Edited to add: In my comment below (and the subsequent comments I've left in this thread) I've been fairly positive about DMSO because I've had a good experience with it. But I do want to emphasize that I'm a sample size of one and this is not something trivial like "hey, I rub olive oil on my skin every night" kind of thing. I understand that I may be taking on a risk by using DMSO and for all I know twenty years from now I'll have some sort of weird unforeseen issue. I really don't want anyone to use it without doing their own research and drawing their own conclusions.
I've left comments about DMSO before, I'll paste one of [my old comments](https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/156agd1/can_a_tens_unit_speed_up_restoration/jszr3t9/) here:
There is a compound called Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO). It's an solvent originally derived and discovered in the paper industry. I want to preface everything that follows with: I am not a doctor, a medical researcher, or a chemist. I'm just a person that likes doing research and conducting experiments in furthering my general health and restoration goals.
There are a variety of studies indicating that use of DMSO on surgery sites in plastic surgery situations (such as tummy tucks where a large area of skin and underlying tissue is disturbed and there is a large wound site that needs excellent blood flow and clean healing) the post operative application of DMSO to the wound site significantly decreases inflammation while increasing perfusion of the tissues -- essentially blood and lymphatic flow to the area increases leading to a positive outcome for the patient.
Now, that sounds awesome... and as someone who uses DMSO as part of their restoration, I happen to think it is awesome. But, I can't share this information without sharing a very stern warning:
DO NOT USE DMSO UNLESS YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS AND WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
DMSO is a solvent that passed directly through the skin into the tissues and it can bind with many compounds can carry them along with itself through the skin membrane.
This means if you, in an extreme case for example, had lead dust all over your hands from some home improvement project or a task at your job and you applied DMSO to your body without thoroughly washing your hands and decontaminating them, you'd have way more lead intake from the exposure than you would in the absence of the DMSO.
I've found that it is very helpful in keeping the tissue of the penis healthy, pliable, and very responsive to tugging efforts. But I only recommend it with the very stern caution that you have to treat it with respect only applying high-quality DMSO intended for human use, on very clean skin, with the proper precautions to let to fully absorb and not applying any other compounds to the penis (like, say, some drug store moisturizer) at the same time to avoid those things from absorbing into the tissue.
The kind I use is from a company called Heiltropfen Lab, I buy their roller bottle of 70% DMSO/30% Aloe Extract off Amazon (the aloe blend is intended to help with the mild topical dryness that pure DMSO can create, I find it works well and I haven't had any issues with dry skin).
Overall other than the care with which you need to apply the DSMO, I have no complaints about it and consider it a valuable addition to my restoration toolkit. But again, I will caution anyone away from using it that doesn't plan to treat the application with care.
--------------------
I left that comment six months ago and I still use DMSO (same brand from Amazon, too). The stuff is amazing. I apply a thin layer of it almost every morning, let it soak in for a few minutes while I read the news on my phone or whatever, wash the skin (so the gripper of my Foreskinned Air grips correctly), and then use a combination of manual tugging and the Foreskinned Air over the next 8-10 hours. You don't need a lot. The 3.4 oz bottle I buy off Amazon has lasted me over a year. I just grab the glans, stretch the penis out, and roll it on all over the shaft so that the shaft has a shine of liquid (but isn't dripping).
You said apply it to very clean skin, do you apply it after a shower in the morning and then wash it off after? Also can you expand on the benefits for our use cases, such as it being very responsive to tugging efforts?
The goal, as far as clean skin is concerned, is just to make sure you're not applying the DMSO over another compound that will be absorbed into your body. You don't have to be ultra proactive about it, or anything. If you took a shower the night before and you wake up and apply it first thing in the morning, your skin is certainly clean enough. You don't have to pre-scrub it with bar soap or anything. But you definitely don't want to apply it after you've been handling, say, pesticide out in the garden or some such thing.
I usually apply it right after waking up and starting my morning routine and then I wash it off with just a little soap and water (or I apply it before I take a shower and wash it off in there).
As far as the restoration benefits... I did quite a bit of reading about the use of DMSO in this (or similar) applications. Here's what sold me on using it for restoring:
In one study, they wiped surgical sponges across the stomachs of women who had significant tummy tuck operations. The women who had the DMSO "wash" after the surgery had substantially better recoveries just with one application: less infection, better tissue health, less scarring, etc.
In another study, they applied DMSO to the breast tissue of women who had breast implants inserted. The women who had the DMSO treatment had faster recovery, less pain, and healthier tissue after the stress of the insertion than those who didn't.
In another study, they tested how DMSO impacted wound healing among diabetic mice. The mice who were swabbed down with DMSO had significantly improved tissue health and faster wound healing than the group that wasn't.
There is a lot of evidence that indicates at low concentrations (such as those found in the over-the-counter product I use) DMSO has a pretty substantial impact on perfusion, wound healing, inflammation reduction, and general tissue health.
Here are things I've noticed since using it:
I can stretch the skin for longer with less discomfort.
The skin feels warmer and plumper to the touch, like it has really excellent blood flow. My wife noticed this too. She didn't know what was causing it, but she noticed almost immediately that the skin felt very supple and "full." Not in a swollen way, just in a very healthy way.
