Melanotan 2 before and after: what trials and case reports show

The short answer: melanotan 2 before and after photos show something real. The drug darkens skin, and a small 1996 pilot study measured that darkening in human volunteers. [2] What the photos cannot show is what dermatologists have documented since: new and darkened moles within a day of one injection, melanomas in young users, priapism, kidney injury, and a product sold with no quality control. [7] Melanotan II was never approved anywhere, and it has no lawful route to patients in the United States. [14]

This is a safety explainer. It does not give doses, cycles or injection instructions.

What do melanotan 2 before and after photos show?

A typical "MT2 before and after" or "tanning peptide before and after" photo shows a person several shades darker, often with little visible sun damage. That result matches the mechanism: melanotan II activates the MC1R receptor on pigment cells, which raises melanin production. It also activates other melanocortin receptors in the brain, which is why it causes nausea, yawning, appetite loss and erections as well.

Photos leave out four things:

1. Dose and source. A photo cannot show what was in the vial. Seized black-market samples have needed forensic mass spectrometry just to confirm their identity. [11]
2. Sun and sunbed use. Many users combine injections with tanning beds, so the photo mixes drug and UV effects. [6]
3. Moles. Darkening of existing moles and new moles are some of the most consistent findings in the case literature, and they are hard to see in a full-body photo. [8]
4. Side effects. Nausea, flushing and spontaneous erections do not show up in a picture.

What did the early melanotan 2 trials measure?

The controlled human research on melanotan II is small.

• The tanning pilot (1996). A single-blind phase 1 study gave a few male volunteers subcutaneous melanotan II or saline on alternating days for two weeks. Two subjects had increased pigmentation in the face, upper body and buttocks, measured by reflectance and by eye one week after dosing ended. Mild nausea occurred at most dose levels, one subject had moderate sleepiness and fatigue at the highest dose, and a stretching and yawning complex accompanied spontaneous erections lasting one to five hours. [2]
• Erectile dysfunction trials (1998 and 2000). Two double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover studies of 10 men each tested melanotan II for erectile dysfunction, not tanning. Erections followed the drug far more often than placebo, but nausea was common and was severe after 4 of 19 injections in the second study. [3] [4]

That is the full controlled human evidence. No trial has tested melanotan II as a tanning product, measured how long a tan lasts, or followed users for skin cancer. A more selective relative, bremelanotide, is the one that reached the market, as an FDA approved injection for low sexual desire in premenopausal women. [15] The PT-141 vs melanotan II comparison covers that split, and the sexual dysfunction page grades both.

Does melanotan 2 work without sun?

Partly. Because it stimulates melanin directly, melanotan II can darken skin without deliberate sun exposure; the 1996 pilot measured pigmentation after injections alone, although it was not designed to test sun avoidance. [2] The closest controlled evidence comes from melanotan I: in a 1991 randomized, double-blind trial, 28 healthy men who used high-potency sunscreen throughout still darkened significantly compared with placebo. [1]

A tan without sun is not the same as a safe tan. The case reports below involve people whose moles changed after injections, some of whom also used sunbeds.

Moles and melanoma: what the case reports show

Case reports cannot prove causation, but the pattern is consistent enough that dermatology journals have repeatedly flagged it.

• Eruptive and darkened moles. A 2014 case report described new moles and darkening of existing ones within 24 hours of a single melanotan II injection. [7]
• Melanoma. A 2011 report was titled simply "melanotan-associated melanoma". [5] In a 2014 case, a 20-year-old woman with fair skin developed a melanoma three months after a three to four week course of self-injected melanotan II combined with sunbed use. [6] A 2017 review counted four case reports of melanoma emerging from existing moles during or shortly after melanotan use, and noted that multiple national health organizations had issued safety warnings. [8]
• Oral melanoma after a nasal spray. In 2025, surgeons reported a mucosal melanoma in the upper jaw of a 22-year-old woman who had used a melanotan II nasal spray for tanning. [12]

The review authors were careful to say that conclusive evidence linking melanotan to melanoma is lacking. [8] The concern is that the drug makes moles darker and more numerous, which makes it harder to spot a changing mole, in people who often also seek UV exposure.

Priapism, kidney injury and other harms

• Priapism. A 2019 case report described priapism after melanotan use that needed medical treatment. [9] Spontaneous erections were already seen in the 1996 pilot. [2]
• Renal infarction. A 2020 report linked melanotan II use to a kidney infarction and reviewed the other published harms. [10]
• Nausea. In the controlled trials, nausea was the most frequent side effect, and it was severe after about one in five injections in the 2000 study. [4]

FDA and legal status

FDA placed melanotan II on its 503A Category 2 list of bulk substances that may present significant safety risks, citing immunogenicity, impurities, and published case reports including melanoma, posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome, sympathomimetic toxidrome and priapism. As of FDA's April 2026 update the nomination has been withdrawn, which leaves it with no pathway at all: it is not on the bulks list and is not approved as a drug anywhere. [14] Tanning injections and nasal sprays sold online are unlawful drug products. The melanotan II regulatory tracker logs each step and the legal hub covers state rules. For athletes, WADA prohibits it at all times as a non-approved substance. [16]

Melanotan 2 vs melanotan 1

Melanotan I is a different molecule: it is selective for the skin receptor and was approved, as afamelanotide, only as an implant for a rare light-sensitivity disease. The melanotan I vs melanotan II comparison covers the differences, the melanotan I entity page holds its full record, and our melanotan 1 before and after explainer covers what its trials measured. For a broader look at how peptide results photos compare with trial data, see peptide before and after.

If you want a tan without UV

Sunless tanning products that stain the outer skin layer, with dihydroxyacetone as the main active ingredient, offer a UV-free tan. They can cause contact dermatitis and give almost no sun protection, so dermatologists still advise regular sunscreen. [13] Anyone with new, changing or darkened moles should have them checked by a dermatologist.

The bottom line

Melanotan 2 does tan skin, and the before and after photos reflect that. The controlled evidence is a pilot in a few men and two small erectile dysfunction trials, and none tested tanning as a use. The documented harms, including eruptive moles, melanoma case reports, priapism and kidney injury, come with a drug that has no approval and no lawful source.