Does melanotan 2 work without sun exposure?
It works by switching on melanocortin receptors directly, which tells the skin to make melanin (skin pigment). That is a different route from UV light causing a tan, so in theory it can darken skin without sun. That is exactly why it carries the safety concerns in its research: it changes pigment all over the body, not just in skin that sees the sun. And it is not an approved or regulated tanning product anywhere this site tracks.
Studies in people from the compound pages this answer belongs to
- Melanotan II
- Evaluation of melanotan-II, a superpotent cyclic melanotropic peptide in a pilot phase-I clinical study 1996 PMID 8637402
- Synthetic melanotropic peptide initiates erections in men with psychogenic erectile dysfunction: double-blind, placebo controlled crossover study 1998 PMID 9679884
- Alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone-induced eruptive nevi 2009 PMID 19380666
Educational use only. This database summarizes published research and is not medical advice. Where a dose appears it is a record of what a trial or clinic ran, or what people describe doing, with its source attached. Nothing here is a recommendation for personal use.
Part of sexual health and hormone peptides. PT-141, melanotan, oxytocin, gonadorelin, and kisspeptin-10.