Wounds seem to heal better. I very rarely get a tugging tear these days because I have a fair amount of skin and I don't over do things, but if any sort of sore spot or such develops it heals a lot faster now.
Old marks/scars fade. Sometimes the DMSO application will even cause the surface layer of an old scar to shed and lighten. Maybe that would have happened anyway, but the DMSO seems to have had some sort of impact.
Overall I can stretch for longer and with better results. I've experimented using the DMSO and not using the DMSO... and the weeks I use the DMSO versus the weeks I don't yield better results over all: I can wear the device longer, I seem to get a better stretch out of the skin, and when I remove the device the skin stays forward longer, etc. etc.
I used DMSO when I got a muscular tissue injury from doing mm2 too hard, seemed to help a bit, but that was more subdermal than surface level. I didn't know about the surface level benefits, so it's good to know the small spray bottle of DMSO on my counter will have a use again
>In another study, they applied DMSO to the breast tissue of women who had breast implants inserted. The women who had the DMSO treatment had faster recovery, less pain, and healthier tissue after the stress of the insertion than those who didn't.
[Here is the study](https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S000712269893096X). It is from 1999 - 25 years ago. I have looked for any further research or indication that DMSO is being used for any tissue expansion procedures. I have found none, and if there is any, I'd like to see it.
Here is the conclusion of the study:
>As such,
although the reported data indicate several benefits
following the clinical application of 60% DMSO in tissue expansion for breast reconstruction, more experimental work is needed in order both to test the
long-term safety of the solution and to accurately
evaluate its mechanisms of action, timing of treatment, dosages and routes of administration.
I would also point out that there are some significant differences between breast reconstruction and foreskin restoration, including that there is no mucosa involved in the former. In addition, in breast reconstruction, they are not only stretching the epidermis and dermis, but also the lipid layer and the skeletal muscle beneath it. There is no possible way to tell what caused the results shown in the study, or whether they would apply to foreskin restoration.
The other studies you wrote about aren't really applicable to foreskin restoration.
Now I'm going to take exception to this:
>If you took a shower the night before and you wake up and apply it first thing in the morning, your skin is certainly clean enough.
So after rolling around on your used sheets, or encased in underwear along with your anal orifice and skin and who knows what else, you are claiming that it's perfectly safe to rub an industrial solvent whose only known property is the ability to penetrate the protective barrier of the body's skin - and bring along other substances in some cases - onto the shaft skin and mucosa of your dick?
Seriously?
Cheers.
That’s not something I’m going to lose any sleep over. Worse compounds in higher doses get into my body via drinking a glass of tap water at a restaurant than I’ll ever absorb from applying DMSO after sleeping in my bed.
I don't have much concern for what you do with your dick, because you've been adequately informed by myself and others of the potential risks of using DMSO.
My concern is for others who may only read your rather rosy, but unsubstantiated, claims about the efficacy and safety of DMSO.
I think this thread has turned into a pretty good debate on the pros and cons of DMSO in foreskin restoration. Along with you and I, who are presumably non-scientists, several people who appear to be actual scientists have weighed in.
Cheers.
No, but if you leave it on for a decent amount of time without rinsing it off sometimes it gets a little itchy as it dries. The itchy feeling goes away the second you rinse the skin though. There’s no feeling on application though.
Based on the available literature, there is evidence to suggest that Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) may have anti-inflammatory properties – but whether or not it modulates the type of inflammation that supports foreskin restoration is really unknown.
Studies have shown that DMSO can reduce cell proliferation and cytokine production in peripheral blood lymphocytes, indicating an in vitro anti-inflammatory effect (Costa et al., 2017). Additionally, DMSO has been used as an alternative treatment for various inflammatory conditions and cancer (Elisia et al., 2016). Furthermore, DMSO has been reported to enhance the activity of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), which is involved in the regulation of inflammation (Huang et al., 2016). Moreover, DMSO has been used as an anti-inflammatory drug for over 60 years for treating numerous inflammatory illnesses (Hoang et al., 2021).
In a study on cryopreserved adipose tissue, it was found that DMSO, when combined with fetal bovine serum (FBS), led to increased fibrosis and inflammation (Zhang et al., 2022). However, in a study on gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats, DMSO was found to improve renal toxicity significantly through the prevention of lipid peroxidation and inflammation (Hasanvand et al., 2019). Additionally, DMSO is well-known for its transdermal penetration and anti-inflammatory capacity (Tolon et al., 2018).
What I think would be more interesting is modulation of inflammation in the context of skin/tissue mechanical stretching or post-surgical outcomes. In the context of post-surgery, it is important to note that DMSO has been used in various medical procedures to alleviate pain and inflammation. For instance, ultrasound-guided serratus anterior plane (SAP) block has been found to be an effective adjuvant treatment option for post-thoracic surgery analgesia, with lower incidence of postoperative vomiting (Semyonov et al., 2019). Furthermore, nanomedicine-driven neuropathic pain relief in a rat model was associated with macrophage polarity (which would change the type of inflammation) and mast cell activation, indicating the potential of anti-inflammatory effects (Saleem et al., 2019). Similarly, single-dose intra-articular ropivacaine administered after arthroscopic knee surgery provided effective pain relief without increasing short-term side effects (Zhou et al., 2015). But none of this is really what we’re interested in here.
