Melanotan II
Unlicensed; regulators in several countries have warned since 2008.
An unlicensed injection or nasal spray that darkens skin by switching on pigment cells. It also acts on receptors for appetite and sexual arousal. Regulators in several countries have warned against it for more than fifteen years. A , also called MT-II, Tanning injection and Nasal tanner.
What the evidence shows
Side effects and risks
Who should avoid it: Everyone, above all people with many moles, fair skin that burns, or a personal or family history of melanoma.
How it works
- Where it acts
- Several melanocortin receptors: MC1 in skin, and MC3 and MC4 in the brain.
- What it changes
- Darker skin, plus effects on appetite and sexual arousal.
- What people notice
- Tanning, nausea, flushing, unwanted erections, and new or darkening moles.
How it has been given
No established dose. Users inject it under the skin or use nasal sprays. No trial data support the doses sold.
Getting it in the United States
The legal route for Melanotan II
Not FDA-approved. FDA advisers have reviewed, or are due to review, whether pharmacies may compound it. Until FDA acts, there is no lawful route. Vials sold for research use are unapproved drugs when marketed for people.
Routes people use for any peptide in the United States
Telehealth prescribing
Online clinics prescribe after a questionnaire, sometimes with no live doctor visit, and mail the drug. FDA moved in February 2026 to restrict mass-marketed compounded copies and claims that they are generic equivalents.
Risk: Thin medical screening. Compounded versions are not reviewed by FDA for quality.
Covers: Approved GLP-1 drugs, compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide
Source: GZERO Media, Apr 2026
Clinical trial enrolment
The only lawful way to get an unapproved peptide drug with medical monitoring. ClinicalTrials.gov lists eligibility, sites and phone numbers. Researchers note recruitment is hard when people can buy the drug on the gray market instead of risking placebo.
Risk: Possible placebo assignment, strict eligibility and travel to a study site.
Covers: Investigational peptide drugs still in development
Source: NIH, finding a clinical trial
Routes people use for any peptide in the United States
Compounding pharmacy with prescription
A clinician prescribes and a pharmacy compounds. Twelve peptides left the FDA do-not-compound category in April 2026 and a panel backed six in July, but they are not yet formally eligible. Pharmaceutical-grade ingredient is scarce.
Risk: Legal status is unsettled until FDA rulemaking ends. Pharmacies may use research-grade ingredient.
Covers: BPC-157, TB-500, KPV, MOTS-c, Semax, Epitalon and similar
Source: Frier Levitt, Apr 2026
Med spas and weight-loss clinics
Very common. Secret shoppers called 75 clinics and med spas in two states after shortages ended. 92 percent offered compounded semaglutide and 87 percent tirzepatide, often mixed with B vitamins to look custom.
Risk: Four of 23 suppliers lacked sterile compounding licenses and four had disciplinary records.
Covers: Compounded semaglutide and tirzepatide
Source: American Med Spa Association on JAMA Health Forum study, Jul 2026
Concierge and longevity doctors
Cash-pay physicians build peptide plans for wealthy clients. Reporting from San Francisco says some source from overseas channels, domestic research-use-only sellers or the few compounding pharmacies that will supply clinicians.
Risk: A doctor's involvement does not guarantee a pharmaceutical-grade product.
Covers: BPC-157, thymosin alpha-1, Selank, Semax, CJC-1295, ipamorelin, retatrutide
Source: San Francisco Standard, Sep 2025
Cross-border purchase or import
FDA says importing drugs for personal use is illegal in most cases but it may not object to small personal quantities in limited situations. Reporting also describes people travelling to Mexico for injections.
Risk: Packages can be seized. Product origin and cold-chain handling are hard to check.
Covers: Approved prescription peptides sold abroad
Source: FDA, personal importation
Unregulated online sellers
There is no approved product. The FDA warned an online seller of injectable melanotan II in 2007 and told users to stop. Buyers cannot verify what unapproved vials or sprays contain.
Source: Drug Topics, 2007-09
Routes people use for any peptide in the United States
Research-chemical websites
Sites sell vials marked for research or not for human consumption, with no prescription. FDA says some ship direct to consumers with dosing directions, and it has sent warning letters. Retatrutide exists only through this route or trials.
Risk: Unknown identity, strength and sterility. No pharmacist or prescriber involved.
Covers: Retatrutide, semaglutide, tirzepatide, BPC-157 and most unapproved peptides
Source: FDA, unapproved GLP-1 drugs page
Direct orders from Chinese factories
Buyers message factory sales agents and pay by crypto or payment app. A minimum order of about ten vials pushes people to buy in bulk and share. A blockchain analysis found US buyers were the largest source of funds.
Risk: Many of the same vendors list fentanyl precursors. Lab reports sent by sellers cannot be verified.
Covers: GLP-1 copies, melanotan II, BPC-157, TB-500, GHK-Cu, epitalon
Source: TRM Labs, Oct 2026
Chat groups and social sellers
Dealers are found through Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord and influencer discount codes. In a May 2026 survey of 1,000 US users, 14.5 percent bought this way and three quarters asked an AI chatbot for dosing.
