I am 19 and never pulled my foreskin

Hello,as the title says,I am 19 and never pulled my foreskin back.The reason is that I was too afraid to do so,because I was afraid of the eventual pain that would come with it.But I’ve read somewhere that if I don’t wash my penis the smegma will become hardened and it will be harder to pull my foreskin back.So I want to ask you,how exactly I need to wash my penis without getting hurt?And I know it’s bad I never washed it at 19,but could it be some big problem for my future sexual life,etc. I tried to pull my foreskin while my penis was not erect,but this seems impossible for me,so I also want to ask you do I need to pull my foreskin only when my penis is erect,or ?