Sexual Enhancements

The Myths of Jelqing to Increase Penis Size

By Lushful Team

April 22, 2025

If you've ever looked up “how to increase penis size”, chances are you've come across jelqing—a controversial penis stretching technique. But is this penis elongation exercise safe? And more importantly—is there medical evidence proving that it works?

If you've ever looked up “how to increase penis size”, chances are you've come across jelqing—a popular but controversial penis stretching technique. Promoted online as a natural penis increase exercise, jelqing involves repeated manual strokes intended to boost both girth and length. But is this penis elongation exercise safe? And more importantly—is there medical evidence proving that jelqing works? While some claim to see jelqing results, medical experts say otherwise, with a heavy warning on the potential side effects from penis stretching. In this article, we’ll break down what jelqing is, examine the science behind it, highlight the dangers, and explore safer, medically supported alternatives for those seeking real enhancement.

What is Jelqing? 

Jelqing is a manual technique that involves repetitive stroking motions on a semi-erect penis, intended to increase length and girth. While there are no exact, scientifically proven ways to show that jelqing works, usually people will utilize an unscented lubricant such as lotion, and will wrap their index finger and thumb in a circle around the base of your penis. The pressure on your penis should be just tight enough to be felt, but should not be tight, as this can result in injuries and other jelqing side effects, as we discuss in the next paragraph. Then, you should repeatedly slide your fingers from the base of your penis to your head. The penis stretching technique involves pulling with pressure up the shaft. Proper penis elongation exercises such as the jelqing technique should be done daily, for five to twenty minutes daily.  

Are There Jelqing Side Effects?

While a penile elongation exercise such as jelqing might seem to be low effort, high reward, medical studies show that there are a few jelqing side effects which medical experts warn those curious about how jelqing can be used as an exercise to increase the size of your penis: 

  • Erectile Dysfunction: If you jelq too intensely, you might end up damaging penile tissue. A variety of issues may result in ED, either mental and physical developments. Still, jelqing can result in erectile dysfunction because healthy tissue is essential for a strong and long lasting erection. 

  • Skin Irritation: Due to the friction that occurs during penis stretching, those with sensitive skin might result in skin issues, such as redness or discomfort.

  • Scar Tissue Formation: Repeated damage to skin tissue can cause scar tissue, and can even result in Peyronie’s disease, which creates a curvature of the penis and is often accompanied by discomfort and physical pain. 

Is Jelqing Safe? 

With the risk of jelqing side effects resulting in a variety of ways you can damage your genitals and result in discomfort and erectile dysfunction, medical professionals do not recommend this penis stretching exercise. If you do wish to know how to increase your penis size using a safe and proven method, please read on to learn a safer and more reliable technique to having a girthier penis. 

It is important to listen to your body. If you feel pain at any moment during a jelqing exercise, please stop immediately, and if you continue to feel uncomfortable, even when you are not doing a penis stretching exercise, please reach out to a medical professional as soon as possible. 

Does Jelqing Increase Your Penis Size?

Despite its popularity and the myths surrounding the jelqing technique, there is currently no scientific evidence proving that jelqing can be used as reliable penis increasing exercise, and as previously mentioned, medical professionals caution that jelqing results are usually anecdotal and are not backed by any medical studies. Usually, the proper jelqing technique may result in temporary swelling, but this does not mean that any actual growth will come from said swelling. 

Safe Alternatives to Jelqing to Get a Girthier Penis 

Unlike the risky jelqing technique, penis filler treatments from Lushful Aesthetics offer a medically supervised, non-surgical way to achieve noticeable girth enhancement. While jelqing exercises are often promoted as natural penis increase exercises, they lack scientific support and come with serious risks like bruising, erectile dysfunction, and scarring (WebMD). In contrast, penis fillers use FDA-approved dermal fillers to provide almost immediate penis enlargement results with minimal downtime. If you're searching for how to increase penis size safely, fillers are a far more reliable and clinically backed solution. So, can jelqing work? Evidence says no, but medical enhancements with penis fillers can.