Alright, so basically here's the run-down. I'm uncircumcised, and I've never thought much about it most of my life until recently, when I realized that so many people in America are circumcised, as I had thought it was only a religious practice. I've been made fun of many times for not being circumcised, people saying it's gross and strange-looking to not be circumsized, but I don't really care what they think. Anyway, my foreskin and glans have slowly been splitting apart over the years, which I understand is pretty normal, and they became totally seperated about two years ago, around the time that I discovered masturbation. I should mention that I'm 13, and the thing I'm concerned about is that within those two years since I was 11 and I really started checking myself out and thinking about what it meant to have my foreskin, the sensitivity at the head of my penis has decreased significantly. It used to be that the slightest touch would be agonizing and I could feel everything ten-fold when my foreskin was back, but now it feels like the head is thick and even a little calloused and, although it's probably still the most sensitive part of my body, it doesn't feel nearly as sensitive as it used to. Is this normal? I'm just concerned that I might have hurried the process by checking myself out too much and exposing myself to air and things. I mean, all the thinking of what the other kids at school look like there and things makes me really think about it way more than I used to, and I was just thinking maybe if I lived in England or some place I wouldn't have done that so much and I'd be more sensitive. I mean, when I wash it I use hot water and sometimes the water has hit my exposed head directly (we have a powerful shower) and it hurts but it felt like it would hurt less and less every time. I have OCD, so I kind of obsess over little things like this, but I'm just really scared that maybe without all this pressure to be circumcised and all this exposure I would be more sensitive there. I mean, I'm a boy, I'm all for being tough and rugged, but that's just the one place where I'd really like to feel real well!
It sounds like your glans has developed a chitinous layer. Basically, that means that the head of your penis has developed a protective skin layer because it has been exposed to the elements more. Men who have been circumcised all have that, so it's normal. I think that if you are concerned about sensitivity then you should leave your foreskin over the head. If things start to hurt or burn or peel, of course, go see a doctor. But it sounds fully normal. Please keep us posted on your situation!
Thanks for your reply! So if I leave it undisturbed, can the chitinous layer subside? Has it become in any way permanently de-sensitised? And also, is it common for non-circumcised people to have a chitinous layer?
If you leave it undisturbed, then your glans will more than likely remoisturize and the chitinous layer will peel like a sunburn a bit. I know from friends who have done the same with their pensises that this can happen. It is unlikely that you've become permanently desensitized because you're still uncut, so your foreskin can help reveal some layers of nerves beneath. It is not common for uncircumcised people to have a layer, but don't let that worry you. IT happens to some people, as you have seen!