People got really excited back in 1991 when it was first revealed that the University of Arizona had developed an effective tanning drug. A new type of peptide compound named, Melanotan, had been developed and had been found to be an effective sunless tanning solution.
It has been nicknamed the “Barbie Doll drug” because it produces a flawlessly perfect tan evenly across the entire body like you would find on a Barbie doll.
Melanotan is a synthetic hormone that mimics the action of MSH, or melanocyte-stimulating hormone which is responsible for darkening the pigments of the skin. Typically when your skin is exposed to UltaViolet radiation (the sun or tanning beds) your skin will release melanocytes as a natural defense to protect your skin from absorbing an excess amount of solar radiation. This natural defense to UV light is what leads to tanning or a darkening of your skin. Melanotan is a peptide which similuates this melanocyte response chemically in the absense of the sun. Therefore it is safe, because your skin pigment is responding to the simulated hormone rather than from actual UV damage to the skin.
Skin cancer researchers there knew that one of the best defenses against skin cancer was a natural tan which has been slowly developed over weeks. They hypothesized that an effective way to reduce skin cancer rates in people would be to induce the body’s natural tanning system to produce a protective tan prior to UV exposure.
They knew the body’s naturally occurring hormone alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (á-MSH) caused melanogenesis, a process by which the skin’s tanning cells (melanocytes) produce the skin’s tanning pigment (melanin). With that knowledge they tested to see if administering this hormone to the body directly could be an effective method to cause sunless tanning. What they found was that while it appeared to work, natural alpha-MSH had too short a half life in the body to be practical as a therapeutic drug. So they decided to try and find a more potent and stable alternative, one that would be more practical.
After synthesizing and screening hundreds of molecules, the researchers headed by Dr. Victor Hruby, found a peptide that after trials and testing seemed to not only be safe but also approximately 1,000 times more potent than natural á-MSH. They dubbed this new peptide Melanotan.
Since their discovery, numerous studies dating back to the mid-1980s have shown no obvious toxic effects of Melanotan. Because skin cancer (melanoma) today is a major health concern, Melanotan is expected to be used as a drug to combat it. Melanotan will do this by stimulating the body’s natural tanning mechanism to create a tan without first needing exposure to harmful levels of UV radiation. This in turn will reduce the potential for skin damage that can eventually lead to skin cancer.
This peptide has been going through extensive testing and research over the past ten years, however it is still not yet approved for use by the FDA. Not only can Melanotan be used for sunless tanning it may also be an effective preventative treatment for people at risk for skin cancer. So far, it is effective only when administered by subcutaneous injection, not orally. Since Melanotan must be administered with insulin needles, it will never be FDA approved for over-the-counter use until an effective oral form is developed.
In 1998 the University of Arizona improved the peptide even further and developed Melanotan II which was an even more effective sunless tanning agent. Both Melanotan I and II are synthetic hormones of melanocyte stimulating hormone that is responsible for darkening the pigment of your skin when exposed to sunlight. Melanotan I is a linear, full length peptide [containing all 13 amino acids]. Melanotan II is a shortened, circular version of the same peptide.
However while testing the new peptide Melanotan II they found that it had an unexpected side effect: it caused spontaneous erections in men. The American Association of Urologists tested this peptide extensive and found that it did not change the bloodflow or selectively expand or restrict capilaries in the same manner that Viagra or Cialis treats erectile dysfunction. It works by sending a signal to the brain which causes the body to naturally secrete the hormone which causes an enhanced erection. They did further testing and found that this same responside with women it increased sexual desire and genital arousal. Evaluation is currently being done with this peptide in hopes of developing a new type of erectile dysfunction drug, however the Arizona Cancer Center suspended all development of Melanotan II as a tanning agent.
The Arizona Cancer Center is working with Melanotan not only as a drug with cosmetic applications but in order to reduce the risk of skin cancer. They feel that if fair skinned people take Melanotan it will offer them the protective benefit of a tan without the harm of sun exposure. In essence, it could protect people by providing them with a slight sunless tan that would make them less prone to burn with their day-to-day exposure to the sun.
