia:

Will I cut off the blood supply when I tug?

I’m not a doctor. You need to decide. I suggest you ask at the User Group. My own thoughts are that the skin is “body temperature” when it’s hugging the shaft. When it’s drawn away from the body, it has it’s surface area exposed to room-temperature air and will feel cooler to the touch. My finger tips are cold to the touch right now. It seems like it would only be a problem if blood was not flowing to the area. The lack of oxygenated blood has a name – Ischemia. Ischemia is normally accompanied by a tingling and then a pinching or burning sensation. Damage to tissues can occur if Ischemia persists for 4 or more hours (hence the warnings on those Viagra ads about erections lasting more than 4 hours). Pain should never be tolerated in any restoring effort. Re-apply the device or change something about the setup. Gentle tension will grow new skin.

Manhood:

Should I use Manhood?

The maker of ManHood is an upstanding citizen. I feel like it’s a huge improvement over friction with underwear and bedding, but it’s still fabric against your glans and skin.

Using a retaining cone http://TLCTugger.com/YSC-instructions.htm lets your own skin do the job. The glans rejuvenates the skin about as much as the skin helps the glans.

Some guys use the sheath and some safety pins to trick out their underwear to reduce friction that would loosen the cone and to catch device parts that loosen.

POE:

Should I pay attention to POE?

No. What people call POE is the spot where the skin presently rolls over when you draw it out while flaccid. They claim tugging from this spot will result in equal inner and outer tension, which is horse shit. It’s not true because the outer shaft skin is a lot longer than the inner skin, so the outer might only elongate 10% while the inner elongates 30%. Tension in springs (or stretched skin) is proportional to percent elongation.

Rod Length:

Should I use a longer rod?

Rod length is usually determined by the mode of tension you’re using. Rubber band mode calls for a Rod long enough to attach the Collar several inches from the Tugger. Inner-spring mode calls for a short rod, just long enough to keep the Pusher in place. Using the fixed displacement of the Pusher calls for a 3″ or 3.75″ Rod so you can extend the Pusher about 1/2″ after application. You can fake the effect of having a longer Pusher by pre-extending the Pusher a few millimeters before application, so that’s one of the reasons to go with 3.75 inches instead of 3 inches.

Senslip:

How do you clean when using a Senslip?

Bath as you normally would, and gently hand-wash the SenSlip as instructed at SenSlip.com.

Sitting/Standing strap tension:

Do you want the same tension sitting and standing?

To get even tension both walking and sitting, let the strap bear from the front of the knee rather than the side. This assumes you are strapping as shown in the videos on my Instructions page. It also helps if you use the elastic tube knee brace seen in the videos. You can pin the strap to the brace to give it more of hold on your leg to keep it from twisting away from the front-bearing attitude.

Skin slipping:

What if my skin slips out of the device?

Generally starting with a freshly cleaned device and skin and keeping tension gentle will solve it. Always roll skin as high up onto the tugger (to the pointy end) as you can so you’re gripping a wide band of skin.

It’s not at all unusual to have less slack on top (some cutters are actually compassionate and try to leave a lot of frenular tissue and leave enough slack for an erection to point up without causing your scrotum to go taut.

I hate to say this but you might be a case that would benefit from MRS II, a medical silicone adhesive designed for prosthetics. A solvent is required to remove it. Get the adhesive and solvent on ebay.

Sleep Tugging:

Can I tug at night?

Only you can decide if tugging in your sleep is a good idea for you.
Apply the device, get erect, and carefully flop around on the bed. Think about the worst thing that could happen. If you decide to try it, maybe set an alarm every couple hours the first few nights so you can check things out. Your body should tell you if blood flow is restricted by giving a painful pinching/burring sensation that would wake most people. Google ischemia. Use gentle tension. If you’re not getting through whole nights in comfort, reduce the tension.
I recommend 10-12 hours per day under tension and wearing the retaining cone all non-tugging hours.

Strap too tight:

How to prevent the strap from being too tight?

To be straight, my hunch is that you’re using too much tension. I got my results using comfortable tension as close to 24/7 as I could manage. We can’t “stretch” a new foreskin. Rather, we apply persistent gentle tension and let the calendar do the work. Your bodies cells always regenerate and replace themselves. Tugging just increases the rate of cell division and renewal so that it exceeds the rate of cell attrition. But there’s a limit to how fast a cell nucleus can collect nutrients from the bloodstream to stitch together a copy of itself so the cell will be ready to divide. Tugging too hard is counterproductive since it reduces blood flow, and if painful, reduces tugging hours.

