Human skin grows from the inside. The outer layer continually flakes off and collects on the human body. Smegma is a mixture of moisture, skin oil, and exfoliated skin. It does accumulate under the foreskin of males and in the vulva of females.
Since most American men have been circumcised for several generations, they lack a foreskin and preputial sac and do not accumulate smegma, so they know little about it. In the absence of any actual experience, many Americans have come to believe myths about how gross, smelly, nasty, unsightly, and generally horrible smegma is alleged to be.
In reality, smegma is normal, natural, harmless, and beneficial. It is beneficial because the oil in the smegma contributes to the health of the mucosa that covers the glans penis and the inside of the foreskin.
Circumcised men cannot enjoy the benefit of smegma because they lack a preputial sac to collect the smegma, but restored men have a preputial sac and can collect beneficial smegma.
Smegma does not hurt or itch. It may harmlessly remain in the preputial sac under the foreskin for extended periods of time. Humans evolved over a million years as did the foreskin and its health-giving functions. They did not have showers with hot and cold running water. They lived with smegma to bathe their glans penis in beneficial skin oil.
If left undisturbed for a long period of time, smegma may harden and become difficult to remove. In such cases, the smegma may be soaked with vegetable oil to soften it for removal.
When smegma is not removed for a very long time, bacteria may grow in the smegma and cause it to become smelly. It may easily be washed away with warm water.
Birley et al. (1993) recommended not using soap and restricting washing to prevent balanitis.
There is much false information on the Internet. It is falsely claimed that foreskinned men must retract their foreskin every day and use soap and water to wash away every but of smegma. This is very bad advice because soap removes every bit of healthy, beneficial skin oil. It fails to recognize the immunologic physiologic functions of the foreskin.
Circumcised men who have restored their foreskin will accumulate smegma in their preputial sac in the same manner as do intact men.
Since most American men have been circumcised for several generations, they lack a foreskin and preputial sac and do not accumulate smegma, so they know little about it. In the absence of any actual experience, many Americans have come to believe myths about how gross, smelly, nasty, unsightly, and generally horrible smegma is alleged to be.
In reality, smegma is normal, natural, harmless, and beneficial. It is beneficial because the oil in the smegma contributes to the health of the mucosa that covers the glans penis and the inside of the foreskin.
Circumcised men cannot enjoy the benefit of smegma because they lack a preputial sac to collect the smegma, but restored men have a preputial sac and can collect beneficial smegma.
Smegma does not hurt or itch. It may harmlessly remain in the preputial sac under the foreskin for extended periods of time. Humans evolved over a million years as did the foreskin and its health-giving functions. They did not have showers with hot and cold running water. They lived with smegma to bathe their glans penis in beneficial skin oil.
If left undisturbed for a long period of time, smegma may harden and become difficult to remove. In such cases, the smegma may be soaked with vegetable oil to soften it for removal.
When smegma is not removed for a very long time, bacteria may grow in the smegma and cause it to become smelly. It may easily be washed away with warm water.
Birley et al. (1993) recommended not using soap and restricting washing to prevent balanitis.
There is much false information on the Internet. It is falsely claimed that foreskinned men must retract their foreskin every day and use soap and water to wash away every but of smegma. This is very bad advice because soap removes every bit of healthy, beneficial skin oil. It fails to recognize the immunologic physiologic functions of the foreskin.
Circumcised men who have restored their foreskin will accumulate smegma in their preputial sac in the same manner as do intact men.
This post was last modified: 07-24-2026, 07:35 PM by Old-guy.
Good points. Tired of hearing ignorant claims about how keeping clean is such a burden for intact men, I asked my husband to note how much extra time he needed to wash under his foreskin. It was literally five seconds or less. We're mutilating infants and children to save them five seconds per shower, at best.