Melanotan II for Health & Longevity - Quick Reference Sheet

Melanotan II for Health & Longevity

Created on 08/06/2026 – Quick Reference based on Evidence Review created using AI4L / Opus 5 Audit

A laboratory-made copy of the body's own pigment signal. It darkens skin reliably and, in men, also triggers erections and raises sexual desire. Against that sit near-universal nausea, unwanted erections, rising blood pressure, and moles that darken and multiply, hiding the early warning signs of skin cancer. Nothing sold is made to any quality standard. (Full Review)

Protocol

The gray-market community regimen
100–250 µg daily
Loading 2–4 weeks, then 250–1,000 µg once or twice weekly. Published trial dose 0.025 mg/kg.
Route and reconstitution
Subcutaneous injection
Powder in bacteriostatic water, abdomen or thigh. Intranasal delivery highly variable.
Best time of day
Evening, 1–2 h before sleep
Nausea, flushing, somnolence and erection peak 1–5 h after dosing.
Time to effect
Skin pigmentation
1–2 weeks
Plateaus at 3–4 weeks.
Erectile response
1–5 hours
After a single dose.
Appetite reduction
Immediate
Not reliably separable from early nausea.

Benefits

Contraindications
  • Personal melanoma or dysplastic naevus syndrome
  • First-degree melanoma relative or CDKN2A mutation
  • More than 50 naevi or atypical moles
  • Fitzpatrick type I with blistering sunburn
  • Uncontrolled hypertension (above 140/90 mmHg)
  • Cardiovascular event within 90 days
  • Chronic kidney disease (eGFR below 60)
  • Sickle cell disease or trait, or priapism-predisposing conditions
  • Prior priapism or posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome
  • Pregnancy, attempted conception or breastfeeding
  • Under 18 years of age
  • Ultraviolet exposure and sunbeds
Key Interactions
  • PDE5 inhibitors (sildenafil, tadalafil)
  • Alpha-blockers (tamsulosin), nitrates (nitroglycerin)
  • Antihypertensives (amlodipine, metoprolol)
  • Stimulants and sympathomimetics (amphetamine)
  • Priapism-associated drugs (trazodone)
  • Over-the-counter medications (pseudoephedrine, ibuprofen)
  • Erectogenic supplements (yohimbine)
  • Thermogenic supplements (synephrine)
  • Pigmentation supplements (copper, tyrosine)
  • GLP-1 agonists (semaglutide, tirzepatide)

Risk & Side Effects

  • High: Nausea; spontaneous erections; somnolence; mole darkening and eruption; adulterated product
  • Medium: Melanoma; blood pressure and heart rate elevation; flushing, headache, injection-site and sebaceous effects; priapism
  • Low: Rhabdomyolysis and kidney injury; renal infarction; posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome; blood-borne infection; melanonychia
  • Speculative: Mucosal and ocular pigmentary change; cardiovascular and renal remodeling

Monitoring

Marker Target Why
Mapped naevus count and dermoscopy No new or evolving lesions Preserves melanoma surveillance
Resting blood pressure Below 120/80 mmHg Captures the sympathetic pressor effect
Resting heart rate 50–65 bpm Tracks sympathetic activation
Creatine kinase (CK) 60–200 U/L Detects muscle breakdown early
Serum creatinine and eGFR Creatinine 0.7–1.1 mg/dL; eGFR above 90 Detects kidney injury
Fasting insulin and HOMA-IR Insulin 2–5 µIU/mL; HOMA-IR under 1.5 Tests the speculative metabolic claim
25-hydroxyvitamin D 40–60 ng/mL A pharmacological tan makes no vitamin D
Total and free testosterone (men) Total 600–900 ng/dL; free 15–25 ng/dL Establishes whether an erectile complaint is hormonal

Cadence: Blood pressure pre- and 2 h post-dose daily for two weeks, then weekly; laboratory testing at baseline, 4 and 12 weeks; dermatological review at 3 months, then every 6–12 months for at least three years after the last dose.

Qualitative Assessment

  • Evenness of pigmentation, and whether darkening concentrates in existing moles and freckles
  • Any new pigmented lesion, or change in colour, size, border or symmetry of an existing one
  • Appearance or widening of a pigmented longitudinal band in any fingernail or toenail
  • Severity and duration of nausea after each dose, and whether it attenuates across a course
  • Appetite, and whether total food and protein intake is maintained
  • Libido and erectile function, distinguishing wanted from unwanted spontaneous responses
  • Sleep quality and continuity in the hours following an evening dose
  • Energy, restlessness and anxiety the day after dosing, as a proxy for sympathetic load
  • Skin oiliness and acne, which track the sebaceous melanocortin effect