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Melanotan II tanning injections and nasal sprays

Last updated: October 2, 2026 · 5 min read · By the Grey Peptides Editorial Board

A dermatologist examining a patient's skin with a digital dermatoscope
Photo by Gustavo Fring on Pexels
Grey Peptides
Grey Peptides Editorial Board
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Key takeaways
  • Melanotan II is a synthetic version of the hormone that darkens skin, sold online as tanning injections and nasal sprays. It is not approved in the UK, Australia or the US, and regulators in all three have warned against it.
  • Dermatology journals have published case reports of melanoma in young users, including one in the mouth of a 22-year-old who used a nasal spray, and of moles appearing or changing. Case reports cannot prove the drug caused them, and no study has measured the risk.
  • Afamelanotide, the related drug approved as Scenesse, is no endorsement: it is a clinician-inserted implant for a rare light-sensitivity disease, and its own label calls for full-body skin checks twice a year.

What melanotan II is

Melanotan II Low is a synthetic, ring-shaped analog of part of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, the body's signal to make pigment 1. Through the melanocortin 1 receptor it darkens the skin 2. It reached people once in a formal trial: a 1996 pilot in three men, given daily injections for two weeks, in which one of two men on the highest dose had sleepiness and fatigue 1. It has never been developed into an approved medicine, and our melanotan II entry grades its evidence as low.

How it is sold and used

Melanotan II is sold online as injectable powder and, more recently, as nasal sprays. A study of UK and Irish online forums from 2016 to 2017 collected 623 posts from 205 people discussing their use 2. Its authors warned clinicians about the risks to pigmented skin lesions and about hazards beyond the skin, including infections passed on through shared equipment and contaminated products 2. The products are made and sold outside any regulated supply chain, so what a vial or spray contains is unknown.

Moles and melanoma: what the case reports show

The concern that brings dermatologists into this is melanoma. In a 2014 report, a 20-year-old woman with fair skin who used melanotan II together with tanning beds was found to have a melanoma, confirmed on histology, with intensely pigmented skin all over 3. A 2012 report described melanoma in situ in a melanotan user and noted earlier reports of atypical moles and melanoma with these peptides 4. A 2025 report described a 22-year-old woman who used a melanotan II nasal spray for tanning and developed a malignant melanoma in the lining of her upper jaw, treated with surgery and immunotherapy 5.

Moles can also appear suddenly. A 2019 review of eruptive melanocytic naevi gathered 179 patients from 93 articles; immunosuppressive drugs, chemotherapy or melanotan were the suspected cause in 41%, and 16% had at least one atypical (dysplastic) mole confirmed under the microscope 6.

What these reports cannot do is prove cause. Each describes individuals, often with other risks, such as the tanning beds in the 2014 case 3, and no controlled study has measured melanoma risk in melanotan users. They are the reason dermatologists warn about the drug, not a measurement of how often harm follows.

Other reported harms

Melanotan II also acts on melanocortin receptors outside the skin. A 2021 report described a man who needed surgery for a prolonged, painful erection after injecting it, the third such case published 7. The UK regulator, the MHRA, received 18 reports describing 74 suspected reactions to melanotan products, including stomach, heart, blood and eye disorders 8.

What regulators say

In the UK, the MHRA warned the public against unlicensed tanning injections and nasal sprays containing melanotan, said none is approved for use there, and closed 72 websites selling it in three months 8. In Australia, melanotan II is not approved; a Therapeutic Goods Administration spokesperson said its development as a medicine was halted for safety reasons, and advertising or supplying it to the public is illegal 9. In the US, FDA sent a warning letter in 2007 to a Tennessee company selling melanotan II as a tanning agent and a skin-cancer preventive, called the product unapproved and mislabelled, and advised anyone using it to stop 10.

What afamelanotide's approval does and doesn't mean

Sellers sometimes point to afamelanotide High, a related but different analog of the same hormone, as proof that the class is safe. Afamelanotide was approved in the US on October 8, 2019 11, as Scenesse, to increase pain-free light exposure in adults with erythropoietic protoporphyria, a rare disease that makes light painful 12. It is an implant inserted under the skin every two months by a health professional trained in the procedure 12.