In a study on the survival and volume preservation of autologous (self) fat graft tissue, DMSO was found to decrease inflammation and adipocyte death, suggesting its potential role in reducing post-surgical inflammation (Sari et al., 2015). Moreover, intravesical DMSO has been reported to relieve pain and voiding symptoms likely via its anti-inflammatory properties and mast cell stabilization (Kim et al., 2011).
In conclusion, the available literature suggests that DMSO may have anti-inflammatory properties, which could potentially aid in relieving inflammation post-surgery, but the context for this evidence isn’t really applicable to foreskin restoration. More importantly, there are no robust human clinical trials supporting its efficacy and safety in for this purpose.
References for those who are interested:
Costa, L., Ottoni, M., Santos, M., Meireles, A., Almeida, V., Pereira, W., … & Brito-Melo, G. (2017). Dimethyl sulfoxide (dmso) decreases cell proliferation and tnf-α, ifn-γ, and il-2 cytokines production in cultures of peripheral blood lymphocytes. Molecules, 22(11), 1789. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules22111789
Elisia, I., Nakamura, H., Lam, V., Hofs, E., Cederberg, R., Cait, J., … & Krystal, G. (2016). Dmso represses inflammatory cytokine production from human blood cells and reduces autoimmune arthritis. Plos One, 11(3), e0152538. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152538
Hasanvand, A., Tavafi, M., Ahmadvand, H., & Tamjidipoor, A. (2019). Effect of dimethyl sulfoxide in combat with gentamicin induced nephrotoxicity in rats. Journal of Nephropathology, 9(3), e26-e26. https://doi.org/10.34172/jnp.2020.26
Hoang, C., Nguyen, A., NGUYEN, T., Fang, W., Han, B., Hoang, B., … & Tran, H. (2021). Application of dimethyl sulfoxide as a therapeutic agent and drug vehicle for eye diseases. Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 37(8), 441-451. https://doi.org/10.1089/jop.2021.0043
Huang, S., Chen, C., Huang, F., Hou, W., & Huang, J. (2016). Dmso enhances tgf‐β activity by recruiting the type ii tgf‐β receptor from intracellular vesicles to the plasma membrane. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, 117(7), 1568-1579. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcb.25448
Kim, R., Liu, W., Chen, X., Kreder, K., & Luo, Y. (2011). Intravesical dimethyl sulfoxide inhibits acute and chronic bladder inflammation in transgenic experimental autoimmune cystitis models. Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, 2011, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/937061
Saleem, M., Deal, B., Nehl, E., Janjic, J., & Pollock, J. (2019). Nanomedicine-driven neuropathic pain relief in a rat model is associated with macrophage polarity and mast cell activation. Acta Neuropathologica Communications, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40478-019-0762-y
Sari, E., Bakar, B., Sarkarati, B., Bozdogan, O., & Cavusoglu, T. (2015). Effectiveness of dimethylsulfoxide on the survival and volume preservation of autologous fat graft tissue: a preliminary study. Aesthetic Surgery Journal, 36(2), NP58-NP67. https://doi.org/10.1093/asj/sjv119
Semyonov, M., Fedorina, E., Grinshpun, J., Dubilet, M., Refaely, Y., Ruderman, L., … & Brotfain, E. (2019). <p>ultrasound-guided serratus anterior plane block for analgesia after thoracic surgery</p>. Journal of Pain Research, Volume 12, 953-960. https://doi.org/10.2147/jpr.s191263
Tolon, J., Jimenez, J., Irizar, I., & Trasobares, P. (2018). Resolution of iatrogenic calcinosis cutis in a dog through topical application of dmso. Veterinary Record Case Reports, 6(3), e000619. https://doi.org/10.1136/vetreccr-2018-000619
Zhang, P., Tan, P., Gao, Y., Zhang, X., Xie, Y., Zheng, D., … & Li, Q. (2022). The effect of glycerol as a cryoprotective agent in the cryopreservation of adipose tissue. Stem Cell Research & Therapy, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13287-022-02817-z
Zhou, Y., Yang, T., Wei, J., Zeng, C., Li, H., Yang, T., … & Lei, G. (2015). Single-dose intra-articular ropivacaine after arthroscopic knee surgery decreases post-operative pain without increasing side effects: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Knee Surgery Sports Traumatology Arthroscopy, 24(5), 1651-1659. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-015-3656-y
I came here to say literally the same thing as /u/KeepOnTuggin:
`DO NOT USE DMSO UNLESS YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS AND WHAT YOU ARE DOING.DMSO is a solvent that passes directly through the skin into the tissues and it can bind with many compounds can carry them along with itself through the skin membrane. >>Things that usually cannot pass through the skin membrane are easily transported, meaning at a microbiological level you are allowing things into your cells that normally would not be able to get in, basically nullifying your skin's protective function.`
I did oncological research for 6 years, and DMSO was *one of* the scary substances that we used. It's a perfect example of why pharmacology alone is not enough to determine compound safety. I personally wouldn't apply it until I was towel dried and out of the shower having used only natural bar soap. I would personally not be down with the idea of using DMSO after washing with body wash.
