What Melanotan I is
Melanotan I is the linear alpha-MSH analog that became the approved drug afamelanotide (Scenesse), an implant that protects people with erythropoietic protoporphyria by driving protective skin pigmentation. The gray market sells the same peptide as a reconstitutable vial for cosmetic tanning. It is the better-mannered sibling of Melanotan II: more selective for the pigmentation receptor, without MT-II's libido and nausea side effects, but also slower to show results.
What we do not know
- The approval is for erythropoietic protoporphyria, delivered as a controlled-release implant. Injected use for cosmetic tanning is neither the studied indication nor the studied route.
- Long-term melanoma risk is not established in either direction. Increasing melanin while people continue to tan has not been followed for long enough.
- Existing pigmented lesions changing appearance is reported, which complicates the skin surveillance that would detect a problem.
Reconstitution math
Concentration is everything: the same 10 mg vial gives a different draw for every amount of bacteriostatic water you add. The table uses the common 2 mL setup for each vial size, which puts every unit on a U-100 insulin syringe at 50 mcg for the default vial. Dashes mark draws too small to measure or larger than the syringe.
| Vial | BAC water | Concentration | 0.25 mg | 0.5 mg | 1 mg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 mg | 2 mL | 5 mg/mL | 5 u | 10 u | 20 u |
Dosing and protocol
Community tanning protocol: 0.25 to 1 mg per injection, daily during loading, then once or twice weekly for maintenance.
Community tanning protocols load at 0.25 to 1 mg daily alongside modest UV exposure until the target shade develops, then drop to once or twice weekly maintenance. On a 10 mg vial with 2 mL of water, 0.5 mg is a 10-unit draw. Sunscreen discipline still applies; the peptide darkens skin but does not confer the full protection of melanin developed under medical supervision.
Pharmacokinetics
No curve is shown, on purpose.
The approved form is a 16 mg subcutaneous implant that releases over days, and its published kinetics describe the implant, not a reconstituted solution injection. No pharmacokinetic profile exists for the gray-market solution form, so the implant data cannot be honestly re-plotted here.
How it is thought to work
Afamelanotide is an alpha-MSH analog and MC1R agonist that increases eumelanin production. It is FDA approved as Scenesse, delivered as a subcutaneous implant, for a rare light-sensitivity disorder.
What the evidence supports
This table grades how well each outcome has been studied in humans, not how well Melanotan I works. A strong grade means the question was asked properly, and the answer may still have been negative. Nothing here is inherited from a drug class, a close analog, or the parent molecule of a fragment.
| Outcome | Strongest published evidence |
|---|---|
| Pain-free light exposure in erythropoietic protoporphyria | Human RCT |
| Skin pigmentation | Human RCT |
| Melanoma risk | No data |
| Safety of cosmetic tanning use | No data |
Storage and handling
Lyophilized vials keep best cold, dark, and dry; refrigeration is the community default and freezing lyophilized powder is common for long holds. After reconstitution, refrigerate at 2 to 8 C, do not freeze the solution, and date the vial. Bacteriostatic water's preservative keeps multi-dose use practical for about 28 days by USP convention, though our 120-day stability study found the preservative itself outlasts that window.
Got a certificate of analysis with your vial? Run it through our COA Reader: it reads the report in plain English, checks purity and mass against the label claim, and links the testing lab’s own verification page. Our guide to reading a COA explains what the numbers do and do not tell you.
Sources
- Scenesse (afamelanotide) prescribing information (Clinuvel)Prescribing information
- Minder et al., Afamelanotide, an agonistic analog of alpha-MSH, in dermatology, Expert Opin Investig Drugs 2017