The Arizona Cancer Center’s research has found Melanotan I to be effective in promoting skin pigmentation with little or no risk, however it’s role in actually preventing skin cancer has not yet been determined. They also found that Melanotan will not do anything for people with albinism or vitiligo because these patients do not have skin cells with receptors for melanin. For this reason, the synthetic hormone has no mechanism for action and therefore cannot cause change in pigment.
Researchers at the University of Arizona are no longer conducting research with Melanotan I, although research continues for Melanotan II.
A private U.S. company, Competitive Technologies, announced in March of last year that they would be developing Melanotan I and II for commercial use.
A company in Australia, EpiTan, is raising funds to start production and trials for Melanotan I as a tanning agent to prevent skin cancer. Unfortunately, rumor has it that the Australian equivalent of the FDA will not be accepting the research already done in the U.S., which will greatly delay approval in Australia, as all the tests will have to be repeated.
Recently, EpiTan announced it is working on a time release injection version of Melanotan, moving away from an oral formula. These injections would need to be administered every 30 days, instead of daily. They are using the same time release injection hormone technology developed for the birth control drug, Depo Provera.
Even with all this development on the Melanotan I and II peptides, there still remains many unanswered questions. For example, how effective are these peptides for readheads or people prone to freckles? It may be quite a few years before these peptides are FDA approved and once they are approved you will need to go to a cosmetic surgeon’s office to get them administered. However, you don’t have to wait. They currently have research grade Melanotan I and II available for all those research chemists out there (anyone) to test out on their lab-rats (themselves).
So you can order “research grade” kits of Melanotan I and II online right now for around $100 and try out this peptide. I know a few people who have tried this peptide and they were very pleased with the results. However, you have to use this at your own risk because these kits are not FDA approved and not intended for human consumption.
Purchase research grade Melanotan here:
AG-Guys.com - 10 mg vial ($100.00)
Pure-Peptides.com - 10 mg vial ($100.00), 30 mg vial ($270.00), 50 mg vial ($400.00)
Below is a video segment describing Melanotan and how it is a highly safe and effective sunless tanning solution:
* Special thanks to Billy Warhol for inspiring me on doing research to find the perfect safe sunless tanning solution available.
In the past two days I have read through about 30 articles on this site and I am truly impressed. They range from good to totally outstanding.
I don’t know what is that you do for a living, but I see lots of untapped talent and potential here. Your writing does need a little work, but the content and the presentation is outstanding. How do you find such awesome content? Really where do you come up with this stuff?
Seriously. I think you could be writing articles for Cosmo or Maxxium rather than doing whatever it is that you do now.
I must be naive and live under a rock because this site has opened my eyes up to so many things that I have never known.
r u for real!!!!!!!!!
;PPP
I came within a C Hair of selling my Car today but I was this close to being on a Plane to Anywhere WARM! HOT!! + SUNNY!!
I haven’t a base Tan either but Drinking Cold Beers + Vodka + Fresca on a Beach is something I Excel at*
Cheers! Happy I could be of Inspiration!!
;)) xoxo Peace*
I know a girl that tried this Melanotan stuff and she said that it worked well. It made her look like she spent two weeks in Hawaii and she never even went out in the sun once or ever visited a tanning bed. I was shocked how well this worked. It’s like unreal. It almost made her too tan because she was so dark, but I thoguht it was kinda hot too.
hi ive been wanting to try this for ages where do i get it from thanks
This is an interesting drug, but seems a bit too exprensive.. $100 for a tan? I’ve been using some sunless tanning products from Sun Labs and it’s been working great, and a lot cheaper than $100
Sunless tanning products may be cheaper and look good, but they wont protect you from skin cancer. I think $100 is cheap for the peace of mind.
Wow, that girl on the beach in the blue bikini above has a perfect tan! I would love to have a tan like this. Come this spring I definitely plan on ordering this drug. I wonder how good my tan will be if I use this in combination with the tanning beds…
My poor Nana got talked into trying a tanning creme once. The lady at the store applied it and then wiped off 10 minutes later. Sadly she forget to take my Nana’s deep wrinkles into consideration and basically turned her into a tiger! It was pretty sweet. Anyway, I actually stopped by to ask you to please change your Entrecard design. It is hard to concentrate whenever I see it … oh geez, gotta go …
how ironic. people here in Manila, Philippines are overdosing themselves with Glutathione to become fair and white. while people from the other side of the globe are finding ways to get the skin color that we’re born with (but most girl want to get rid of). i like to keep my brown skin though. all i can say is…Melatonan is pretty impressive.
so does anyone know wat would any scars, or stretchmarks after taking this injection???
i have been trying these tanning injections and i am truely inpressed with them! I am on my 11th one now and have only been on the sunbeds twice in about a month or so, and I have a brillaint colour, which is amazing as I am one of those people who hardly tans!
