Melanotan I

Melanotan I is the selective one. Where Melanotan II hits several melanocortin receptors and produces arousal, nausea and appetite effects alongside the tan, Melanotan I acts mainly at MC1R, the pigmentation receptor.

Under the name afamelanotide it is an approved medicine, licensed in Europe in 2014 and by the FDA in 2019 as Scenesse.

Why people are talking about it#

Selectivity. It does one thing rather than four, and for anyone who found Melanotan II's nausea and flushing intolerable that is the whole appeal.

The medical story is more remarkable than the cosmetic one. For people with erythropoietic protoporphyria, sunlight causes severe burning pain within minutes. This medicine is the difference between going outside and not.

What people take it for#

In medicine, one rare disease. Beyond that, pigmentation.

Erythropoietic protoporphyria#

The approved use is increasing pain-free light exposure in adults with erythropoietic protoporphyria, an inherited condition in which sunlight causes severe burning pain.

The mechanism is pigmentation: more eumelanin in the skin absorbs more light before it reaches the tissue where the reaction happens. For people with this condition the effect is substantial, which is why it was approved on relatively small trials.

Pigmentation#

The mechanism is the same MC1R agonism, and the selectivity claim holds up: it genuinely does not produce the arousal effects its cousin does.

What that means in practice is a compound that does one thing. It does not mean the pigmentation itself is without consequences, and the mole question below is the reason.

What the evidence shows#

The approval rests on randomised trials in erythropoietic protoporphyria showing increased pain-free time in sunlight. Those trials were small, as trials in rare diseases are, and regulators in Europe and the US both accepted them.

For cosmetic tanning there is no efficacy trial and no established dose. The pigmentation effect itself is well described.

Nausea, flushing and headache are reported, generally less prominently than with Melanotan II. The effect that matters most is pigmentary: existing moles darken and new pigmented lesions can appear. That is expected from the mechanism, and it is why the licensed product is used alongside regular skin monitoring.

How it is taken#

The licensed product is a controlled-release implant, placed under the skin in a specialist centre and releasing over roughly two months. Skin checks accompany it.

That structure is most of what makes the treatment work as a treatment: a known dose, a clinician, and somebody watching the moles.

How it compares#

Against Melanotan II#

Melanotan II is less selective and produces arousal, nausea and appetite suppression alongside the tan. Melanotan I is cleaner in that sense, and the pigmentation-related mole question applies to both equally.

Against sunbeds#

Ultraviolet exposure causes pigmentation through DNA damage, and is a known carcinogen. Melanotan I avoids that particular route, and brings its own considerations about melanocyte stimulation and mole surveillance.

Common questions#

Is it approved?

Afamelanotide is, as an implant for erythropoietic protoporphyria, supplied through specialist centres.

Is it gentler than Melanotan II?

It has fewer side effects because it is more selective. On the pigmentation and mole question, both carry the same consideration.

Does the tan protect against sunburn?

In people with the licensed condition it increases tolerated light exposure. Treating that as general sun protection is not supported, and sunscreen remains the intervention with the evidence behind it.

Why an implant rather than an injection?

A controlled-release implant gives steady exposure over about two months from a single procedure, which suits a condition managed across a whole summer.