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Limited human dataNot FDA approved

Melanotan II dosage

Also known as: MT-2 · MT2 · MT-II · Melanotan 2 · MT 2

Updated 49 sources

Every Melanotan II protocol on file, 12 in all, labelled by where each number came from. 2 have titration steps, each step is worked out in U-100 units for a 10 mg vial + 1 mL water.

Melanotan II dosage by goal

Grouped by goal. Each protocol shows the amount, how often, cycle and rest as the source states them, with every titration step.

Tanning10

Tanning, phase I trial dose

Amount
0.01 to 0.03 mg/kg
How often
Every other day, alternating with saline, Monday to Friday for 2 weeks
Route
SubQ, vial (powder)
Cycle
2 weeks

Who: Three healthy men in the 1996 University of Arizona pilot phase I trial.

Note: Started at 0.01 mg/kg and stepped up by 0.005 mg/kg. Tanning showed after 5 doses. The authors recommended 0.025 mg/kg a day for later studies; 0.03 mg/kg caused grade II drowsiness and fatigue in one of two men.

Tanning, loading phase (guide)

Amount
100 to 1,000 mcg
How often
Once daily: 100 to 250 mcg on days 1 to 3, 250 to 500 mcg on days 4 to 14, 500 to 1000 mcg in weeks 3 to 6
Route
SubQ, vial (powder)
Cycle
4 to 6 weeks of loading; many frameworks cap loading at 8 weeks
Rest
4 to 6 weeks or more off between cycles

Who: Adults using research vials. The guide frames this as research planning built from early trials and community use.

Timing: At bedtime, so peak nausea happens during sleep. Brief UV exposure is often coordinated.

Note: Step up only if nausea and flushing stay manageable. Fair skin (Fitzpatrick I to II) tends to respond at lower doses; darker skin may need a longer load.

Tanning, maintenance (guide)

Amount
250 to 1,000 mcg
How often
1 to 2 times a week (500 to 1000 mcg); light maintenance 250 to 500 mcg once a week or less
Route
SubQ, vial (powder)

Who: Adults who finished a loading phase.

Note: Light maintenance fits people with strong pigment and regular UV. Many pause in winter and reload before the next sunny stretch.

Tanning, loading by skin type (guide)

Amount
0.1 to 0.5 mg
How often
Once daily in the evening, 7 to 21 days depending on skin type
Route
SubQ, vial (powder)

Who: Adults using research vials; very fair (type I) skin starts at 0.1 mg.

Timing: Evening, because nausea and flushing peak 30 to 90 minutes after the shot.

Titration steps for Tanning, loading by skin type (guide)
WhenDoseU-100 units (10 mg vial + 1 mL water)
Days 1 to 30.25 mg2.5 units · 0.025 mL
Days 4 to 210.5 mg5 units · 0.05 mL

Note: Move to maintenance once the wanted colour arrives: around days 7 to 14 for type III skin, 2 to 4 weeks for type I to II. The guide's cumulative-dose figures by skin type are not sourced.

Tanning, maintenance by skin type (guide)

Amount
0.5 to 1 mg
How often
0.5 mg once or twice a week; olive skin every 10 to 14 days; some take 1 mg once a week instead
Route
SubQ, vial (powder)
Cycle
8 to 12 weeks on
Rest
4 weeks off

Who: Adults after loading. Fair skin needs more frequent doses than olive or dark skin.

Note: A single 1 mg weekly dose may bring stronger side effects on the day.

Tanning, weekly titration (guide)

Amount
200 to 1,000 mcg
How often
Once daily, any consistent time, for 6 to 8 weeks, then 500 to 1000 mcg 1 to 2 times a week
Route
SubQ, vial (powder)
Cycle
6 to 8 weeks of daily dosing

Who: Adults using a 10 mg vial mixed with 3 mL (3.33 mg/mL).

Titration steps for Tanning, weekly titration (guide)
WhenDoseU-100 units (10 mg vial + 1 mL water)
Week 1250 mcg2.5 units · 0.025 mL
Week 2500 mcg5 units · 0.05 mL
Week 3750 mcg7.5 units · 0.075 mL
Weeks 4 to 81,000 mcg10 units · 0.1 mL

Note: The same guide says never exceed 2 mg a day. This ladder runs higher than most community practice.

Tanning, loading (community)

Amount
200 to 1,000 mcg
How often
Daily for 1 to a few weeks, often before bed or before sun
Route
SubQ, vial (powder)

Who: Self-reports on r/Melanotan2, 2025 to 2026.

Note: 250 mcg is called a beginner dose, then 500 mcg. Some load at 500 mcg to 1 mg and accept stronger nausea to tan faster. In one app's logs (46 reports) the most common dose per injection was 0.2 to 0.4 mg, with reports from 0.01 to 2 mg.

Tanning, low dose or no loading (community)

Amount
50 to 200 mcg
How often
Daily in small steps, or only on days with 15 to 30 minutes of UV
Route
SubQ, vial (powder)

Who: Long-time and side-effect-sensitive users on r/Melanotan2.

Note: Some long-term users skip loading and say UV matters more than dose. One user stepped 100, 150, then 200 mcg a week at a time to dodge nausea.

