Nikki Sommer, a nurse practitioner with Key West Surgical Group, joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning for Medical Matters.
Melanotan is an unregulated, synthetic peptide that stimulates the body to produce melanin – it’s an easy way to tan for those who are willing to take the chance.
Sommer said, “Melanotan is referred to as tanning injections that, or nasal spray, that you’re basically tanning from the inside out. So, if you’re looking for a bronze glow without spending hours in the sun, melanotan is often marketed as a shortcut for achieving darker skin, but let’s talk about what exactly it is. Does it work? Is it safe? And what patients should know before considering trying it.”
What is Melanotan?
Sommer said, “Melanotan is a synthetic peptide designed to mimic a naturally occurring hormone called alpha melanocyte stimulating hormone, or alpha MSH. This hormone signals pigment-producing cells of the skin called melanocytes to produce more melanin. Melanin is what gives your skin, hair, eyes their color. So, more melanin in the skin generally means darker skin.”
There are two versions – melanotan one and melanotan two.
Sommer said, “Melanotan two is typically marketed as injections or nasal sprays. People that are using it, they want to tan faster, achieve darker skin, maintain a year-round tan, spend less time in the sun, prepare for vacations or special events on social media, it’s often presented as an easy shortcut to tan without discussing the potential risks. So, does it work? Yes, it increases pigment in some people. Melanotan stimulates again the melanin production, which can make the skin appear darker. However, because something works that well doesn’t mean that it’s safe. Many products produce a desired cosmetic effect while carrying health risks that consumers may not fully understand.”
Is it FDA approved?
Sommer said, “Melanotan two is not FDA approved for cosmetic tanning purposes. It is important because many products sold online come from unregulated sources, so this means that there’s no guarantee regarding the purity, the accuracy of dosing, quality control, sterility, ingredient verification. Sometimes people just assume that because it’s sold online it has been tested and regulated, and that is not always the case.”
What are the side effects?
Sommer said, “Nausea, vomiting, facial flushing, headaches, fatigue, dizziness, loss of appetite. Some users may experience these symptoms shortly after administration, because melanotan affects multiple systems in the body. Side effects aren’t just limited to the skin alone.”
It can also change moles.
Sommer said, “This is where this becomes a concern for me. If you’re coming to see me for skin pigmentation issues or anti-aging issues, this is what we’re trying to fix. And then you’re on something that’s making more. It is counterproductive. So, one of the biggest concerns that dermatologists are facing is the effect Melanotan can have on moles and pigmented lesions. So, users have reported darkening of existing moles, new pigmented spots, darkening of freckles, freckles, and changes in skin pigmentation patterns. These changes can make it more difficult to monitor for skin cancer, and then recognize suspicious lesions, which we’ve talked about what to do when you go to the dermatologist. How the mole changes, different colors, multiple colors, irregular borders, the ABCDE, asymmetry, border irregularity, color variation, diameter changes, and evolving lesions. When pigmentation throughout the skin is changing, it can make skin surveillance more challenging. So, if you see your dermatologist regularly, and now all of a sudden you go in with darker pigmented lesions, they can only get nervous and suspect that you could have skin cancer, so if you’re on the melanotan and that is causing it, they’re more concerned about that it’s going to be harder to detect skin cancer.”
Does melanotan cause melanoma?
Sommer said, “At this time there hasn’t been enough research to prove that melanotan directly causes melanoma. However, there have been several reports of concerning mole changes and melanoma diagnosis in some users. So, what we know is that excessive UV exposure increases your skin cancer risk. Tanning beds increase your skin cancer risk. A tan is evidence that the skin has already been exposed to UV damage. Whether the tan comes from the sun, a tanning bed, or a peptide stimulating melanin production, skin health still deserves to be monitored carefully.”
Can a darker complexion protect you from sun damage?
Sommer said, “You hear that all the time, like my skin is dark, I don’t have to wear sunscreen, that is not true. Darker skin from melanotan does not protect them from sun damage. This is just, it’s not true. So, even if your skin appears darker, UV radiation can still damage DNA, collagen, elastin, and the skin cells. You can still burn, age prematurely, develop sunspots, and develop skin cancer. So, a tan should never replace daily sunscreen, protective clothing, the hats, sunglasses, and seeking shade. Making your skin darker from the inside out does not protect you any more than the sun beating down on your skin. The damage can be the same.”
Does melanotan affect laser treatments?
Sommer said, “Over the last several weeks, I’ve had a couple people come in who are on Melanotan, and they’re like, it doesn’t create skin cancer, and it gives you a tan, and it’s great. And, of course, I’m like, I’ve never heard of this before. So I had to look it up. Anything that increases the melanin production is going to increase your risk for melanoma, even though they don’t have any data to support that, it’s still a concern for me. Melanotan can affect the way a laser treatment is going affect your results. Anyone considering esthetic treatments, when we talk about anti-aging, laser kind of goes through the gamut of different types of, you’re targeting different things, so you’re targeting pigmentation, usually, you want an even skin tone because you have areas of sun damage, which produce those hyperpigmented spots, and then you want to do the fine lines and wrinkles. Well, when you do laser, you can’t just say I’m going to target the fine lines and wrinkles today. The goal of the laser is to target everything at once. So, if melanotan is increasing the melanin production of your skin, when we do the laser to try and break it up, you’re negating the effect of the laser, essentially. We target sunspot freckles, hyperpigmentation, lentigins, melasma, and skin rejuvenation, and it depends on the pigment you had before. Now, if it’s darker when you’re on this medication, it could potentially alter how the laser energy is absorbed. It can increase the risk of what’s called post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, so it can make it worse. And then it also can increase hypopigmentation. Chronic sun exposure can give you those white spots where actually the melanin has been bleached out in an area, so laser can cause that as well, and then that will affect the treatment outcomes, and it’ll make it harder to evaluate if the laser treatment actually worked or not, or you’re getting the full benefit of the laser treatment. The patients that came to see me did not have melasma, but if you have melasma, which pigment is already challenging in melasma, it could actually make it worse.”
If someone is taking melanotan, should they stop it before laser treatment?
Sommer said, “Because nobody really has studied it, there’s no right or wrong universal answer, because it’s not FDA approved, so it hasn’t been studied in laser medicine, but now as a provider that is providing these laser treatments and dealing with pigmentation, the idea is that you should stop it for some period of time. They do know that it does leave the bloodstream quickly, but the increased pigmentation can remain there for weeks or even months after stopping, so for pigment targeting lasers, which is pretty much all of them, many providers prefer that the patients return close as possible to their natural baseline color before receiving a treatment.”
For more information, click here: https://www.keywestsurgicalgroup.com/