I havent had any side affects except for the 1st time when i felt a little sickly, but since then nothing! even my mother and boy friend are on them, and alot of other people i know. It is quite expensive, but i dont want to smell of fake tan nor do i want wrinkles at 22, so i think its a bargain in the long run on smell and looks!
wre do u inject them n i have been readin up on these n i am scared if they will effect u some how in later life i always have spray tans but it does me ed in havin them i would love 2 try them but really scared ov needles
hi ive been wanting to try this tanning injection for ages whrer do i get it from.can any one help x
Awesome article - if you’re interested check out the REAL reviews by REAL people of sunless tanners and airbrush tanning solutions at http://www.sunless-tanning.org
hi im thinking of trying these injections,but wanted to know how often you inject.and how much to inject.
I tried it and it made me lose my site. Its back now. but that was scary.
Hi, I really want to try these injections but have quite freckly fair skin and only ever get a very slight tan in the sun. I am worried that if I tried the injections I would only get loads more freckles! Has anyone with a similar skin type tried these? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
I have reddish hair and a complexion similar to Lindsay Lohan, I don’t tan too easily either in the sun or on tanning beds.
When I first tried Melanotan it made me slightly nauseous after the first couple of injections, but I continued… after a week or so I started to get freckles and they almost made me stop, but I continued and after like 3 weeks they started to fade, go away, and blend into my tan. At 6 weeks I have a better tan than I would expect and I am pleased with the results.
did you also use sunbeds
how long do these take to make u actually go brown and do they put weight on you
It took me 3 weeks to start seeing good results and 6 weeks to get a really deep tan. I would say that the results consistently improved after the 3rd week. I tan slow, so my friends actually saw results within 7-10 days, because they tan faster.
They did not make me gain any weight. They did make me nauseous at first, but this nauseous feeling went away after the first 2-3 days.
DO YOU HAVE TO INJECT EVERY DAY OR ONCE A WEEK?
Once every day.
are these injections safe to use when pregnant
hi i would like to know were you can buy this from it sounds great. and how many bottles do you need be for it starts to show
ok so were do u actually buy this??? no1 has answered that yet. i wana try it!! so u inject once a day. were abouts do u inject in ur body??
You can buy this from AG-Guys.com or LionNutrition.com, it works really well.
You use a small insulin needle to inject this into the subQ fat on your stomach. Just pinch the skin and inject it into the fat, like a quarter inch under the skin in the fatty tissue. Thanks it!
you can but it on the internet and you inject it into your tummy about an inch away from yr belly button x
well a friend of mine used the tanning injection and it is her lips that are most noticable as they have gone really really dark brown. has anyone else experienced this?
Fairly well written article. A couple of points are false but overall well written. You might want to mention that Epitan renamed itself to “Clinuvel” and that they are developing the first version of Melanotan under the name “afamelanotide”.
Cheers,
-Scott
I have a Beauty Salon and want to use it in the salon.(cost etc)please can you advice me on the application
cheers
Anthony
Melanotan and Melanotan II are supplied in vials as powders that need to be mixed with bacteriostatic water for injection. The Melanotan and Melanotan II powder are best stored in a freezer due to their slow degradation at room temperature, and are often shipped in ice packs for this reason. The degrading process is slow, so if your Melanotan did not get shipped in ice packs it will not make your batch that less effective as long as the exposure to the higher temperature has not exceeded several days.
As previously stated, Melanotan needs to be mixed with bacteriostatic water prior to injection. To achieve a concentration of 10mg/8ml, use 8ml of bacteriostatic water in your 10mg vial of powder. From this we can have a concentration level of 0.25mg per 0.2ml. This should be enough liquid for you to accurately draw up using a 1ml marked syringe, although you could choose your own concentration level using a similar process. By using a 1ml syringe we can successfully attach and detach needles, and store the solution filled syringe in the fridge ready for the next injection.