Tanning, maintenance (community)

Amount
50 to 500 mcg
How often
Once to 3 times a week, usually before sun or a sunbed; some go to once every two weeks
Route
SubQ, vial (powder)

Who: Self-reports on r/Melanotan2 after reaching a base tan.

Timing: Often about 30 minutes before sun or a sunbed, or just before.

Note: Reports range from 0.5 mg once a week to 50 to 100 mcg about every two weeks.

Tanning, nasal spray

Amount
1 to 1.5 mg
How often
Daily during loading in the reports; the guide gives an amount per application only
Route
Nasal, nasal spray

Who: Users avoiding needles. One guide and a few self-reports.

Note: The guide says nasal delivery loses 60 to 70% of the peptide and results take 10 to 21 days longer. One user sprayed 1 mg daily for 10 days with little effect, then tanned within a week by injection.

Other protocols: injected2

Erections, ED trial dose

Amount
0.025 mg/kg
How often
Single injection per test session, monitored for 6 hours
Route
SubQ, vial (powder)

Who: Men with psychogenic or organic erectile dysfunction in two small placebo-controlled crossover trials of 10 men each (20 combined, pooled in a 2000 review).

Note: Erections followed in 17 of 20 men without sexual stimulation. Severe nausea hit 12.9% of subjects at this dose. A research dose, not a treatment plan.

Libido and arousal (community)

Amount
500 to 1,000 mcg
How often
The guide gives no schedule; listed here as needed
Route
SubQ, vial (powder)

Who: Users after the sexual effect, reported on a competitor guide.

Note: Lower than the 0.025 mg/kg used in ED trials, chosen for less nausea. PT-141 is the approved melanocortin drug for low desire in women.

Doses shown are what sources report, labelled by origin. Not medical advice.

Melanotan II dosage chart by vial size

Units to draw for the doses sources cite most, at every vial size and water volume.
Melanotan II: concentration and U-100 syringe units for each vial size and water volume
WaterStrength200 mcgdose, units0.5 mgdose, units1,000 mcgdose, units
10 mg vial
1 mLCompetitor guide10 mg/mL20.02 mL50.05 mL100.1 mL
2 mLCompetitor guide5 mg/mL40.04 mL100.1 mL200.2 mL
3 mLCompetitor guide3.333 mg/mL60.06 mL150.15 mL300.3 mL
5 mLCompetitor guide2 mg/mL100.1 mL250.25 mL500.5 mL
Units are on a U-100 insulin syringe (100 units = 1 mL). U-50 and U-30 barrels read the same units.Water volumes from

Doses shown are what sources report, labelled by origin. Not medical advice.

Calculate with this peptideYour vial, your water, your dose: Melanotan II in syringe units, with the math shown.

Mixing Melanotan II

Diluent: Bacteriostatic water

Water volumes sources use: 1 mL, 2 mL, 3 mL, 5 mL

2 mL in a 10 mg vial is the common mix: 5 mg/mL, so 250 mcg is 5 units and 500 mcg is 10 units. Small doses read more easily on 0.3 mL (30-unit) syringes, users say. Run the water down the vial wall and swirl, do not shake.

If you miss a dose

Skip it and return to the normal schedule; pigment builds slowly, so one missed dose changes little. Do not double up.

Melanotan II dosage questions

What is the starting dose of Melanotan 2?

Guides start at 100 to 250 mcg a day for the first 3 days to test nausea and flushing, and as low as 0.1 mg for very fair skin. On r/Melanotan2, 250 mcg is called a beginner dose before moving to 500 mcg; cautious users start at 50 to 150 mcg.

How many units is 250 mcg or 500 mcg of MT2?

With a 10 mg vial mixed with 2 mL of bacteriostatic water (5 mg/mL), 250 mcg is 5 units and 500 mcg is 10 units on a U-100 insulin syringe. With 1 mL it is 2.5 and 5 units; with 3 mL it is 7.5 and 15 units. Use the calculator for your own mix.

What happens if you miss a dose of MT2?

Guides say skip it and carry on with the normal schedule. Pigment builds slowly, so one missed dose changes little. Do not double up.

Sources for these doses

22 sources, each checked by date. Record updated Oct 24, 2026. Numbers are restated in our own words and labelled by where they came from.

Competitor guide4

  1. Melanotan 2 (MT-2) Peptide Guide: Dosing, Reconstitution & Safety (2026)peptidedosingprotocols.com · checked Oct 24, 2026
  2. Melanotan II (10 mg Vial) Dosage Protocolpeptidedosages.com · checked Oct 24, 2026
  3. Melanotan 2 Dosage Chart by Skin Typepeptidesexplorer.com · checked Oct 24, 2026
  4. Melanotan II: Benefits, Dosage & Side Effectspeptidesexplorer.com · checked Oct 24, 2026

Community-reported14

  1. r/Melanotan2 comment p9wv102r/Melanotan2 · checked Oct 24, 2026
  2. r/Melanotan2 comment p9b76u4r/Melanotan2 · checked Oct 24, 2026
  3. r/Melanotan2 comment pdyl7t3r/Melanotan2 · checked Oct 24, 2026
  4. r/Melanotan2 comment p5yvrnhr/Melanotan2 · checked Oct 24, 2026

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