Note that the strap in demo video has NOT been adjusted, it’s way too tight. Start by wearing the Tugger with no strap tension. If you can get through three hours with no pain, then I know you have sufficient slack to use a tapeless device. Also, as you apply the device, roll as much skin up onto the Tugger to be gripped as you comfortably can. Then before applying the Your-Skin Cone consider dabbing a faint smear of water or saliva on the bunched up skin (this is because the skin surface gets flaky and loose in this dry weather).

When you add tension, your goal is to adjust the strap so the tension is something you are comfortable with for the interval between daytime trips to the rest room (say three hours). So adjust the strap maybe a half-inch per day to add tension until you can’t meet that goal, and then back off. For night time, the goal has to be to keep the device on for 8 hours, through nocturnal erections and all, so a less aggressive setup is called for. It could be that at the start, that means no tension strap. When you do add straps for sleeping, use the over-the-shouder technique only, to accomodate nocturnal erections.

If you’re not getting through a whole night within three months, let us know. We have a 90-day no-questions-asked refund policy* in case you determine it’s just not for you.

Straps:

How do I adjust the straps?

With the ComforTug Straps, a roughly 42″ long setup is for tugging over the shoulder at night. Adjusted to about 32″ and with a twist they’re ready for tugging below the knee during the day.

Below the knee:
Daytime Strapping Demo Video (nudity)

1) Secure the Tugger to your penis.

2) Clip the single-thick end of the ComforTug strap to the device.

3) Run the strap down to the inside of the knee joint.

4) Apply the safety pin in the strap even with the hinge of the knee joint.

5) Hold the pinned strap against the knee while running the remainder of the strap around the front of the leg below the knee. Wrap it around the back and all the way around again.

6) Clip the double-thick end of the strap to the safety-pinned spot on the strap. The pin prevents the clip from slipping.

7) Rotate the whole strap setup around the leg so that the strap bears more from the front of the leg than from the inside. (This allows for more consistent tension between walking and seated modes).

8) Fine-tune the strap length adjustment for comfort. (You could mark a pair of spots 3″ apart on the single-thick part of the strap under no tension. These should be about 3.25″ apart when the strap is pulled to about one pound of tension. Strap material elasticity varies; calibrate by hanging a 16-ounce cup of water from the single-thick part of the strap).

In practice, I don’t go through these steps every time. Since I wear a tubular elastic knee brace under the strap for comfort, I just unclip and then slip the knee brace and strap off as a unit. It goes back on quickly as a unit. Launder the knee brace and straps only as often as necessary.

Over the shoulder:
Night (over-the-shoulder) Strapping Demo Video

1) Apply the Tugger to your penis.

2) Clip the single-thick end of the ComforTug strap to the device.

3) Run the strap up your chest and over one shoulder (say left).

4) Reach around to lead the strap down your back and under the ribs on the opposite side (say right).

5) Clip the double-thick end of the strap to the single-thick section at a point 3 to 10 inches above the tugger, after first applying a safety pin in the single-thick strapping for the clip to grab on to.

6) Fine-tune the strap length adjustment for comfort; to about one pound of tension.

If needed, launder the straps (no hot water) in a mesh laundry bag.
Alternatives to strapping include the TLC-X, TLC Hangers, and TLC Packer.

Tension set-up’:

What amount of tension is right?

The number that matters is not absolute force, but rather it is stress or pressure that matters. That is, the force divided by the cross-sectional area upon which it acts. Further, the load that is appropriate depends on the time you’ll be wearing it. I can wear 20.5 ounces comfortably, but not for hours at a time.

Relative stress from highest to lowest (assuming a proper fitting device in every case):

– TLC-X with 20.5 oz
– TLC-X with strap.
– Tugger with strap.
– TLC-X strapless.

The difference is insignificant however since gentle tension will grow new skin. Pull too hard and you get a device that loosens or that needs to be removed due to discomfort.

Once someone can force skin to the tip while erect I recommend a TLC-X with a Pusher length selected to match the distance past the tip that skin can be forced, with about 1/2″ of inner-side extension and about a half-pound of weight, worn at least 12 hours per day, with Tug N Wear to contain any parts that loosen. Adjust weight and extension until the device can be worn at least 4 hours at a sitting (8 hours for overnight setup).

TLC-X Straps:

Should I use a strap with a TLC-X?

I can recommend at least one strap with the TLC-X. You will probably want to exploit your sleeping hours to tension your skin. Any fixed displacement setting of the TLC-X pushing rod that is productive while you’re flaccid may prove to be excessive once you have a nocturnal erection. Therefore many TLC-X guys use a strap over the shoulder in bed, since using the device that way is more forgiving through nocturnal erections.