Risk: 45 percent of social media buyers in that survey reported an emergency or urgent care visit for a reaction.
Covers: Retatrutide and other research-use-only peptides
Source: The Ethos, May 2026
This describes what people do. It is not advice. The decision is yours.
What users report
Recurring themes in public forum posts, unverified and with no comparison group.
Reported benefits
- Deep tan with little sun
- Higher libido for some
Reported problems
- Nausea and flushing after each dose
- New freckles and darker moles
- Patchy color; unwanted erections
The mole changes people describe are the reason dermatologists warn against it.
What experts and influencers say
Recorded views, not a survey or scientific consensus. Cautions may concern misuse or unapproved products. Statements are paraphrased; check each source for context.
Supportive expert view
No sourced expert view in this category yet. See the full list for other perspectives.
Cautionary expert view
Calls the craze unfounded. He found no randomized human trial showing the advertised benefits for any of the unapproved peptides he reviewed, and warns about stacking several at once. He points to animal work in which TB-500 sped up dormant tumor growth and to a theoretical cancer concern with growth-hormone peptides and BPC-157. He treats the GLP-1 drugs as the well-studied exception.
Source: Eric Topol, "The Peptide Craze", Jul 2025, Associated Press, Nov 2025
Eric TopolWebsiteWarns against
See all views 14
Calls the craze unfounded. He found no randomized human trial showing the advertised benefits for any of the unapproved peptides he reviewed, and warns about stacking several at once. He points to animal work in which TB-500 sped up dormant tumor growth and to a theoretical cancer concern with growth-hormone peptides and BPC-157. He treats the GLP-1 drugs as the well-studied exception.
Source: Eric Topol, "The Peptide Craze", Jul 2025, Associated Press, Nov 2025
Eric TopolWebsiteWarns against
Devoted a full episode in 2024 to how these peptides are thought to work and how people use them. He presents possible benefits for healing, growth hormone, sleep and libido, and also says most of the data comes from animals, that black-market products may be contaminated, and that anyone with a tumor or cancer concern should avoid peptides that promote growth or new blood vessels.
Source: Huberman Lab episode, 1 Apr 2024
Andrew HubermanInstagramMixed view
Told a BBC investigation that tanning sprays and injections containing melanotan II, promoted by influencers, may raise the risk of skin cancer.
Source: BBC News investigation, Mar 2022
UK doctors, via the BBCSourceWarns against
Judges each peptide separately. He sees no use case for BPC-157: no human evidence, animal data mostly from one lab, and claims that keep widening. He is not a proponent of growth-hormone peptides such as CJC-1295, citing short studies and no long-term safety data. He says elamipretide makes sense only for Barth syndrome, that the risks of melanotan II probably outweigh a cosmetic tan, and that he stopped prescribing bremelanotide. He regards the GLP-1 drugs as clearly effective.
Peter AttiaInstagramMixed view
Fronted a Chartered Trading Standards Institute campaign against nasal tanning sprays. Said they are unlikely to have had any expert safety assessment and rarely carry warnings, and that nobody, influencers included, can know the risks. The institute flagged flavoured sprays, drops and gummies sold through social media.
Richard KnightSourceWarns against
Listed commonly reported effects of nasal tanning sprays as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, sexual dysfunction and anxiety. Said more serious complications such as kidney failure have been documented.
Source: STV News, 2024-09
Kaz RahmanWebsiteWarns against
Photo source: bapras.org.uk
Said melanotan sprays and injections are illegal in the UK and untested for safety, quality or effect. Advised anyone who has used them to stop and to choose fake tan or a spray tan.
Source: STV News, 2024-09
Beth VincentSourceWarns against
Issued 27 infringement notices worth about 101,000 Australian dollars to a New South Wales person over alleged unlawful supply. Lab tests on seized nasal sprays found melanotan II content varied widely from bottle to bottle.
Source: TGA, 2026
Therapeutic Goods AdministrationSourceWarns against
Warned that young people, especially women, are drawn in by influencer posts. Called melanotan unsafe and unregulated and urged people not to risk their health for a tan.
Source: Canberra Times, 2022-10
Lily BoskovskiWebsiteWarns against
Photo source: doylesguide.com
Lists melanotan II among substances nominated for pharmacy compounding and then withdrawn. Notes possible immune reactions from impurities and published case reports of serious harm including melanoma.
US Food and Drug AdministrationSourceWarns against
Fronted a college warning on injectable peptides. Said online promotion does not make a product safe, regulated or medically suitable. The college noted research peptides may never have been assessed by the MHRA.
Source: Aesthetics Journal, May 2026
Sadie Van Sanden CookeSourceWarns against
Raised concern about a possible melanoma link for tanning sprays and injections. Called them unregulated and illegal and urged people to avoid them completely.
Source: CTSI, May 2025
Susanna DanielsWebsiteWarns against
Photo source: melanomafocus.org
Backed the trading standards campaign. Said nasal tanning sprays have no place in a professional tanning salon and that access to them should be ended.
