Are you dreaming about having tanned skin all year long? There is many ways enabling you to achieve the aim, yet not all of them are equally safe. Surely, a self-tanning product that you should stay away from is melanotan. What is melanotan and what is its action?

What is melanotan and what is its action?

Melanotan is a dangerous self-tanning substance sold illegally in the form of injections or nose sprays. This preparation contains alfa-melanotropins which are produced by pituitary gland in human organism where it affects cells containing pigment – melanin. The aim of melanotan is stimulation of skin pigment cells to produce even greater amount of pigment, the result of which is tanned skin.

Melanotan in the form of injections is sold in sets consisting of a syringe and a powdered preparation. The preparation has to be mixed with approx. 2 mg of water, poured into the syringe and injected. This tiny, dependent on the body mass, dosage has to be taken once a day, best if it is introduced into a body at bedtime. Suntan is expected to be obtained after approx. 10 injections and the effect is supposed to last as long as the injections are given every week.

Melanotan – kinds and effects

There are two kinds of melanotan: melanotan I and melanotan II. Originally melanotan I was supposed to cure light hypersensitivity and the ailments connected with it, whereas melanotan II was examined as an agent dealing with sexual disorders and problems with body weight. The researches were stopped because it had turned out that melanotan II may increase blood pressure significantly.

Melanotan – side effects

First and foremost, Melanotan hasn’t been subjected to researches that would prove its safety therefore it isn’t clearly stated what side effects might this substance trigger. People, who happened to use melanotan, complain about:

• having headaches;
• experiencing nausea;
• noticing appearance of skin discolouration and under eye sagging;
• experiencing problems with concentration;
• noticing darkening of hair, moles and scars; also, the moles are reported to get larger;
• having blue lips;
• noticing decrease of appetite.

Secondly, melanotan may be addictive. Moreover, taking into consideration the fact that this substance isn’t produced in any standardized environment, therefore, it might get contaminated while being manufactured. For that reason, application of melanotan might end in:

• HIV infection,
• viral hepatitis,
• septic fever,
• death.