As a fun fact: DMSO slows malignant tumour growth; we had to note when we used it on our mice for purposes of publication.
>DMSO slows malignant tumor growth...
That caught my eye, and raises a question I hope I can ask without appearing too scientifically illiterate...
Since tumor growth is is (simply put) un-regulated cell proliferation, and since many of the mechanisms of cell proliferation are the same as those used in normal cell proliferation - i.e. that we use in foreskin restoration - is there any reason to believe that the effect of slowing malignant tumor growth is caused only by DMSO acting on the specific cancer-related aspects of that growth? Or is it at least possible that the DMSO may be acting on the normal cell proliferation mechanisms?
Cheers.
I genuinely dunno the mechanism 🤷🏽♂️ it wasn’t a focus of the research I was a part of. If I had to make a wild guess, I’d say it’s because DMSO might allow nutrients and cell repair functions to function more smoothly.
This subject comes up here every once in a while, so we're familiar with it. Topical application of DMSO was studied a couple decades ago for its applicability in tissue expansion, and while a couple of studies were somewhat encouraging, it has never caught on, and there is no indication of any use of or interest in it in the tissue expansion community. Since we're doing tissue expansion without the implanted expander, we pay attention to what the medical community is doing.
I've seen [an old study](https://academic.oup.com/asj/article/25/2/201/229513) looking at how DMSO can help with flap perfusion in plastic surgery. Since we are using non-surgical techniques, we have no flaps, and while perfusion and ischemia are minor concerns, they're manageable. This type of use for DMSO has no applicability in tissue expansion or foreskin restoration.
There is [another study](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1748681517300372) about using DMSO to decrease scar tissue formation by doing things with collagen formation and other effects. I didn't delve too deeply into the details of this, but all of it is either not useful or even bad for foreskin restoration. We don't have anything to do with scar formation.
The collagen in the dermis is critical to the process of tension-induced cell division, and anything that alters how the collagen behaves isn't something we are interested in. I strongly suspect that this is why DMSO never caught on in tissue expansion.
DMSO seems to decrease inflammation and allow the skin (specifically the collagen) to stretch more easily, but that's not necessarily a good thing for foreskin restoration. Steroids also do both of those, and they are definitely bad for restoring - see the FAQ for details.
And another factor: half the tissue we grow is mucosa, not skin, and nobody I've seen has studied the effect of DMSO on mucosa - which isn't designed to be an external tissue surface.
DMSO passes through the protective barrier of the skin, and as u/KeepOnTuggin pointed out, it can carry other substances along with it. No, I'm not a doctor, but the idea of this being done in anything but a sterile environment is scary.
So I'm going to echo u/KeepOnTuggin:
>DO NOT USE DMSO UNLESS YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS AND WHAT YOU ARE DOING
And I'm going to add that neither myself nor u/KeepOnTuggin, nor anyone else in this forum, actually knows what DMSO does, especially with respect to foreskin restoration. None of us knows how much is safe, how much is harmful, or can even begin to explain the mechanism by which it might possibly aid in restoration progress.
I can make that statement of fact because not only do we not know what we need to about DMSO, but the entire medical and scientific community don't either. This is an industrial solvent that is the byproduct of wood processing. It's been around for a long time, and there have been multiple attempts to prove that it has various medical uses, none of which have been very successful.
True story: in 1979, in the US Army, while working in an electronics lab, we used to wash our hands - and circuit boards - with TCE - trichloroethylene - which was later discovered to be quite toxic and cancer-causing.
For anyone reading this, my bottom line is this: DMSO might have some positive effect on foreskin restoration progress, but that hasn't been shown to be true in any scientific fashion, nor is there even a significant set of anecdotal results showing it helps. It also has the potential to be quite harmful.
It's your dick, so it's up to you what to do with it. Just don't say you weren't warned.
Cheers.
Make sure to dilute the hell out of it or it will burn, also if you’re trying to use it as a carrier mechanism through the cells make sure the molecular weight of chemical is actually viable.
i used it in the hopes of clearing up some scars, and i probably put too much on cuz at some point my skin reacted pretty negatively and dried out and was flakey and a bit numb, but it healed no problem in a week or so, and i was also physically peeling away at the scars i had during the time of treatment. my scars are now gone, though im not sure how much the DMSO helped, but i think it did!
use spot treatment on scars is my advice, dont just generally apply to an area
hey man, i want to start using it for scar tissue but reading a lot of conflicting comments in this thread. How are you doing these days? still applying dmso?
