Tanning Nasal Sprays and Melanotan 2: Side Effects, Moles and the Law

Tanning nasal sprays have gone from a niche gym product to something sold in flavoured bottles on TikTok, promising a deep tan with less time in the sun. The active ingredient in most of them is Melanotan 2, a synthetic hormone that has never been licensed as a medicine. This guide explains what is in a tanning nasal spray, how it works, the side effects and the evidence linking it to new moles and melanoma, where the law stands in the UK, and what to do if you have already used one.

We see the skin side of this in clinic: people who notice moles darkening or new moles appearing and want them checked. If you are worried about a mole now, you can go straight to our guide to mole checks and mole removal.

What Is a Tanning Nasal Spray?

A tanning nasal spray is a small spray bottle that delivers a tanning drug through the lining of the nose. The products go by many names, including nasal tanners, tanning nasals, nasal tanning drops and “tan accelerators”. Almost all of them contain Melanotan 2, sometimes written as MT2 or Melanotan II.

The same drug is sold in other forms too:

• Tanning injections, also called tanning jabs or a “shot for tanning”, where a powder is mixed with water and injected under the skin.
• Tanning peptides, a newer marketing term for the same injectable or nasal products.
• Tanning drops and gummies that are swallowed. Some gummies are ordinary beta-carotene supplements, but trading standards officers have warned about drops and gummies sold alongside the nasal sprays.

Much of the recent growth has come from social media, where influencers and “looksmaxxing” accounts promote Melanotan with little or no mention of its risks^[1]. Our article on looksmaxxing covers that wider trend.

What Is Melanotan 2 (MT2)?

Melanotan 2 is a laboratory-made version of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH), a hormone your body already makes. α-MSH tells pigment cells in the skin to produce melanin, which is what darkens skin when you tan.

Melanotan 2 does not only act on the skin. It switches on several melanocortin receptors around the body, including ones in the brain that control appetite, nausea and sexual arousal^[2]. That explains why its side effects go well beyond a tan, and why a related drug was later developed to treat low sexual desire.

Melanotan 1 vs Melanotan 2

Melanotan 1 is a different, more selective version. A licensed form of it, called afamelanotide, is given as a slow-release implant under the skin for a rare genetic condition that makes sunlight extremely painful (erythropoietic protoporphyria). In two randomised trials of 168 patients published in the New England Journal of Medicine, it increased the time patients could spend in daylight without pain^[3].

That licensed implant is made to medical standards, prescribed by specialists and monitored. The “Melanotan 1” and “Melanotan 2” sold online for tanning are not. They are unlicensed powders and sprays of unknown quality, used without any medical supervision.

How Does Tanning Nasal Spray Work?

Once sprayed into the nose, Melanotan 2 is absorbed through the nasal lining into the bloodstream. It then binds to receptors (MC1R) on melanocytes, the pigment cells in your skin, and tells them to make more eumelanin, the dark brown form of melanin.

The result is a darker skin tone that builds over days to weeks. Many users also expose their skin to the sun or a sunbed to “activate” the tan, which adds ultraviolet (UV) damage on top of the drug’s own effects. The darkening is not limited to the skin you want to tan: freckles, moles and sometimes the gums and the inside of the mouth darken as well.

Are Nasal Tanners Safe? Tanning Nasal Spray Side Effects

No. No tanning nasal spray in the UK has been tested and approved as safe, and the side effects reported by users and doctors range from unpleasant to life-threatening.

Common side effects

• Nausea and vomiting, especially after the first doses.
• Facial flushing and feeling hot.
• Loss of appetite.
• Spontaneous, unwanted erections in men.
• Raised blood pressure and a faster heart rate.
• A blocked or runny nose, sneezing, coughing and irritation of the nasal lining with the spray.
• Darkening of freckles and moles, and new moles appearing.