Source: CTSI, May 2025
Gary LipmanSourceWarns against
Money: Represents the sunbed industry
Told the public not to inject peptides bought online. Said unauthorized products are illegal, unproven and may cause organ damage, clots or tumour growth. A research-use-only label does not make them legal.
Source: Health Canada advisory, 2026-04
Health CanadaSourceWarns against
More contextCase reports, watch and read, emerging uses and chemistry
Case reports
From journals, regulators and studies of users. One case proves little.
Harm reportedcase report - 1 person - 2020
A healthy 45-year-old man who self-injected melanotan II for six months had an infarction of about half of one kidney with high blood pressure. No clot source was found. Kidney function was slightly reduced two months later.
Source: CEN Case Reports, 2020
Harm reportedcase report - 1 person - 2019
A man came to a UK urology emergency unit with low-flow priapism after injecting melanotan. Drainage and a drug injection avoided shunt surgery. Erectile function had not returned at four weeks.
Source: BMJ Case Reports, 2019
Harm reportednews-reported case - 1 person - 2025
A UK woman was taken to hospital struggling to breathe after a severe reaction to an unlicensed nasal tanning spray bought online. Trading standards used her account in a public warning campaign.
Rapidly changing moles after online tanning injections
Harm reportedcase report - 2 people - 2009
UK dermatologists described two patients with rapidly changing moles after injecting unlicensed tanning peptides bought online. Both had fair, sun-reactive skin, used sunbeds and had a much darker tan than expected.
Source: BMJ, 2009
Researcher's self-test caused eight-hour erection
Harm reportedcase report - 1 person - 2007
A review recounts that a researcher testing melanotan II on himself accidentally took more than intended. He had an erection lasting about eight hours with nausea and vomiting. The episode led to study of the peptide for erectile dysfunction.
FDA lists serious melanotan II case reports
Harm reportedcase report - 2023
The FDA review of bulk substances notes published case reports of serious events in melanotan II users. These include melanoma, posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome, sympathomimetic toxidrome and priapism.
Dermatology reference links melanotan II to melanoma report
Harm reportedcase report - 2014
A dermatology reference cites a 2014 published report of melanoma associated with melanotan II use. It also lists darkening moles, new and atypical moles, nail pigmentation, rhabdomyolysis and an encephalopathy syndrome among reported harms, plus infection risk from poor sterility or shared needles.
Source: DermNet, citing Dermatology 2014
Watch and read
Explainers, reporting and podcasts worth your time. Summaries are ours. No sellers.
Revealed: Hidden dangers behind trend of tanning drops, sprays and injections
Sophie Braybrook, reporter
Investigates influencer-promoted tanning drops, nasal sprays and injections, finding many contain unregulated Melanotan II and may be hazardous.
Recent UK broadcast investigation, short and easy to watch
Inside the world of internet peptides
Alex Hogan, STAT
Short video on why people try internet peptides for tanning, injuries and weight loss, noting many are sold as research chemicals with unproven medical use.
Two-minute primer on the online peptide scene
Instagram, influencers and dangerous fake tan injectables: the truth about melanotan-2, the unlicensed ingredient being promoted online
Amy Beecham, journalist
Explains why influencer-promoted melanotan-2 is unlicensed and risky, citing a BBC investigation, a 27-year-old's melanoma diagnosis and the UK legal position.
Concrete cases and the UK legal position
What are peptides, and are they safe? Here's what to know
Grace Abels, PolitiFact reporter
A general peptide primer that lists Melanotan among unapproved products and notes most peptides lack placebo-controlled human trials.
General primer that names Melanotan among unapproved products
Amino-acid sequence
Positions 2 and 7 are joined by a side-chain ring, closing a ring. Striped tiles are mirror-image (D) amino acids, which resist breakdown. Ringed tiles are amino acids not found in natural proteins.
Questions people ask
Is Melanotan II safe?
It is unlicensed and carries serious risks: new and darker moles, case reports of melanoma, prolonged painful erections, muscle breakdown, kidney damage and brain swelling. A causal link to melanoma is unproven, partly because users also seek more sun.
What are the side effects of Melanotan II?
Nausea, flushing, loss of appetite and spontaneous erections are common. Users also report new freckles, darker moles and patchy color.
Are tanning nasal sprays the same as Melanotan?
Melanotan II is sold both as an injection and as a nasal spray. Nasal sprays are often sold as cosmetics to dodge medicines law, and the products are unregulated.
Is Melanotan legal in the UK?
Selling medicines containing melanotan is illegal in the UK, and Trading Standards warned about nasal tanners in May 2025.
Is Melanotan legal in Australia?
The TGA treats it as prescription-only, and a supplier in New South Wales was fined over A$101,000 in August 2026.
Your notebook
Taking it? A ten-second daily check-in keeps a record of how you feel, to talk through with your clinician.
Sources
- DermNet: Melanotan II
- FDA: bulk substances that may present significant safety risks
- ITV News: Trading Standards warning on nasal tanning sprays (16 May 2025)
- Pharmacy Daily: TGA peptide and melanotan raids (18 Aug 2026)
- Health Canada: unauthorized injectable peptides (1 Aug 2025)
Structure: PubChem