In general, applying external tension (straps, weights) means you can be a little more relaxed about the way you apply the device. to tension ALL your skin straplessly, you need to somewhat aggressively roll outer skin onto the device, retain the skin with the cone, then balance the outer tension with extension of the pushing rod.

TLC-X Tugger loosening:

What causes the TLC-X tugger to loosen?

The main reasons for the TLC-X Tugger loosening are excess tension and insufficient slack. Sometimes the device does not fit well. Sometimes it’s the application technique that can be improved.

1) Tension. Keep it light. Gentle tension will grow new skin. If you’re strapping adjust the leg strap while standing and let it bear from the front of the knee rather than the side for best transition from sitting to standing. You need a tension that would let you wear the device comfortably for at least 4 straight hours (like between trips to the washroom) during the day and 8 straight hours at night. For most guys that’s under a pound. The tugging will feel novel but should not be uncomfortable.

You can measure your strap or spring tension with a kitchen scale. While wearing a tugger and strap mark two dots a few inches apart on the single-thick part of the strap. Then measure the distance between the dots with a ruler. Take the strap off and clip a large plastic cup of water to it and find the amount of water that stretches the dots to the same spread. The weight of that water cup equals your tugging force.

Whether strapping or using only the Pusher, to find your best tension setting start with zero added tension and sneak the setting higher every day until getting through 4 straight hours is a challenge. If you can wear the device for extended periods without added tension, but can NOT with the added tension, then your tension is just TOO HIGH. You should be able to easily forget you’re wearing it. Note the tension shown in the main tugger application demo video is EXCESSIVE.

2) Slack. If you can force skin over the whole glans while flaccid, you should be able to use a tapeless device. If you’re not there yet, options include manual tugging exercises and The Canister (tape) method.

3) Fit. We use your glans width (flaccid and erect) to size your gear. Basically the Tugger should be about 75% to 90% of the diameter of your flaccid glans and the retaining could be almost as wide as your erect glans. As you haven’t you could supply us your glans width (flaccid and erect http://TLCTugger.com/YSC-size.htm) and forced erect coverage number (https://tlctugger.com/forced-erect-coverage/) and we can check if you have the best size.

4) Application.
– Start with freshly washed device and skin.
– Roll as much skin up onto the device to be gripped as you comfortably can (to the pointy end).
– Work the skin up and down a few times to even out wrinkling.
– In dry seasons consider dabbing a faint smear of water or saliva on the bunched-up skin before applying the retaining cone. (This dusts away any loose skin cells which fight gripping like traction-robbing gravel beneath your tires).
– After you pop the Your-Skin Cone on hold the cone it there while you give a quick tug to seat the device.
– Extend the Pusher 1/4″ to 1/2″ and/or attach the tugging strap or weight with gentle tension.
– If you’ve been tugging and it starts loosening, maybe stop and re-apply after cleaning the gripping surfaces. Your skin will be sloughing off cells. Cell walls dissolve into fatty emollients that interfere with grip. I accomplished this cleaning on rare occasions by taking a moistened paper towel into the stall at work.
– Wear LOOSE pants. Consider using a loin cloth like I show in one of the videos to prevent friction between your device and your pants or your leg. Tug N Wear is ideal for this, plus it catches any loose parts: http://TugNWear.com (HIGHLY recommended).
– If your device has some mileage on it, consider a new one. The gripping surface may get worn from daily cleaning and start to hold skin oils tenaciously. Since November 2010 the Tuggers and retaining cones have been made in a new mold which yields a smooth shiny surface that grips like crazy, cleans up easier, and lasts longer. Retaining cones are also now available in clear so you can see and correct skin wrinkles for extended comfort.

5) Jostling.
Every application would eventually work loose given enough tension and enough jostling. The trick is to get a good application use a tension that USUALLY gives a good grip for the duration you intended to be tugging, given the activities you engage in. If you’re never getting through that target tugging time, your tension may be too great for the activity level. Loose clothing is also important.

Topicals/Oils:

Do lotions interfere with the devices?

I don’t recommend any lotions. For the best grip apply a freshly washed device to freshly washed skin. Expect the surface cells to slough away faster than usual.

Some guys do use a tiny careful bit of Eucerin Original lotion behind the corona to help the skin slip into place without binding, but that mostly applies to TLC-X users.