The dosages of Melanotan are greater then that of Melanotan II. A daily dosage of 2-3mg of Melanotan will bring about fruitful results, and a daily dosage of 1mg will do the same for Melanotan II. To restrict the undesirable side effects it is often best to start the dosages at a level of 1-1.5mg for Melanotan and 0.25mg-0.5mg for Melanotan II, and build the dosages by .25mg each day until the target dosage is reached.
hiya well i’m on them and i pay 20pound 4 3munf worth! am a really gud colour and would recomend it 2 any 1
hi, where do you get them from? are they available from a uk site? i waaaaaaaant them!! x
u can get it from melanotan-maverick.com, order in morn recieve next day, i get it pre mixed. only bin using it 4 1 wk, get in touch if u hav anymore questions
Hey Rachel, did it work well for you? Were there any side effects?
hi can you please tell me where you get these from i cannot find them anywhere !!
THANKS
hi becky, i always buy it from rui-products.com under the peptide section. look for melanotan ii. this stuff works awesome!
hi i would love to have a tan like the lady on the beach. i was just woundering how i can get more information eg how much i need to use and how ofthen and do i get a needle in the pack. i would be greatful if some one could get back tó me and let me no. thankyou.
A daily dosage of 2-3mg of Melanotan will bring about fruitful results, and a daily dosage of 1mg will do the same for Melanotan II.
To restrict the undesirable side effects it is often best to start the dosages at a level of 1-1.5mg for Melanotan and 0.25mg-0.5mg for Melanotan II, and build the dosages by .25mg each day until the target dosage is reached.
olkzrci ouvsc kyuj
http://www.purepeptides.com/product_info.php?products_id=68 this link will take u to a site that u can buy melanotan from its easy to use. hope u find this useful as i found it difficult to find it on the other sited provided.
jaz
hi
was just wondering how long you have to continue using melanotan for once you have reached your desired colour ??
You have to do small maintenance doses of 0.125 mg EOD to keep your desired color from fading.
I just read another article that said a side effect of melanotan I and II is a serious eye condition. Is this true?
I have never heard of these peptides causing a serious eye condition. I have heard about Ginger redhead girls like Lindsay Lohan developing tons of freckles due to using this and they complained about this as a result.
I am scared of needles but really want to try this if i take this to a doctor will they inject me to begin with till i got used to it or will they decline seeing its not approved by government? How many ml per bottle for the $100 ?
Hiya Erin, don’t worry about the needles… these are tiny insulin needles that you inject into your tummy by pinching your stomach. You won’t be able to feel them, well hardly.
This drug was developed by the University of Arizona, but it is not yet FDA approved. It is approved for sale in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and Canada. So most U.S. doctors will not inject you with it, but trust me the injections are so simple and easy! The needle is tiny!
You can buy a 10 mg bottle for $100. See the following site:
http://www.purepeptides.com/product_info.php?products_id=68
This drug is NOT approved for administration in Europe, Australia, NZ, USA or Canada.
hi im very fair, and have been using the injections for 7 days and i am already really impressed. i usually do not tan at all on holiday or on sun beds. I suggest taking the dose before you go to bed as i still do experience slight sickness. definitly recomend it to my fellow pale’s.
did it give you freckles? i am worried about getting freckles or moles as a side effect. did you use melanotan I or II? where did you get it from? sorry for so many questions, but i want to try it too, but i have some concerns. thanks!
hi there when you first started did you use sunbeds aswell
no, i wasn’t using sunbeds when i was taking these tanning injections.
I have a lot of freckles on my arms and upper legs and a couple around my nose. I can only tan in the sun if I have built up a base in the tanning salon, otherwise I turn red as a lobster. My freckles do get darker on my body both in the tanning salon and with natural sun exposure but I never tan my face. I use self tanner for my face. how would I react to these pills?
These aren’t pills they are tiny injections using an insulin needles. They are small painless SubQ injections into your belly fat.
In terms of freckles, you will react the same way to Melanotan that you do to the sun and the tanning salons. It will darken the freckles.
You will tan better on this stuff than you do in the sun or salon and will not burn, that will be for sure.