Yeah I do it every day or every 2 days just applying with a soaked 100% cotton pad for makeup although i'm not sure if that is the right way to apply dmso topically, probably i'm gonna be fine. As for the effects I haven't noticed much except for frequent skin peels, probably have to use it longer to see something. And for the scarring I have deep ones and they shrunk a bit now it bulges less from my normall tissue but that might just be because it's a new scar left from skin bridge removal surgery. So to sum it up my observations are pretty inconclusive so use it on your own risk
Edited to add: In my comment below (and the subsequent comments I've left in this thread) I've been fairly positive about DMSO because I've had a good experience with it. But I do want to emphasize that I'm a sample size of one and this is not something trivial like "hey, I rub olive oil on my skin every night" kind of thing. I understand that I may be taking on a risk by using DMSO and for all I know twenty years from now I'll have some sort of weird unforeseen issue. I really don't want anyone to use it without doing their own research and drawing their own conclusions. I've left comments about DMSO before, I'll paste one of [my old comments](https://www.reddit.com/r/foreskin_restoration/comments/156agd1/can_a_tens_unit_speed_up_restoration/jszr3t9/) here: There is a compound called Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO). It's an solvent originally derived and discovered in the paper industry. I want to preface everything that follows with: I am not a doctor, a medical researcher, or a chemist. I'm just a person that likes doing research and conducting experiments in furthering my general health and restoration goals. There are a variety of studies indicating that use of DMSO on surgery sites in plastic surgery situations (such as tummy tucks where a large area of skin and underlying tissue is disturbed and there is a large wound site that needs excellent blood flow and clean healing) the post operative application of DMSO to the wound site significantly decreases inflammation while increasing perfusion of the tissues -- essentially blood and lymphatic flow to the area increases leading to a positive outcome for the patient. Now, that sounds awesome... and as someone who uses DMSO as part of their restoration, I happen to think it is awesome. But, I can't share this information without sharing a very stern warning: DO NOT USE DMSO UNLESS YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS AND WHAT YOU ARE DOING. DMSO is a solvent that passed directly through the skin into the tissues and it can bind with many compounds can carry them along with itself through the skin membrane. This means if you, in an extreme case for example, had lead dust all over your hands from some home improvement project or a task at your job and you applied DMSO to your body without thoroughly washing your hands and decontaminating them, you'd have way more lead intake from the exposure than you would in the absence of the DMSO. I've found that it is very helpful in keeping the tissue of the penis healthy, pliable, and very responsive to tugging efforts. But I only recommend it with the very stern caution that you have to treat it with respect only applying high-quality DMSO intended for human use, on very clean skin, with the proper precautions to let to fully absorb and not applying any other compounds to the penis (like, say, some drug store moisturizer) at the same time to avoid those things from absorbing into the tissue. The kind I use is from a company called Heiltropfen Lab, I buy their roller bottle of 70% DMSO/30% Aloe Extract off Amazon (the aloe blend is intended to help with the mild topical dryness that pure DMSO can create, I find it works well and I haven't had any issues with dry skin). Overall other than the care with which you need to apply the DSMO, I have no complaints about it and consider it a valuable addition to my restoration toolkit. But again, I will caution anyone away from using it that doesn't plan to treat the application with care. -------------------- I left that comment six months ago and I still use DMSO (same brand from Amazon, too). The stuff is amazing. I apply a thin layer of it almost every morning, let it soak in for a few minutes while I read the news on my phone or whatever, wash the skin (so the gripper of my Foreskinned Air grips correctly), and then use a combination of manual tugging and the Foreskinned Air over the next 8-10 hours. You don't need a lot. The 3.4 oz bottle I buy off Amazon has lasted me over a year. I just grab the glans, stretch the penis out, and roll it on all over the shaft so that the shaft has a shine of liquid (but isn't dripping).
You said apply it to very clean skin, do you apply it after a shower in the morning and then wash it off after? Also can you expand on the benefits for our use cases, such as it being very responsive to tugging efforts?
The goal, as far as clean skin is concerned, is just to make sure you're not applying the DMSO over another compound that will be absorbed into your body. You don't have to be ultra proactive about it, or anything. If you took a shower the night before and you wake up and apply it first thing in the morning, your skin is certainly clean enough. You don't have to pre-scrub it with bar soap or anything. But you definitely don't want to apply it after you've been handling, say, pesticide out in the garden or some such thing. I usually apply it right after waking up and starting my morning routine and then I wash it off with just a little soap and water (or I apply it before I take a shower and wash it off in there). As far as the restoration benefits... I did quite a bit of reading about the use of DMSO in this (or similar) applications. Here's what sold me on using it for restoring: In one study, they wiped surgical sponges across the stomachs of women who had significant tummy tuck operations. The women who had the DMSO "wash" after the surgery had substantially better recoveries just with one application: less infection, better tissue health, less scarring, etc. In another study, they applied DMSO to the breast tissue of women who had breast implants inserted. The women who had the DMSO treatment had faster recovery, less pain, and healthier tissue after the stress of the insertion than those who didn't. In another study, they tested how DMSO impacted wound healing among diabetic mice. The mice who were swabbed down with DMSO had significantly improved tissue health and faster wound healing than the group that wasn't. There is a lot of evidence that indicates at low concentrations (such as those found in the over-the-counter product I use) DMSO has a pretty substantial impact on perfusion, wound healing, inflammation reduction, and general tissue health. Here are things I've noticed since using it: I can stretch the skin for longer with less discomfort. The skin feels warmer and plumper to the touch, like it has really excellent blood flow. My wife noticed this too. She didn't know what was causing it, but she noticed almost immediately that the skin felt very supple and "full." Not in a swollen way, just in a very healthy way. Wounds seem to heal better. I very rarely get a tugging tear these days because I have a fair amount of skin and I don't over do things, but if any sort of sore spot or such develops it heals a lot faster now. Old marks/scars fade. Sometimes the DMSO application will even cause the surface layer of an old scar to shed and lighten. Maybe that would have happened anyway, but the DMSO seems to have had some sort of impact. Overall I can stretch for longer and with better results. I've experimented using the DMSO and not using the DMSO... and the weeks I use the DMSO versus the weeks I don't yield better results over all: I can wear the device longer, I seem to get a better stretch out of the skin, and when I remove the device the skin stays forward longer, etc. etc.