There are three prescription topical preparations tested to aid (non-penis) skin expansion. As of 2011, studies had been published for these clinically tested topical solutions which might speed up skin expansion:
– topical papaverine cream
– topical estriol
– topical 60% dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO)

But these were tested with internally implanted expanders with omnidirectional tension on abdomens, necks, or thighs. The resulting grown skin was used in autologous grafts where skin sensation was not a priority.  

If they’re used on restoration tugging devices and they interfere with the grip of the device or tape they may not improve expansion at all.  And you may not be able to buy these things.  A new Google Scholar search for “accelerating tensile tissue expansion” might give interesting results. Regardless, you would be working with a dermatologist or cosmetic surgeon if you were trying those.

Total time tugging depends on:

– Your starting state

– Your goal amount of slack (and that goal may shift as you appreciate what slack does)

– The consistency of your regimen

– Your balanced diet, sleep habits, non-smoking, avoidance of substance abuse

– Your DNA

That said, a typical guy might need 2 to 5 years to get slack he can walk around with long enough to get through a doctor’s exam (maybe 150% Forced Erect Coverage). If you measure your FEC https://tlctugger.com/forced-erect-coverage/ you can add 1mm to 3mm per month to the reach of your skin tube (measure while erect, drawing the skin over the glans forcefully).

Tugger comes off:

What to do if tugger comes off?

The number one reason for difficulty is excess tension. The tugging will feel novel but should not be uncomfortable.
– First thing is keep tension light. Gentle tension will grow new skin.
– We assume for tapeless devices that you have enough slack to let temporarily force skin over the glans while flaccid.
– Start with a freshly washed device and skin.
– Roll as much skin onto the Tugger body to be gripped as you can manage, high up to the pointy end of the Tugger.
– In dry weather consider dabbing a faint smear of water or saliva on the bunched-up skin before applying the retaining cone. This dusts away any loose skin cells which fight gripping like traction-robbing gravel beneath your tires.
– To adjust for keeping tension light: Start with zero added tension and sneak the setting higher every few days until getting through 4 straight hours is a challenge.
– If you’ve been tugging and it’s loosening, maybe stop and re-apply after cleaning the gripping surfaces. Your skin will be sloughing off cells. Cell walls dissolve into fatty emollients that interfere with grip. I accomplished this cleaning on rare occasions by taking a wet paper towel into the stall at work.
– Wear loose pants. Consider using a loin cloth like I show in one of the videos to prevent friction between your device and your pants or your leg. Tug N Wear is ideal for this, plus it catches any loose parts: http://TugNWear.com
– Again, keep tension light. For a strap setup that works both seated and walking, let the strap bear from the front of the knee instead of the side.

Consider re-measuring for best fit. Supply us your glans width (flaccid and erect) and forced erect coverage number (see http://TLCTugger.com/device-sizing/) and we can check if you have the best size.

Regarding the slack in the demo, I had been tugging for 4 years (mostly with a tapeless tugger) when we shot that. I was not trying to show the right tension, so the main demo is me wearing a Tugger pulled way too tight. Some other videos on our instructions page show how to adjust straps: http://TLCTugger.com/downloads.htm

Tugger loosening:

What are the reasons for tugger loosening?

The main reasons for the Tugger loosening are excess tension and insufficient slack. Sometimes the device does not fit well. Rarely, it’s the application technique that can be improved.

1) Tension. Keep it light. Adjust the leg strap while standing and let it bear from the front of the knee rather than the side for best transition from sitting to standing. You need a tension that would let you wear the device comfortably for 4 straight hours (like between trips to the washroom) during the day and 8 straight hours at night. For most guys that’s under a pound. You can measure your tension with a kitchen scale. While wearing the tugger and strap mark two dots a few inches apart on the single-thick part of the strap. Then measure the distance between with a ruler. Take the strap off and clip a large plastic cup of water to it and find the amount of water that stretches the dots to the same spread. The weight of that water cup equals your tugging force.

2) Slack. If you can force skin over the whole glans while flaccid, you should be able to use a tapeless device. If you’re not there yet, options include manual tugging and the Canister (tape) method.

3) Fit. We use your glans width (flaccid and erect) to size your gear. My daughter’s using the computer where we log that at the moment. Basically the Tugger should be about 3/4 to 90% of the diameter of your flaccid glans and the retaining should be almost as wide as your erect glans.

4) Application. Roll as much skin up onto the device to be gripped as you comfortably can. Work the skin up and down a few times to even out wrinkling. Apply a faint smear of water or saliva to the bunched up skin and pop the Your-Skin Cone on. Hold the cone there while you give a quick tug to seat the device. Attach the tugging strap with gentle tension. If you can wear the device for extended periods without the strap, but not with the strap, your strap tension is TOO HIGH. You should be able to easily forget you’re wearing it. Note the tension shown in the main tugger demo is EXCESSIVE.

