Added Tretinoin to my recovery with great results!
⚠ Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. Everything below is purely anecdotal and reflects only my personal experience after consulting with my own primary care physician. This is not medical advice. Talk to your own doctor before starting any tretinoin or retinoid regimen.
TL;DR: Long-term restorer (tugging since 2019) who recently added prescription tretinoin 0.025% cream to my routine, applied 3 nights/week. Goal is to accelerate skin growth and improve tissue quality via increased cell turnover. After getting through the ~2 week retinization phase, my glans has become exponentially shinier and more sensitive, with no more dryness or peeling. Started tret April 19.
The Setup
I’ve been tugging since 2019, currently running a high-volume tension schedule — roughly 12+ hrs/day, 5 days on (M–F), rotating between DTR Air, Mantor Restore, and manual stretching, with weekends as rest days. The tretinoin is a recent add-on to that, not a replacement for tension. Tension still does the vast majority of the work; tret is a supplemental accelerant.
Why tretinoin
It increases skin cell turnover (mitosis), boosts collagen production, improves vascularity, and thins the dead keratinized outer layer while thickening the living layers underneath. The logic: tension already signals cells to divide, and tret independently drives the same process, so they stack. Bonus effects are scar line softening and improved glans sensitivity from dekeratinization.
Product & Dosage
• Prescription tretinoin 0.025% cream (lowest concentration — this tissue is semi-mucosal and absorbs faster than facial skin, so I didn’t want to go higher)
• About a half pea-sized amount, spread thin in one pass for even coverage
• Topped with La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5+ (dexpanthenol/panthenol repair cream)
Application Protocol
1. Shower, dry off, wait \~15 min until skin is fully dry (damp skin over-absorbs)
2. Apply thin layer of tret
3. Wait 20–30 min for absorption
4. Layer La Roche-Posay B5+ on top to lock in moisture + support recovery
5. Sleep in regular underwear (no plastic wrap — that over-occludes)
Schedule
• Applied night only (tret degrades in UV and increases photosensitivity)
• Currently 3x/week — Sun / Wed / Fri
• Started at 2x/week, then added nights as tolerance built
• Skip application if the tissue is red — B5+ only on those nights
Results So Far
First 2 weeks were the retinization phase — some redness and shine as the skin adjusted, plus minor dryness/peeling early on. After that adjustment period, it’s been all upside: glans is exponentially shinier and more sensitive, and the dryness/peeling completely stopped. No tearing, no burns — 0.025% a few times a week has been gentle. The dekeratinization (shine + sensitivity) is the standout effect for me.
Going Forward
Plan is to let the tissue keep adapting through month 2, gradually ramp tension intensity back up as the tissue is now structurally more robust, and reassess frequency. Once fully restored and the inner skin is protected, natural dekeratinization takes over and I can taper off tret entirely — it’s a tool for the active phase, not forever.