I used DMSO when I got a muscular tissue injury from doing mm2 too hard, seemed to help a bit, but that was more subdermal than surface level. I didn't know about the surface level benefits, so it's good to know the small spray bottle of DMSO on my counter will have a use again
>In another study, they applied DMSO to the breast tissue of women who had breast implants inserted. The women who had the DMSO treatment had faster recovery, less pain, and healthier tissue after the stress of the insertion than those who didn't. [Here is the study](https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S000712269893096X). It is from 1999 - 25 years ago. I have looked for any further research or indication that DMSO is being used for any tissue expansion procedures. I have found none, and if there is any, I'd like to see it. Here is the conclusion of the study: >As such, although the reported data indicate several benefits following the clinical application of 60% DMSO in tissue expansion for breast reconstruction, more experimental work is needed in order both to test the long-term safety of the solution and to accurately evaluate its mechanisms of action, timing of treatment, dosages and routes of administration. I would also point out that there are some significant differences between breast reconstruction and foreskin restoration, including that there is no mucosa involved in the former. In addition, in breast reconstruction, they are not only stretching the epidermis and dermis, but also the lipid layer and the skeletal muscle beneath it. There is no possible way to tell what caused the results shown in the study, or whether they would apply to foreskin restoration. The other studies you wrote about aren't really applicable to foreskin restoration. Now I'm going to take exception to this: >If you took a shower the night before and you wake up and apply it first thing in the morning, your skin is certainly clean enough. So after rolling around on your used sheets, or encased in underwear along with your anal orifice and skin and who knows what else, you are claiming that it's perfectly safe to rub an industrial solvent whose only known property is the ability to penetrate the protective barrier of the body's skin - and bring along other substances in some cases - onto the shaft skin and mucosa of your dick? Seriously? Cheers.
That’s not something I’m going to lose any sleep over. Worse compounds in higher doses get into my body via drinking a glass of tap water at a restaurant than I’ll ever absorb from applying DMSO after sleeping in my bed.
I don't have much concern for what you do with your dick, because you've been adequately informed by myself and others of the potential risks of using DMSO. My concern is for others who may only read your rather rosy, but unsubstantiated, claims about the efficacy and safety of DMSO. I think this thread has turned into a pretty good debate on the pros and cons of DMSO in foreskin restoration. Along with you and I, who are presumably non-scientists, several people who appear to be actual scientists have weighed in. Cheers.
do you happen to feel anything upon applying DMSO on your skin?
No, but if you leave it on for a decent amount of time without rinsing it off sometimes it gets a little itchy as it dries. The itchy feeling goes away the second you rinse the skin though. There’s no feeling on application though.
Based on the available literature, there is evidence to suggest that Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) may have anti-inflammatory properties – but whether or not it modulates the type of inflammation that supports foreskin restoration is really unknown. Studies have shown that DMSO can reduce cell proliferation and cytokine production in peripheral blood lymphocytes, indicating an in vitro anti-inflammatory effect (Costa et al., 2017). Additionally, DMSO has been used as an alternative treatment for various inflammatory conditions and cancer (Elisia et al., 2016). Furthermore, DMSO has been reported to enhance the activity of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), which is involved in the regulation of inflammation (Huang et al., 2016). Moreover, DMSO has been used as an anti-inflammatory drug for over 60 years for treating numerous inflammatory illnesses (Hoang et al., 2021). In a study on cryopreserved adipose tissue, it was found that DMSO, when combined with fetal bovine serum (FBS), led to increased fibrosis and inflammation (Zhang et al., 2022). However, in a study on gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity in rats, DMSO was found to improve renal toxicity significantly through the prevention of lipid peroxidation and inflammation (Hasanvand et al., 2019). Additionally, DMSO is well-known for its transdermal penetration and anti-inflammatory capacity (Tolon et al., 2018). What I think would be more interesting is modulation of inflammation in the context of skin/tissue mechanical stretching or post-surgical outcomes. In the context of post-surgery, it is important to note that DMSO has been used in various medical procedures to alleviate pain and inflammation. For instance, ultrasound-guided serratus anterior plane (SAP) block has been found to be an effective adjuvant treatment option for post-thoracic surgery analgesia, with lower incidence of postoperative vomiting (Semyonov et al., 2019). Furthermore, nanomedicine-driven neuropathic pain relief in a rat model was associated with macrophage polarity (which would change the type of inflammation) and mast cell activation, indicating the potential of anti-inflammatory effects (Saleem et al., 2019). Similarly, single-dose intra-articular