Tugging at Night:

How do you tug at night?

The devices we make today are better than ever. All the metal parts are rust-proof aluminum or stainless steel, the silicone tuggers and cones have a slick easy-care surface that lasts longer and grips like crazy, we fit every device to a user’s measurements, and we have new options like the TLC-X and TLC Hangers which ensure that there is a solution to fit into your life.

Regarding night tugging it’s important to try any sleep technique while awake and erect first, and proceed only if you’re comfortable with the constraints and risks. NEVER tug toward the leg in bed. At night you’ll use a less-aggressive tension setting than during the day because you will want it to stay comfortable for 8 straight hours instead of just the 4 hours you might go during the day between trips to the toilet.

In all cases GENTLE tension must be used. We now have a defined objective measuring scheme called Forced Erect Coverage (FEC https://tlctugger.com/forced-erect-coverage/) so you can confirm that you’re making progress every month using gentle tension. The basic approach is to think of tension as a 4-hour rule. Start with 0 tension, a well-fitted device, and an application with minimal wrinkling. If that stays comfortable for 4 straight hours, then you can sneak the tension up after a day or two. Repeat every few days until getting through 4 hours is a rarity – and that’s too much tension. Back off tto the previous setting.

Uneven skin:

How do I correct uneven skin with your device?

When you tug, things tend to even out because the shorter side feels more tension. You can supplement that with a minute of focused manipulation of the short side skin with every trip to the toilet and for maybe ten minutes in bed morning and night. Google “manual foreskin restoration exercises.”

Christianity:

Shouldn’t Christians follow the old testament covenant of circumcision?

Ninety percent of the world’s Christians don’t think so. In December of 2003 Time Magazine ran a story about renewed interest in the “Lost” gospels of Christianity, like the Gospels of Thomas. Gospel of Thomas 53 concurs with many messages from the traditional gospels and new testament (Romans 2:29, Romans 3:30, Acts 15:10, I Corinthians 7:18, I Corinthians 12: 18, Galatians 5:6, Galatians 5:2, Galatians 6:15, Philippians 3:2, Colossians 2:12, Matthew 9:12) which for some reason are “lost” on Americans.

All of these passages make it clear that circumcision is not part of Christianity, yet 55% of American infant boys are mutilated at birth. The intact men of the world have no special health or hygiene problems. No national medical organization in the world recommends routine circumcision, and neither does Christian doctrine.

For Catholics, Pope Pius XII affirmed in 1952: “From a moral point of view, circumcision is permissible if, in accordance with therapeutic principles, it prevents a disease that cannot be countered in any other way” (Discorsi e messaggi radiodiffusi, t. XIV, Rome 1952, s. 328-329). The present Catechism of the Catholic Church includes Item 2297: Respect for bodily integrity “… Except when performed for strictly therapeutic medical reasons, directly intended amputations, mutilations, and sterilizations performed on innocent persons are against the moral law.”

The Book of Mormon instructs Latter Day Saints:
“Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore, little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them; and the law of circumcision is done away in me.” – Moroni 8:8

Regardless of your creed, America is founded on religious freedom. While Americans may think that gives them the right to have their child circumcised, it doesn’t. Your child has the right to religious freedom, too, but by amputating healthy tissue, you immorally take away that right. Even the old testament says that someone who is missing a body part may not approach the altar of the lord (Lev 21:18-23). Protect HIS religious freedom; leave him intact.

Circumcision:

If people stop circumcising, will TLCTugger go out of business?

Don’t worry about us! Our mission is to protect minors from bodily harm. The more men we help, the more help we’ll get in that mission. You have no moral right to amputate healthy tissue from a minor. It’s his choice to make as an adult. Based on experience in Sweden and other places where non-religious routine circumcision is unheard of, the actual likelihood that anything about an infant’s foreskin will threaten him before he is 18 to the point that circumcision will improve things is 1 in 10,000. When he is an adult he will thank you for leaving him intact. Let’s hope I’m out of business by then. My Top Ten Reasons to Leave Your Son Intact:

10: Condoms prevent AIDS, surgery does not. Most deceased US victims of AIDS were circumcised at birth. See also CBC Article.

9: Adults who’ve had it both ways say the foreskin is highly erogenous tissue. Circumcision removes about 20,000 specialized pleasure-receptive nerve endings, destroys the highly sensitive frenulum, and removes the wonderful frictionless rolling/gliding action of the normal penile skin system.