Its label is the best answer to the safety argument. It warns that the drug can darken existing moles and freckles, recommends a full-body skin examination twice a year to watch existing and new pigmented lesions, and warns of serious allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis 12. An approved drug, given under supervision for a serious disease, comes with skin checks built in; an unapproved spray bought online comes with none. Our afamelanotide entry covers it in full, and bremelanotide High is another melanocortin drug, approved for a different purpose.

Frequently asked questions

Is melanotan II legal?

It is not approved in the UK, Australia or the US. The MHRA has warned against it, Australia's TGA says advertising or supplying it to the public is illegal, and FDA warned a US seller in 2007 that it was an unapproved drug.

Does melanotan cause melanoma?

That is not proven. Dermatology journals have published case reports of melanoma and of moles appearing or changing in users, but case reports cannot establish cause and no study has measured the risk.

Is the nasal spray safer than the injection?

There is no evidence that it is. A 2025 case report describes an oral melanoma in a 22-year-old who used a melanotan II nasal spray, and the sprays come from the same unregulated sources as the injections.

What is Scenesse?

Scenesse is afamelanotide, a related but different drug approved in the US in 2019 as an implant for erythropoietic protoporphyria. Its label recommends full-body skin examinations twice a year.

Does melanotan II tan the skin?

Yes, it darkens skin through the melanocortin 1 receptor, which is why it is sold. Darker skin from melanotan is not the same as protection, and case reports describe melanoma in users.

Sources

  1. Dorr, R. T., Lines, R., Levine, N., et al. (1996). Evaluation of melanotan-II, a superpotent cyclic melanotropic peptide in a pilot phase-I clinical study. Life Sci, 58(20), 1777-84. PMID: 8637402
  2. Gilhooley, E., Daly, S., McKenna, D. (2021). Melanotan II User Experience: A Qualitative Study of Online Discussion Forums. Dermatology, 237(6), 995-999. PMID: 34464955
  3. Hjuler, K. F., Lorentzen, H. F. (2014). Melanoma associated with the use of melanotan-II. Dermatology, 228(1), 34-6. PMID: 24355990
  4. Ong, S., Bowling, J. (2012). Melanotan-associated melanoma in situ. Australas J Dermatol, 53(4), 301-2. PMID: 22724573
  5. Yassin, A., Bhujel, N., Singh, R. P. (2025). Melanotan II nasal spray: a possible risk factor for oral mucosal malignant melanoma?. Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg, 54(9), 806-808. PMID: 40210573
  6. Burian, E. A., Jemec, G. B. E. (2019). Eruptive Melanocytic Nevi: A Review. Am J Clin Dermatol, 20(5), 669-682. PMID: 31119650
  7. Mallory, C. W., Lopategui, D. M., Cordon, B. H. (2021). Melanotan Tanning Injection: A Rare Cause of Priapism. Sex Med, 9(1), 100298. PMID: 33460908
  8. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (UK). Warning on unlicensed tanning injections and nasal sprays containing melanotan, as reported by Get Safe Online and Lexology; read October 2, 2026.
  9. UNSW Sydney Newsroom. What is Melanotan-II, the drug that the TGA urges consumers to avoid? (2023), quoting the Therapeutic Goods Administration; read October 2, 2026.
  10. HealthDay. FDA Halts Sale of Injectable Tanning Product (September 6, 2007); U.S. Pharmacist, FDA Fast Facts (October 18, 2007): FDA's warning letter on Melanotan II; read October 2, 2026.
  11. US Food and Drug Administration. Drugs@FDA (openFDA): SCENESSE (afamelanotide), NDA 210797, original approval October 8, 2019; read October 2, 2026.
  12. Scenesse (afamelanotide) implant US prescribing information, DailyMed set 94f53286-11dd-7fbb-e053-2a95a90a7c48, effective May 11, 2026; read October 2, 2026.

Educational information, not medical advice. Each dose in this guide names its source, an approved label or a published study. None is a recommendation for you. An unapproved compound has no established safe or effective human dose, and products sold for “research use only” are not made or tested for people. Talk to a doctor before acting on anything on this site, including before you start, stop or change any medicine or dose.

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