There’s an excellent article that Wired Science has published about the melanotan peptides since this article came out:
Suntan Drug Greenlighted for Trials
It’s covers the news that Clinuvel has been granted FDA approval to conduct human trials of an implant form of melanotan one “afamelanotide”. Hopefully there will soon be a well regulated, doctor administered version of this tanning drug!
-Scott
There are many foods and creams that are known to be great for your skin but did you know that make up can be great too? The most women in the world are all going crazy about natural cosmetics for numerous different reasons! These products can help you to maintain a tanned look without the risk of skin damage or side effects. Mineral makeup is the safest makeup for your skin to achieve a tanned look and it lasts twice as long. Stay safe while remaining beautiful!
Hi, can you tell me where you get the needles and everything from? Also I am quite confused as to how you mix the liquids.
Thanks
Also, how do you dispose of the needles?
Remove the needle from the syringe. Throw out the syringe and then flush the needle down the toilet.
Always use a clean needle for each injection.
You can buy the needles either from ag-guys.com or from lionnutrition.com.
It’s easy to mix the liquids. They will send you one sterile vile containing dry powder with a rubber stopper and one containing sterile water. You simply use a syringe to pierce the top of the sterile water and then draw the liquid and inject it into the vial containing the powder and repeat until all the water is in the powder vial. Once done you shake it and then after it is mixed it must be refrigerated and will only stay good for 3 weeks or so.
There will be instructions that come with it and the process is quite simple!
Oh right, thank you for your help. Can you advise me where to buy the liquids I really want to try these but I just want to do it properly
Look on lionnutrition.com under research chemicals for Melanotan II 10mg Lyophilized Kit. It looks like it costs $79.95 right now.
does it stop making you darker once you stop taking them? I mean could it make you too dark??
No, this will make you darker while you are taking it, but you will get lighter once you stop taking it.
It could make you too dark, in which case you would lower the dosage until you achieve the desired color.
HI
I have alot of moles will this have any effect on them, ie make them bigger etc
This won’t make your moles bigger, it will make your freckles bigger if you are prone to freckles.
I have found that my freckles react to these meds the same way they react to the sun. So if you get freckles in the sun, you’ll get them taking these.
hi kerri thats strange though because the whole point of them is that they increase your pigment so that u get a tan not freckles..
Freckles are caused by melanin which Melanotan seems to produce or simulate in order to make you tan. In some people Melanin just makes them tan and in others it gives them freckles. With me it gave me freckles that went away over time.
where can you find these injections in australia? because im sick of getting a spray tan every week!
Anyone can order this from ag-guys.com or from lionnutrition.com worldwide.
However in Austrailia you can also go to a cosmetic surgeon and get the shots from him, but I am sure that this will cost you several times the price of doing them yourself.
i got d premixed version does tht mean i dnt need to use d water or im confused
What do you mean by premixed version?
If you got the dry powder than you need to add the sterile water and then refrigerate after mixing.
If you got a liquid version then you won’t have to add sterile water.
Did sterile water come with your solution in a separate vial?
I wanted to ask how long does it take for you to notice the difference. I started them yesterday and have had 4 injections so far but i haven’t noticed any difference yet. Plus make me feel quite sick!
You will start to notice the difference in 2-3 weeks. The sickness from Melanotan will go away within the first week as your body gets use to the substance.
OH MY GOD. You have had four and you only started yesterday?
Who told you to take that much? You should be taking one a day for ten days and then one a week if you wish to have a deeper colour!!!!
i need some help…i bought some Melanotan 2 from this site called researchpeptides.com……their viles r only 35 dollars…if this site sells them for 100 which is a big difference, could i have gotten scammed.? i cant find anything on it about it being a scam site…but the price diff is crazy
researchpeptides.com totally looks legit. I will order from them next time. The specialize in peptides where the other sites do research chems in general so maybe they do it cheaper.
it’s now $79.99 for the same thing on lion Nutrition. however the folks at lion nutrition also give you the sterile water which is an additional $10 on researchpeptides.com.