8: UTIs are more common in girls than in any group of boys, and are treated by medicine, not amputation.

7: 43,000 boys are mutilated for life for every case of penile cancer in an old man with poor hygiene, which has no relationship with intactness (penile cancer is as rare in Denmark where almost no one is cut as it is in the US where the majority are mutilated). MALE breast cancer kills more men than penile cancer does – so, what… we should cut off baby boys’ breasts?.

6: About 80% of the world’s men are intact. They have no special health problems or lack of partners.

5: Only an informed adult can morally consent to his own cosmetic surgery. It’s risky – see complications. Infancy is truly the worst time to circumcise due to the scale of things, challenges of effective anesthesia, healing in fouled diapers, risk of healing/recovery side effects that the patient can’t report, and of course since he can’t give informed consent any non-emergency amputation is a gross human rights violation.

4: Over 100,000 men are enduring a multi-year restoration process; don’t make your child a recovering amputee.

3: The Israel Medical Association gives this article which makes plain that there is no evidence linking cervical cancer specifically to the status of a woman’s partner. Besides, now that an HPV vaccine has been developed, this issue has no bearing on infant genital integrity.

2: No national medical organization in the world recommends routine circumcision for any medical reason.

1: Foreskin feels really good, and it’s HIS!

Foregen:

Is Foregen real?

Mr. Aiello is an Italian artist who renovates cathedrals and similar projects. He has restored and last I spoke to him, he does not feel he would personally undergo regenerative therapy (surgery) if it were available today. I feel the same way.

He started Foregen to help the present body of regenerative medical experts realize that there are many many men who might want to replace body parts taken involuntarily. He has covered all the of organizing costs of Foregen to date, leaving every cent donated to go toward the eventual trial.

I am acting treasurer of Foregen. If any money leaves the account I will ask questions and if I don’t like the answers I will file a police report with Italian authorities for violation of Foregen’s non-profit charter. Neither Mr. Aiello nor myself could afford to abscond with the donations and disappear. We both have strong “brand” names we expect use for years to come soliciting business over the internet. In my case my wife and I are both MBA’s and running TLC Tugger is a full-time occupation for both if us.

Foregen has one bona fide offer from a lab willing to do a trial of foreskin regeneration surgeries but Foregen does not have enough money to say yes.

Non-surgical restoration will not only give you immediate benefits it will improve your chances for success should you ever have regenerative surgery.

Frenulum and Synechia:

How does the foreskin work in the natural state?

The foreskin is normally fused the glans all around at birth, in a manner similar to how fingernails are attached to fingers (Google Synechia). The skin gradually starts to separate due to the skin being prodded by its owner or whatever the skin comes in contact with. Usually a boy’s own curious manipulations lead to full retractability by around age 10, but this varies widely. Some kids get (unwarranted) help with separation as tots, and other enjoy rubbing the glans through skin so much that they never seek to uncover it.

On the ventral (under) side of the glans the foreskin is attached by a tethering tissue called the frenulum. This does not normally become untethered. You also have a frenulum under your tongue. That frenulum is very sensitive and can sometimes be too short to allow comfortable retraction of the foreskin even if the synechial bonds are all free. If the frenulum gets over-worked it can develop tiny tears which hurt sharply. Some guys choose to have the frenulum snipped (frenuloplasty) in the middle so it can be looser and heal medically, instead of enduring repeated tears that heal haphazardly.

Frenulum Stretching:

Can I stretch my frenulum?

To lengthen the frenulum without surgery, get some Betamethasone ointment by prescription. Set your alarm 10 minutes earlier and stretch it gently with ointment and your fingers 10 minutes every morning and 10 minutes every night, plus briefly with every trip to the toilet. You may want to use gloves for the morning and night ointment sessions because the steroidal compound may thin your finger skin.

This could take 3 months or even 6 months of concerted effort. The circumcised guys who use my devices stick with it for years, so they can commiserate if you want to join our free online User Group.

G-Spot:

How does the G-Spot work?

The clitoris we can see is just the tip of an organ the extends into the pelvis with two splines in a V configuration plus a portion that encircles the vagina, and this ring part is now thought to be the physical reality of the mysterious G-spot. The fact that some women say they have no G-spot is explained by the varying degrees of distance between the vagina and the clitoral ring encircling it, and also that researchers have no reliable way to ensure the test subject’s clitoral tissue is fully engorged when they go looking for it.