Serious side effects reported in medical journals

Doctors have published case reports of serious harm after Melanotan 2 use. Case reports cannot tell us how common these problems are, but each one is a hospital admission that the product’s marketing never mentions:

• Muscle breakdown and kidney injury. A man who injected six times the starting dose suggested by the seller developed a racing heart, agitation and rhabdomyolysis, a dangerous breakdown of muscle that strained his kidneys, and needed intensive care^[4].
• Kidney damage from a blocked blood supply. A renal infarction, where part of the kidney loses its blood supply, has been linked to Melanotan 2^[2].
• Brain swelling. Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES), which causes severe headache, confusion, seizures and changes in vision, has been reported after Melanotan injections^[5].
• Priapism. A painful erection lasting hours is a surgical emergency that can permanently damage erectile function. A UK patient still had not recovered erectile function four weeks after treatment^[6].
• Pigment in the mouth. Brown patches on the gums and the inside of the cheeks have been documented, with gum pigmentation still visible three months after stopping^[7].

You cannot know what is in the bottle

Even setting the drug itself aside, unlicensed products carry their own risks. When researchers tested Melanotan 2 vials bought from three online shops, a laboratory study in Drug Testing and Analysis ↗ found that vials labelled as 10 mg actually contained between 4.32 and 8.84 mg, and products from two of the shops contained 4.1–5.9% of unidentified impurities^[8]. Nasal sprays add another unknown: there is no standard for how much drug each spray delivers.

Melanotan and Moles: Can Tanning Nasal Spray Cause Skin Cancer?

This is the risk that matters most for your long-term health, and it is where most of the medical concern lies.

Melanotan 2 stimulates the same pigment cells that form moles and, when they go wrong, melanoma. A 2017 review by Dutch dermatologists in the International Journal of Dermatology ↗ found a growing number of case reports linking unregulated Melanotan use to changes in existing moles and newly emerging, sometimes dysplastic (abnormal-looking) moles, and four reports of melanoma developing from existing moles during or shortly after use^[9]. The authors were careful to say that conclusive proof of cause and effect is lacking, but that doctors and patients need to be aware of the link.

Darker moles and sudden new moles

The most often reported effect on the skin is eruptive moles: crops of new moles appearing over days or weeks.

• A man with a past history of melanoma developed crops of new, atypical moles after using synthetic α-MSH, and his existing moles darkened and grew. They lightened again after he stopped^[10].
• A young woman developed crops of new moles after Melanotan injections^[11].
• A review of every published case of eruptive moles found 179 patients. Drugs, including immunosuppressants, chemotherapy and Melanotan, were the suspected trigger in 41%. 16% of patients had at least one abnormal mole confirmed under the microscope, and five cases of melanoma were reported^[12].

Darkened moles also make life harder for the doctor checking them. In one patient whose moles were photographed through a dermatoscope before and during Melanotan use, the changes made it difficult to tell a harmless mole from a melanoma^[13]. That can lead to more moles being removed to be safe, and to a real problem being harder to spot.

Melanoma reported after Melanotan

Several melanomas have been reported in young people using Melanotan. In one case, a 20-year-old woman with fair skin was diagnosed with melanoma three months after a three- to four-week course of injections, which she had combined with sunbed use^[14].

The nasal spray is not a safer route. In 2025, surgeons from Salisbury and Southampton described a 22-year-old woman who developed a mucosal melanoma in the upper jaw after using a Melanotan 2 nasal spray for tanning ↗, a rare and aggressive form of melanoma that needed surgery and ongoing immunotherapy^[15].

Case reports cannot prove that Melanotan caused these cancers, and melanoma has other causes, especially sunburn and sunbeds, which many users combine with the drug. But a product that drives pigment cells to grow, used by people who also seek out UV, is exactly the combination dermatologists worry about. Our article on the difference between a mole and a melanoma explains what doctors look for.

Are Tanning Nasal Sprays Illegal in the UK?

Selling them is. In May 2025, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute warned that it is illegal to sell medicinal products containing Melanotan 2 in the UK. Sellers try to get around this by marketing nasal sprays as cosmetics, but the sprays are not covered by UK cosmetics regulations either, so they face less scrutiny than an ordinary beauty product and are unlikely to have had any expert safety assessment. Trading standards linked them to changes in moles, a possible melanoma risk, raised blood pressure and breathing problems (Chartered Trading Standards Institute ↗).