So you are actually comparing $45 to $79.99 which is still a great deal! Thanks!
could you please tell me where i can buy the tanning injections and how much they are? tahnks xx
i started the injections yesterday and was very sick last night,hoping i wont feel quite so bad tonight.
hey angie, the upset stomach and sickness will go away in 3-4 days. keep up the injections and your body will adjust to the compound and the sickness will go away. i had the exact same issue for about 3 days when i started taking this.
i have used them iam finished them now i did get a nice colour but i found i had to do a few sunbeds to get my colour
Hey Jo, so were there any side effects from the melanotan tanning injections?
yeh i felt sick when i was doin them,the first one i did durin the day and felt really sick so the rest i did just b4 goin to bed still felt a bit sick every nite,but its worth it iam just doin 2 sunbeds a week to keep the colour
so how exactly do these tanning injections make you sick? other than the mild sickness, is everything else good? any other side effects?
i want to get some as i dont want to use sunbeds anymore, ive heard you still have to use sunbed, is this true?? as the whole point in me getting the injections is so i dont have to use sunbeds again
I didn’t use tanning beds nor did I tan in the sun when I used Melanotan. I got a really good tan with the Melanotan injections alone and didn’t need to go out in the sun or hit the sunbeds. The whole point of Melanotan is being able to tan without the sun or the risk of getting skin cancer.
oh good, thats great, thank you as i really dont want to use sunbeds anymore, been using them since i was 20 and im 24 now and dont want to look like a leather handbag by the time im 30! lol, so they ideal for me to use really, will get some
to amber and lynsey…how have you got on so far taking the injections?.. tanned or freckles? hope theyve went well for ye as ive ordered some regardless!!
They will go away over time. It’s worth trying out because you might be one of those people who don’t get freckles from Melanotan tanning injections.
hi iam a redhead that doesnt really tan much, i have been on the injections for 8 days now and iam getting a lovely colour on my face,arms,chest but nowhere else. Has anyone else had this problem?
Be patient Mandy! It takes time. 8 days is not very long. In 3 weeks you will have an even tan everywhere with no tan lines!
hi injection 1mg yesterday and was very very sick couldnt lift my head of the pillow which is no good if you have children to look after. If i lower the dosage to 0.25 do you think the sickness will go? I couldnt stick being that sick again.:(
Hiya Leanne, I would start out with a lower dosage and then work your way up. I felt sick the first injection, then less sick on the second, by the third it won’t happen anymore. Don’t worry it will go away once your body gets used to it.
What type of symptoms did you exhibit?
I felt all clammy and had headache and then just kept vomiting over and over. I was scared to even take the lower dose as it frightened me being sick that much. I have took 0.2 tonight and have taken an anti sickness tablet so fingers crossed cause if it makes me sick again i wont do it anymore.
Hey leanne, I have similar symptoms but they were relatively mild. I guess you are really sensitive to Melanotan. Try lowering the dosage. I hope it works out well. Update me tomorrow on how well it worked.
Where did you get it from? I don’t know how well your solution was made…
I ordered it off the internet from mt2 labs uk which i suppose is frightening as well cause you really dont know what you are getting, as this is the first time i have used it i dont really know where the best website is to buy it from. I have also read that someone posted that they seized melanotan at customs and they were all contaminated! Scarey! So dont really know if it is safe or what its doing to my body!
I would buy the Melanotan from Lion Nutrition or AG-Guys. they have safe usp content and are well known and widely used. I don’t know about mt2 labs.
Hi jessica, did 0.2 last night and took an anti sickness tablet, so far so good! Havent felt any side effects today so maybe this is what works for me. Just waiting on my tan now. lol!
I am glad to hear that it worked well and that you didn’t get sick. I would do 0.2 mg Melanotan for the rest of the week and then up the dosage to 0.5 mg Melanotan next week. If you can handle 0.5 mg Melanotan two weeks into the cycle then try 1.0 mg Melanotan. This way your body gets used to it before you try a higher dosage.
End Australian Gold? ( for sun bed only…)
Melanotan is awesome! Not only does it give me the perfect swimsuit model tan, there are no tan lines! I react sooooo well to this stuff that it rules. I have never had any side effects either, just excellent results!
Great article, better than: http://peptide-guide.com/Melanotan_2__MT-II_.html
please contact me about tanning injections thanks
carl
Can anyone tell me where I can buy these injections?
try www.ar-r.com they have good melanotan ii and i have been using their products for 2 years now with great results.