Melanotan 1 before and after: what the afamelanotide trials measured

The short answer: melanotan 1 before and after results are real, and unlike melanotan 2, they were measured in controlled trials. A 1991 randomized, double-blind trial showed that melanotan 1 darkens human skin even with sunscreen. [1] The same molecule, now called afamelanotide, is FDA approved as the Scenesse implant, but only for adults with erythropoietic protoporphyria, a rare disease in which light causes severe pain. [10] It is not approved for cosmetic tanning anywhere, and the injectable "melanotan 1" sold online is not the approved product.

This explainer covers what the trials measured and why tanning use is unapproved. It does not give doses or instructions for unapproved products.

What is melanotan 1?

Melanotan I is a synthetic version of alpha-MSH, the hormone that tells pigment cells to make melanin. It is selective for the MC1R receptor on skin pigment cells. That is the key difference from melanotan II, which also acts on brain receptors and so causes erections, nausea and appetite loss. The melanotan I vs melanotan II comparison sets the two side by side.

What did the early melanotan 1 tanning trials measure?

The early research was designed around tanning, and it measured skin color with instruments rather than photos.

• The 1991 JAMA trial. Twenty-eight healthy white men, some who tanned poorly and some who tanned well, received 10 injections of melanotan 1 or saline over 12 days and were followed for seven weeks. Everyone used high-potency sunscreen. Skin darkened significantly in both skin-type groups compared with placebo, with the largest change one to three weeks after the last injection. [1]
• Pharmacokinetics (1997). In three men, the drug was fully available when injected under the skin but undetectable in blood when swallowed. Tanning of the forehead, arms and neck peaked about a week after dosing and was still present three weeks later. Side effects were occasional stomach upset and facial flushing. [2]
• Pigment chemistry (2000). In seven volunteers, tanning of the face, neck and forearm came with a significant rise in eumelanin, the brown-black pigment, in forearm skin, while the lighter pheomelanin did not change. [3]
• With sunlight (2004). Three small open-label studies combined melanotan 1 with UV light or sunlight. People who received the drug tanned more, the tan lasted at least three weeks longer than sun alone, and at one test site they had 47% fewer sunburn cells. Side effects were nausea and brief facial flushing. [4]

Two things stand out. First, the "before and after" change was measured, not photographed, and it faded over weeks. Second, the studies were small and short. None followed people for years to see what repeated tanning cycles did to moles or skin cancer risk.

What did the afamelanotide approval trials measure?

Afamelanotide was approved for a medical problem, not for a tan. People with erythropoietic protoporphyria have a buildup of a light-sensitive compound in the skin and feel burning pain after brief sun exposure.

In two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, adults received afamelanotide implants or placebo implants every 60 days. [5]

• US trial (94 patients, 180 days). Median pain-free time in direct sunlight was 69.4 hours with afamelanotide versus 40.8 hours with placebo.
• European trial (74 patients, 270 days). Median pain-free time was 6.0 hours versus 0.8 hours, and phototoxic reactions fell from 146 to 77.

Quality of life improved and adverse events were mostly mild. [5] A 2023 systematic review of treatments for this disease found a moderate positive effect for the afamelanotide implant among the controlled trials. [8]

The label dose for the approved product is one 16 mg implant inserted under the skin by a trained provider about every two months. It is not a self-injection. [10] The melanotan I regulatory tracker records the approval history.

What happens to moles on melanotan 1?

Pigment drugs darken moles as well as skin, so this is the main safety question behind "before and after" searches.

• The label. Scenesse prescribing information warns about skin darkening and changes in existing moles and asks for a full body skin examination twice a year. [10]
• Patients on the approved implant. In 15 patients with 103 moles followed for a year, moles showed focal thickening of the pigment network and more pigment dots under the dermatoscope at five months, and these changes had returned to baseline by twelve months. No features suggesting melanoma and no new moles were seen. [7]
• Unregulated use. A 2017 dermatology review described new and atypical moles in people using unregulated melanotan I and II and four case reports of melanoma arising from existing moles, while noting that a causal link has not been shown. [6]

A 2025 review of long-term MC1R activation adds a caution: the pigment it produces may reduce UV damage, but it does not prevent melanoma, and regular skin examination remains critical in people at high risk. [9]

Why is cosmetic tanning use unapproved?

Three reasons, all on the record.

1. The approval is narrow. Scenesse is approved for adults with erythropoietic protoporphyria and is dispensed through specialist centers because insertion requires training. [10]
2. Online products are not the approved drug. Injectable vials sold as melanotan 1 are unapproved drug products of unknown identity and purity, not compounded prescriptions. FDA explains that compounded drugs are not FDA approved and that compounding is meant for individual patient needs, not for mass-marketed products. [11]
3. Tanning trials were small and short. The early studies measured color change over weeks in a few dozen people. [1] They were never designed to show long-term safety for repeated cosmetic use.

That is why melanotan 1 has no lawful route for tanning even though afamelanotide has a lawful route for its approved disease. The legal hub covers state rules on unapproved drugs, and the skin aging page grades the treatments with evidence for skin concerns.

Melanotan 1 vs melanotan 2 before and after

People often compare the two. Melanotan 1 has randomized tanning data and an approval for a real disease; melanotan 2 has a small pilot, two erectile dysfunction trials, and a long list of case reports. Our melanotan 2 before and after explainer covers those harms. For athletes, afamelanotide is an approved medicine and is not named on the WADA Prohibited List, but unapproved products sold under the name may contain other substances. [12] For a broader look at trial results versus marketing photos, see peptide before and after.

The bottom line

Melanotan 1 is one of the few tanning peptides with controlled human data: it darkens skin measurably, even with sunscreen, and the effect fades over weeks. As afamelanotide it is approved for one rare disease, with twice yearly skin checks built into the label. It is not approved for a cosmetic tan, and the vials sold online are not the drug that was tested.