Cancer Research UK also advises against Melanotan and says that if you want a tan, fake tan from a bottle or a spray tan is the safer choice (Cancer Research UK ↗).

In practice, this means that anything you buy is made and sold outside any medicines or cosmetics safety system. There is no batch testing, no reliable dose and no one accountable if something goes wrong.

Do Nasal Tanning Sprays Work?

They do darken the skin, and that is the problem. The tan comes from a drug acting on pigment cells all over the body, including the cells in your moles, rather than from a dye sitting on the surface of the skin.

A Melanotan tan is not a safe tan either. Darker skin gives only limited protection against UV, far less than sunscreen, and people who use tanning sprays often spend more time in the sun or on sunbeds, not less. Sunbeds alone raise the risk of melanoma, and UV damage builds up over the years as sun damage and uneven hyperpigmentation.

How long do nasal tanners last?

There is no reliable research on this, because the products are unlicensed and the doses vary. In general, the colour fades gradually once you stop, as pigmented skin cells are shed, which takes several weeks. Moles and patches inside the mouth can take longer: in one case, gum pigmentation was still visible three months after the last dose^[7]. New moles that appear while using Melanotan may not go away at all.

Why Are Nasal Tanners So Popular?

Nasal tanners are cheap, easy to buy and promoted heavily on social media as a quick route to a deep tan without hours in the sun. Flavoured sprays and “peptide” branding make them look like a wellness product rather than an unlicensed drug.

A dermatologist writing in the British Journal of Dermatology has suggested that doctors consider underlying body dysmorphic disorder in people who use Melanotan^[16]. If you find you cannot stop thinking about your skin tone or appearance, our article on body dysmorphia explains the signs and where to get help. The same caution applies to other beauty trends sold through social media, which we cover in cosmetic surgery red flags on social media.

I’ve Used a Tanning Nasal Spray: What Should I Do Now?

If you have used a tanning nasal spray, injection or drops, these are the sensible next steps:

1. Stop using it. Do not increase the dose to “finish the course” or keep the colour.
2. Check your skin. Look at all your moles, including on your back, scalp, soles and between your toes. Ask someone to help or use a mirror, and take photos so you can spot changes later.
3. Look for warning signs. Use the ABCDE checklist: asymmetry, irregular borders, more than one colour, a diameter over 6 mm and evolving (any change in size, shape or colour). Also look out for a mole that itches, bleeds or crusts, and a dark patch inside the mouth or nose.
4. Have new or changing moles checked. Any mole that has appeared or changed since you started using Melanotan should be examined by a doctor. Tell them you have used it, as it changes how your moles should be judged.
5. Get urgent help for an erection lasting more than four hours, a severe headache with confusion or changes in vision, chest pain, very dark urine or severe muscle pain. Go to A&E or call 999.

If a mole needs to come out, it is removed under local anaesthetic and sent to a laboratory to be examined under the microscope, which is the only way to be sure what it is. Our guides explain when an itchy or bleeding mole is a concern, why removed moles are sent for biopsy and what skin lesion histology involves. A mole that looks suspicious of cancer should be referred urgently through your GP on the NHS.

Safer Ways to Get a Tan

If you want a tan, the safest options work on the surface of the skin, not inside it:

• Fake tan and gradual tanning lotions. These contain dihydroxyacetone (DHA), which reacts with the dead outer layer of the skin to give a temporary brown colour. There is no UV and no hormone involved.
• Professional spray tans. The same DHA, applied evenly by a trained therapist. Avoid breathing in the spray and protect your eyes and lips.
• Bronzers and tinted moisturisers for a tan that washes off the same day.

None of these protects you from the sun, so you still need sunscreen of SPF 30 or above when you are outdoors. If you have had surgery recently, keep scars out of the sun as well: our article on tanning and cosmetic surgery scars explains why.