An intact or restored guy is likely to be more sensitive to light touch and so spend more time with short thrusts the keep his body pressed against his female partner’s, and this action minimizes friction and increases the effect of the skin tube bunching up with each withdrawal and pressing outwardly exactly where the clitoral ring lies. He may also spend more time and effort stimulating her breasts and vulva with his hands (rather than depending only on his penis), keeping her state of arousal and engorgement at maximum.

There’s also the possibility that pheromones from his supple inner skin are are being sensed by his partner or that constant awareness of his restoration project is just keeping the partner in a more sexually receptive mood.

Islam:

Shouldn’t Muslims follow the tradition of circumcision?

NO! Circumcision is not actually decreed by the Qur’an; it doesn’t mention anything about genital cutting for either gender. The Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) Himself was never circumcised. It is only in Sunnah, or man-made interpretations of how best to live like the Prophet Mohammed, that genital mutilation is even mentioned.

The Qur’an does say the body is made perfect by god and needs no alteration:

– 3:191 Our Lord, you have not created all this in vain! Glory to you! Protect us from the punishment of the fire.

– 4:119 God condemned him and he (Satan) said: “I will surely recruit a definite share of Your worshipers. I will mislead them; I will entice them; I will command them to marking the ears of livestock; I will command them to distort the creation of God.” Anyone who accepts the devil as lord, instead of God, has incurred a profound loss.

– 15:28-29 Your Lord said to the angels, “I am creating a human being from aged mud, like the potter’s clay. Once I perfect him, and blow into him from My spirit, you shall fall prostrate before him.”

– 27:88 Allah who has ‘perfected everything’ (He created).

– 32:7 He is the One who perfected everything He created, and started the creation of the human from clay.

– 67:3 You will not see any flaw in what the Lord of Mercy creates.

– 82:7-8 The One who created you, designed you, and perfected you. In whatever design He chose, He constructed it.

– 95:4 We created man in the best design.

Leave him perfect; leave him intact.

See also http://QuranicPath.com

Judaism:

Can a Jew morally decline to circumcise his/her newborn child?

YES! The same book that appears to command circumcision also says that someone who is missing a body part may not approach the altar of the lord (Lev 21:18-23). The following was summarized from http://www.JewsAgainstCircumcision.org/

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Circumcision is a strong Jewish tradition. However, the following are also “traditions” and they are among the actions punishable by DEATH according to the Torah:
– Cheating on your husband, (Lev. 20:10).
– Fornicating – if you’re female (Deut 22:21).
– Homosexuality (Lev. 20:13).
– Blasphemy (Lev. 24:16)
– Insulting one’s parents (Exod. 21:17)
– Disobeying one’s parents (Deut 21:18-21)

Modern Jews no longer apply capitol punishment for committing the above mentioned acts, and they have the same moral obligation to interpret the edict to circumcise in light of our no-longer-barbaric society. Other practices sanctioned by the Torah that we no longer do, because we are educated and enlightened include:
– Slavery (Exod 21:1-11) (Deut. 15:12-18)
– Animal and Human Sacrifices (Lev. 4:3, 4:23, 4:32, 5:7, 5:15; Judges 11:20, 11:33)
– Divorce for men only (Deut 24:1)
– Female subservience to men including obedience to every order and no right to refuse sex, (Genesis 3:16).
– Forcing raped virgins to marry their attackers (Deut 22:29)

America is founded on religious freedom. While Americans may think that gives them the right to have their child circumcised, it doesn’t. Your child has the right to religious freedom, too, but by amputating healthy tissue, you immorally take away that right.

Protect HIS religious freedom; leave him intact.

Partner Objects:

What if my partner doesn’t want me to restore

I can understand a partner’s trepidation about how your penis might change, but it’s still your body, missing a normal part that 4/5 of the world’s people (and all other mammals) still have.

The main effect of restoration will be more pleasure for you. Some worry that this will mean sex will be more brief. You always have the option of using some numbing creme inside a condom if you think this is affecting you. But think of it like going from a Vespa scooter to a Harley 1200. More power and lots of advantages (including a bigger gas tank), but there will be some awkward moments at first. Dysfunctional prematurity is no more common in intact men, although average duration of heterosexual intercourse was measured at 2:43 for cut men and 2:37 for intact men in one study. But lots of intact guys make love all night because of the very detailed feedback they get from their bodies about where they are in the sexual response cycle. With my wife, the whole ride is so awesome for me I’m in no hurry to get to a big finish, and if I want to delay things I just slow down with my penis and pick up the pace with my hands and mouth.