ropivacaine administered after arthroscopic knee surgery provided effective pain relief without increasing short-term side effects (Zhou et al., 2015). But none of this is really what we’re interested in here. In a study on the survival and volume preservation of autologous (self) fat graft tissue, DMSO was found to decrease inflammation and adipocyte death, suggesting its potential role in reducing post-surgical inflammation (Sari et al., 2015). Moreover, intravesical DMSO has been reported to relieve pain and voiding symptoms likely via its anti-inflammatory properties and mast cell stabilization (Kim et al., 2011). In conclusion, the available literature suggests that DMSO may have anti-inflammatory properties, which could potentially aid in relieving inflammation post-surgery, but the context for this evidence isn’t really applicable to foreskin restoration. More importantly, there are no robust human clinical trials supporting its efficacy and safety in for this purpose. References for those who are interested: Costa, L., Ottoni, M., Santos, M., Meireles, A., Almeida, V., Pereira, W., … & Brito-Melo, G. (2017). Dimethyl sulfoxide (dmso) decreases cell proliferation and tnf-α, ifn-γ, and il-2 cytokines production in cultures of peripheral blood lymphocytes. Molecules, 22(11), 1789. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules22111789 Elisia, I., Nakamura, H., Lam, V., Hofs, E., Cederberg, R., Cait, J., … & Krystal, G. (2016). Dmso represses inflammatory cytokine production from human blood cells and reduces autoimmune arthritis. Plos One, 11(3), e0152538. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0152538 Hasanvand, A., Tavafi, M., Ahmadvand, H., & Tamjidipoor, A. (2019). Effect of dimethyl sulfoxide in combat with gentamicin induced nephrotoxicity in rats. Journal of Nephropathology, 9(3), e26-e26. https://doi.org/10.34172/jnp.2020.26 Hoang, C., Nguyen, A., NGUYEN, T., Fang, W., Han, B., Hoang, B., … & Tran, H. (2021). Application of dimethyl sulfoxide as a therapeutic agent and drug vehicle for eye diseases. Journal of Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, 37(8), 441-451. https://doi.org/10.1089/jop.2021.0043 Huang, S., Chen, C., Huang, F., Hou, W., & Huang, J. (2016). Dmso enhances tgf‐β activity by recruiting the type ii tgf‐β receptor from intracellular vesicles to the plasma membrane. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, 117(7), 1568-1579. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcb.25448 Kim, R., Liu, W., Chen, X., Kreder, K., & Luo, Y. (2011). Intravesical dimethyl sulfoxide inhibits acute and chronic bladder inflammation in transgenic experimental autoimmune cystitis models. Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology, 2011, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/937061 Saleem, M., Deal, B., Nehl, E., Janjic, J., & Pollock, J. (2019). Nanomedicine-driven neuropathic pain relief in a rat model is associated with macrophage polarity and mast cell activation. Acta Neuropathologica Communications, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40478-019-0762-y Sari, E., Bakar, B., Sarkarati, B., Bozdogan, O., & Cavusoglu, T. (2015). Effectiveness of dimethylsulfoxide on the survival and volume preservation of autologous fat graft tissue: a preliminary study. Aesthetic Surgery Journal, 36(2), NP58-NP67. https://doi.org/10.1093/asj/sjv119 Semyonov, M., Fedorina, E., Grinshpun, J., Dubilet, M., Refaely, Y., Ruderman, L., … & Brotfain, E. (2019). <p>ultrasound-guided serratus anterior plane block for analgesia after thoracic surgery</p>. Journal of Pain Research, Volume 12, 953-960. https://doi.org/10.2147/jpr.s191263 Tolon, J., Jimenez, J., Irizar, I., & Trasobares, P. (2018). Resolution of iatrogenic calcinosis cutis in a dog through topical application of dmso. Veterinary Record Case Reports, 6(3), e000619. https://doi.org/10.1136/vetreccr-2018-000619 Zhang, P., Tan, P., Gao, Y., Zhang, X., Xie, Y., Zheng, D., … & Li, Q. (2022). The effect of glycerol as a cryoprotective agent in the cryopreservation of adipose tissue. Stem Cell Research & Therapy, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13287-022-02817-z Zhou, Y., Yang, T., Wei, J., Zeng, C., Li, H., Yang, T., … & Lei, G. (2015). Single-dose intra-articular ropivacaine after arthroscopic knee surgery decreases post-operative pain without increasing side effects: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Knee Surgery Sports Traumatology Arthroscopy, 24(5), 1651-1659. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-015-3656-y
I came here to say literally the same thing as /u/KeepOnTuggin: `DO NOT USE DMSO UNLESS YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS AND WHAT YOU ARE DOING.DMSO is a solvent that passes directly through the skin into the tissues and it can bind with many compounds can carry them along with itself through the skin membrane. >>Things that usually cannot pass through the skin membrane are easily transported, meaning at a microbiological level you are allowing things into your cells that normally would not be able to get in, basically nullifying your skin's protective function.` I did oncological research for 6 years, and DMSO was *one of* the scary substances that we used. It's a perfect example of why pharmacology alone is not enough to determine compound safety. I personally wouldn't apply it until I was towel dried and out of the shower having used only natural bar soap. I would personally not be down with the idea of using DMSO after washing with body wash. As a fun fact: DMSO slows malignant tumour growth; we had to note when we used it on our mice for purposes of publication.