Frequently Asked Questions

References

1. Sidhu AS, Konig DJ, Yu-Corpuz BX, Corpuz GS. Unregulated melanotan use promoted via social media: emerging dermatologic and public health risks. Int J Dermatol. 2026;65(6):1343-1344. doi:10.1111/ijd.70286 ↗
2. Peters B, Hadimeri H, Wahlberg R, Afghahi H. Melanotan II: a possible cause of renal infarction: review of the literature and case report. CEN Case Rep. 2020;9(2):159-161. doi:10.1007/s13730-020-00447-z ↗
3. Langendonk JG, Balwani M, Anderson KE, et al. Afamelanotide for erythropoietic protoporphyria. N Engl J Med. 2015;373(1):48-59. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1411481 ↗
4. Nelson ME, Bryant SM, Aks SE. Melanotan II injection resulting in systemic toxicity and rhabdomyolysis. Clin Toxicol (Phila). 2012;50(10):1169-1173. doi:10.3109/15563650.2012.740637 ↗
5. Kaski D, Stafford N, Mehta A, Jenkins IH, Malhotra P. Melanotan and the posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome. Ann Intern Med. 2013;158(9):707-708. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-158-9-201305070-00020 ↗
6. Dreyer BA, Amer T, Fraser M. Melanotan-induced priapism: a hard-earned tan. BMJ Case Rep. 2019;12(2):e227644. doi:10.1136/bcr-2018-227644 ↗
7. Bonchev A. Changes in oral mucosa associated with Melanotan II injections: a case report. Life (Basel). 2026;16(2):265. doi:10.3390/life16020265 ↗
8. Breindahl T, Evans-Brown M, Hindersson P, et al. Identification and characterization by LC-UV-MS/MS of melanotan II skin-tanning products sold illegally on the Internet. Drug Test Anal. 2015;7(2):164-172. doi:10.1002/dta.1655 ↗
9. Habbema L, Halk AB, Neumann M, Bergman W. Risks of unregulated use of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone analogues: a review. Int J Dermatol. 2017;56(10):975-980. doi:10.1111/ijd.13585 ↗
10. Cardones AR, Grichnik JM. α-Melanocyte-stimulating hormone-induced eruptive nevi. Arch Dermatol. 2009;145(4):441-444. doi:10.1001/archdermatol.2008.623 ↗
11. Cousen P, Colver G, Helbling I. Eruptive melanocytic naevi following melanotan injection. Br J Dermatol. 2009;161(3):707-708. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2133.2009.09362.x ↗
12. Burian EA, Jemec GBE. Eruptive melanocytic nevi: a review. Am J Clin Dermatol. 2019;20(5):669-682. doi:10.1007/s40257-019-00444-8 ↗
13. Mang R, Krahl D, Assmann T. Dermoscopic changes in melanocytic nevi during use of melanotan II [in German]. Hautarzt. 2012;63(11):880-884. doi:10.1007/s00105-012-2420-1 ↗
14. Hjuler KF, Lorentzen HF. Melanoma associated with the use of melanotan-II. Dermatology. 2014;228(1):34-36. doi:10.1159/000356389 ↗
15. Yassin Alsabbagh A, Bhujel N, Singh RP. Melanotan II nasal spray: a possible risk factor for oral mucosal malignant melanoma? Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2025;54(9):806-808. doi:10.1016/j.ijom.2025.03.014 ↗
16. Affleck A. Consider underlying body dysmorphic disorder in users of melanotan. Br J Dermatol. 2010;162(2):459-460. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2133.2009.09553.x ↗

Worried About a Mole After Using a Tanning Spray?

If you have noticed new, darker or changing moles, you can book a mole check at our Baker Street clinic by calling 020 7993 4849 or using the form below. Any mole that needs to come out can usually be removed under local anaesthetic and sent for histology, and a patient coordinator will be your point of contact throughout. You can read more about removing moles, cysts and other skin lesions.