Melanotan 1

Melanotan 1 (MT1) is afamelanotide, a lab-made version of alpha-MSH that switches on the skin's pigment receptor, MC1R, and raises brown-black melanin without sun. It was first made in 1980. The approved product is Scenesse, a 16 mg implant for a rare light-sensitivity disease; MT1 research vials are unregulated copies of the same sequence.

Same molecule, different products. Afamelanotide is the drug name and Scenesse is the FDA-approved 16 mg implant, placed under the skin every 2 months by a trained clinician. Vials sold as MT1 are research chemicals with no approval, no fixed dose and no quality guarantee.

One 16 mg implant inserted under the skin above the front hip bone every 2 months, by a trained healthcare professional. In the EU, 3 implants a year are recommended and 4 is the maximum, timed for the sunny months.

One guide uses 0.25 mg daily for 3 to 5 days, then 0.5 to 1 mg daily for 10 to 14 days, then 0.5 to 1 mg two or three times a week. r/Melanotan2 users mostly run 250 to 500 mcg daily, some 1 mg, then 0.5 mg twice a week. Trials used far more: 0.08 to 0.16 mg/kg a day.

With a 10 mg vial mixed with 2 mL of bacteriostatic water (5 mg/mL), 0.5 mg is 10 units on a U-100 insulin syringe and 1 mg is 20 units. With 1 mL of water, halve those numbers.

Less. In the Scenesse trials nausea hit 19% vs 14% on a dummy implant. Early injection trials called side effects minor: occasional stomach upset and brief flushing. MT1 users on r/Melanotan2 report mild flushing and brief, mild nausea, and one guide puts MT1 nausea at roughly 1 in 5 users against 80 to 90% of MT2 users during loading.

It raises melanin without UV: in a 1991 trial skin darkened while everyone wore high-potency sunscreen. In practice guides and users pair it with short sun or sunbed sessions, which they say makes MT1 colour show faster. One trial found MT1 plus sunlight needed less sun time for the same tan.

In a 1991 trial skin darkening peaked 1 to 3 weeks after a 12-day course of injections. Guides say freckles darken first, around days 4 to 10, with overall colour over weeks 2 to 4; fair skin is slower.

As Scenesse, yes: FDA approved it on October 8, 2019 for adults with phototoxic reactions from erythropoietic protoporphyria. It is not approved for tanning, and research vials are not approved at all. The EU approved it in December 2014.

It darkens existing moles and freckles. In the Scenesse trials new or changing moles were reported in 4% vs 2% on the dummy implant, and the label recommends a full skin exam twice a year. Case reports tie unregulated melanotan I and II to atypical moles.

Short when injected plain: 0.8 to 1.7 hours after a subcutaneous shot in a 1997 study. The Scenesse implant releases it slowly, giving an apparent half-life of about 15 hours, peak levels at a median 36 hours, and no measurable drug after about 96 hours in most people.

In a 2006 trial of 65 people, three 10-day afamelanotide courses cut sunburn cells by more than half in people who burn easily and cut thymine dimers, a marker of UV DNA damage, by 59%. People with EPP gained pain-free sun time on the implant. Neither replaces sunscreen; the label tells EPP patients to keep their sun protection.

WADA's 2026 list does not name afamelanotide. The catch-all S0 class only covers substances with no current approval for human use, and afamelanotide is approved in the US and EU, so S0 does not reach it on its wording.

Scenesse implants go in the fridge at 2 to 8 C, away from light. Mixed research vials are kept at 2 to 8 C too; guides give 28 or 30 days, though one says no tested discard period exists.