If you stop restoring and start wearing your skin rolled back off the glans again, you will revert to your old dry dull state in time. If you stop restoring after less than 3 months there will be no perceptible net change (we offer no-questions-asked refunds* through 3 months). If you stop later, someone who knew your penis intimately might think the skin had more mobility than it used to have, but there is no chance of creating a permanent visual effect in less than a year. At that, you might be described just as someone with a less-tight circumcision, with a few new wrinkles when it’s cold out (and some loosely cut guys even have skin that hangs half-way over the glans anyway).

Another side effect of restoration will be that your glans and mucosa may develop a mild sweet natural aroma from being in the normal covered state. What’s happening is that skin cells (which our whole bodies are losing at a rate of 1000 per minute) – that would normally slough off and fall away – are caught within the foreskin space and linger. As the cell walls dissolve into a fatty emollient, beneficial germ-fighting bacteria digest the skin debris and it’s their waste product that the nose detects. Scrubbing with harsh soaps actually makes the scent more objectionable because it can tip the balance in favor of anaerobic bacteria, whereas washing with just clear water keeps the area sweet smelling. Within a few hours of a shower, few people would be able to tell the difference between restored and cut, and by the time the penis is smelly then the armpits and asshole aren’t exactly roses either. My wife says she has never tasted anything offensive about my penis, even when she could detect an aroma (she doesn’t expect me to be any fresher than she is). If you watch nature films, oral sex is a very common pre-cursor to intercourse and we mammals are seemingly designed to roll with whatever’s doing down there. As I said, 4/5 of the world has foreskin and you have to figure they’re pretty much all getting some oral. And if you’re in a continuing relationship you can easily make washing part of foreplay. If you find yourself dating you will most likely put yourself in sex-possible situations only when freshly washed. In general the increased responsiveness of a restored penis means less work for someone trying to give you an orgasm orally, which most partners don’t complain about.

Another effect of restoration is less friction on your partner’s orifice, but it’s seen as an advantage by most. As my penis withdraws from my wife she feels the skin enrobing my glans, which actually makes the glans diameter greater by 4 skin thicknesses (inner and outer layer on each side). She loves the plush filled-up feeling.

I really hope you – and all cut men – are able to enjoy the benefits of restoring.

Scripture:

Is foreskin restoration really mentioned in ancient scriptures?

Yes. For example when Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:18:

“Is any man called being circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised.”

He is saying that the state of your genitals has nothing to do with salvation; that circumcision means nothing, so don’t fixate on your genitals for spiritual reasons. If you were cut when you found Christ, don’t worry that you should become uncut. UN-cut?

These words give a glimpse into ancient culture. It is possible – even without a Your-Skin Cone – for a circumcised man to retain his skin over the glans by simply pulling it forward and tying a loop of twine around the tip of the skin tube. Spacers were fashioned from clay to add weight and tension.

There can be no doubt that foreskin restoration was quite common. Many ancient writings refer to “epispasm” which naive translators sometimes describe as some sort of mysterious painful surgery, but which was obviously just rolling the skin forward and keeping it that way – as we do today with a Your-Skin Cone or TLC Packer.

In Maccabees, the Hebrews are chided about an ancient practice by Jews who were in Greek-controlled territory – 1 Maccabees 1:15:

“Let him not pull over the foreskin” (that is, roll the skin over the glans as with the Your-Skin Cone).

That section is about Jews who were thought to have disgraced their faith by restoring to pass in Greek culture. The public Gymnasium was a place where men gathered nude. They exercised and also conducted important business and social networking. Jews could not appear there with their glans exposed because it was thought to be comically vulgar. Even parents would use twine to hold a boy’s foreskin forward from an early age, so that many grew to be adult Jews who could pass for intact.

It is now thought that the story of Abraham existed for hundreds of years (from the J authors in Genesis 15) without circumcision in it. Circumcision was added to the covenant by the P authors (as in Genesis 17). It is also known that the modern extreme version of circumcision was introduced by the priestly class when – as described in the book of Maccabees – men would pull the remaining foreskin over the glans to look and feel intact. The priestly class found that threatening and ordered that circumcision remove more of the foreskin. Before that time, only the ring of skin already forward of the tip of an infant’s glans was cut off. Since that time, the infant foreskin is torn from the glans and peeled back so that about half of all the penile skin can be amputated.

(source: Marked in Your Flesh, by Leonard Glick)

Talking about Restoration:

How do you talk about restoration and intactivism to others?

First, arm yourself with facts:
– Read a book
– Visit Circumstitions.com
– Watch a DVD or online video.
– Check out our resource list.

And remember the only person with anything to be embarrassed about is the one cutting children’s genitals.