How Can I Make My Penis Thicker (Safely)?

Question:

I was thinking about making my penis fatter and wider with a little bit of length but I wanted to know what was the safest way to go about doing this? Is surgery a safe option?

Expert's advice:

Oh, you wonderful, wonderful men: I so wish I could Tinkerbell my way into spreading fairy dust over all of you and help you to love, own and work your penises as much as we all love them (and how they make us feel). For serious.

Women’s pleasure and orgasm are much more a function of characteristics of sex such as intimacy, the psychological experience (e.g., think: feeling in love, dirty, taboo, excited, etc) and technique than her partner’s penis size.

And from what I hear about men’s locker rooms, there’s not a whole lot of checking each other out going on.

But I know. For a whole host of personal and self-confidence reasons, many men are curious about changing the size of their penis.

Some plastic surgeons can help to lengthen the size of a man’s penis by cutting a ligament – this can help it to hang out a little further (side effect risks include the development of scar tissue which can shorten men’s erections or make for painful erections).

Thanks to injections or fat injections, men can even get a little thicker though the effect often wears way with time and some surgeons feel more evidence is needed before fat grafts for penis augmentation can be formally recommended.

Newer research in the past few years has studied devices that men wear daily underneath their clothes to gradually stretch the penis and add length and/or girth. Two devices that have been studied – and found to be effective – include the Andro-Penis and the Golden Erect. (I know . . . the names, right? So cheesy!)

I know of no evidence to suggest that there are any herbs or pills that can safely or effectively increase the length or girth of a man’s penis.

Personally, if I had a penis I would probably want to wait a while before using stretching devices or getting surgery – after all, we know that many men who think their penis is too small actually have a totally normal and average (or more) sized penis.

And maybe with time, you’ll find a partner who worships it as-is, or gain self-confidence that helps you feel more comfortable with your natural size.

Unfortunately, men are often exposed to big penises in porn which makes them think that they should be packing way more than they are. Plus, it’s your penis! So long term safety data is definitely key here, right?

Dr Debby Herbenick

IU SPH professor, sex researcher, AASECT past-president, Sex Salon founder, Kinsey Research Fellow, author of 6 books.