Before birth, the penis develops with loose skin covering the head of the penis (the glans), called the foreskin. The foreskin is the skin and tissue that cover the head of a soft (flaccid) penis. The foreskin pulls back when the penis is hard (erect). Circumcision is when the foreskin has been removed, usually shortly after birth. It’s often done by a doctor or trained religious person. Some people are circumcised and some are not. It is not usually medically necessary, but can be a part of a person’s faith or culture. A circumcised penis looks different from an uncircumcised penis because there’s no foreskin covering the end, but both work the same way. People who aren’t circumcised gently pull back the foreskin and wash around the head of the penis every day.