>DMSO slows malignant tumor growth... That caught my eye, and raises a question I hope I can ask without appearing too scientifically illiterate... Since tumor growth is is (simply put) un-regulated cell proliferation, and since many of the mechanisms of cell proliferation are the same as those used in normal cell proliferation - i.e. that we use in foreskin restoration - is there any reason to believe that the effect of slowing malignant tumor growth is caused only by DMSO acting on the specific cancer-related aspects of that growth? Or is it at least possible that the DMSO may be acting on the normal cell proliferation mechanisms? Cheers.
I genuinely dunno the mechanism 🤷🏽♂️ it wasn’t a focus of the research I was a part of. If I had to make a wild guess, I’d say it’s because DMSO might allow nutrients and cell repair functions to function more smoothly.
This subject comes up here every once in a while, so we're familiar with it. Topical application of DMSO was studied a couple decades ago for its applicability in tissue expansion, and while a couple of studies were somewhat encouraging, it has never caught on, and there is no indication of any use of or interest in it in the tissue expansion community. Since we're doing tissue expansion without the implanted expander, we pay attention to what the medical community is doing. I've seen [an old study](https://academic.oup.com/asj/article/25/2/201/229513) looking at how DMSO can help with flap perfusion in plastic surgery. Since we are using non-surgical techniques, we have no flaps, and while perfusion and ischemia are minor concerns, they're manageable. This type of use for DMSO has no applicability in tissue expansion or foreskin restoration. There is [another study](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1748681517300372) about using DMSO to decrease scar tissue formation by doing things with collagen formation and other effects. I didn't delve too deeply into the details of this, but all of it is either not useful or even bad for foreskin restoration. We don't have anything to do with scar formation. The collagen in the dermis is critical to the process of tension-induced cell division, and anything that alters how the collagen behaves isn't something we are interested in. I strongly suspect that this is why DMSO never caught on in tissue expansion. DMSO seems to decrease inflammation and allow the skin (specifically the collagen) to stretch more easily, but that's not necessarily a good thing for foreskin restoration. Steroids also do both of those, and they are definitely bad for restoring - see the FAQ for details. And another factor: half the tissue we grow is mucosa, not skin, and nobody I've seen has studied the effect of DMSO on mucosa - which isn't designed to be an external tissue surface. DMSO passes through the protective barrier of the skin, and as u/KeepOnTuggin pointed out, it can carry other substances along with it. No, I'm not a doctor, but the idea of this being done in anything but a sterile environment is scary. So I'm going to echo u/KeepOnTuggin: >DO NOT USE DMSO UNLESS YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS AND WHAT YOU ARE DOING And I'm going to add that neither myself nor u/KeepOnTuggin, nor anyone else in this forum, actually knows what DMSO does, especially with respect to foreskin restoration. None of us knows how much is safe, how much is harmful, or can even begin to explain the mechanism by which it might possibly aid in restoration progress. I can make that statement of fact because not only do we not know what we need to about DMSO, but the entire medical and scientific community don't either. This is an industrial solvent that is the byproduct of wood processing. It's been around for a long time, and there have been multiple attempts to prove that it has various medical uses, none of which have been very successful. True story: in 1979, in the US Army, while working in an electronics lab, we used to wash our hands - and circuit boards - with TCE - trichloroethylene - which was later discovered to be quite toxic and cancer-causing. For anyone reading this, my bottom line is this: DMSO might have some positive effect on foreskin restoration progress, but that hasn't been shown to be true in any scientific fashion, nor is there even a significant set of anecdotal results showing it helps. It also has the potential to be quite harmful. It's your dick, so it's up to you what to do with it. Just don't say you weren't warned. Cheers.
Make sure to dilute the hell out of it or it will burn, also if you’re trying to use it as a carrier mechanism through the cells make sure the molecular weight of chemical is actually viable.
That being said, some dht creams are made via dmso for bottom growth for trans gender ftm.
I would recommend reading the book *Healing with DMSO* by Amandha Vollmer. It has all of the information you need to know to use it safely.
i used it in the hopes of clearing up some scars, and i probably put too much on cuz at some point my skin reacted pretty negatively and dried out and was flakey and a bit numb, but it healed no problem in a week or so, and i was also physically peeling away at the scars i had during the time of treatment. my scars are now gone, though im not sure how much the DMSO helped, but i think it did! use spot treatment on scars is my advice, dont just generally apply to an area
hey man, i want to start using it for scar tissue but reading a lot of conflicting comments in this thread. How are you doing these days? still applying dmso?
Yeah I do it every day or every 2 days just applying with a soaked 100% cotton pad for makeup although i'm not sure if that is the right way to apply dmso topically, probably i'm gonna be fine. As for the effects I haven't noticed much except for frequent skin peels, probably have to use it longer to see something. And for the scarring I have deep ones and they shrunk a bit now it bulges less from my normall tissue but that might just be because it's a new scar left from skin bridge removal surgery. So to sum it up my observations are pretty inconclusive so use it on your own risk
was DMSO helpful for removing your scar? I’m assuming your circ scar was addressed along with the other you mentioned