MT-1 (Melanotan I)
Tanning peptide that darkens your skin by driving melanin production. An alpha-MSH analog with a cleaner side effect profile than MT-2.
MT-1 (Melanotan I): Tanning peptide that darkens your skin by driving melanin production. An alpha-MSH analog with a cleaner side effect profile than MT-2. MT-1 mimics a hormone your body uses to make pigment in your skin.
MT-1 mimics a hormone your body uses to make pigment in your skin. With sun or tanning-bed exposure, it gives you a darker tan from much less UV time. Cleaner side effect profile than the more popular MT-2.
Approved as Afamelanotide (Scenesse), 2019, for adults with erythropoietic protoporphyria.
FDA-approved drug products containing this substance are available. Compounded versions are not FDA-approved.
Yes, Scenesse implant prescribed by dermatology / specialty providers for EPP. Off-label use for general pigmentation is outside the FDA approval.
Who it's for
- →Light-skinned users wanting baseline tan with less UV time
- →People who tried MT-2 and didn't tolerate the libido / nausea hit
- →Anyone running it under medical context (Afamelanotide is the drug version)
What to expect
- Week 1
Nausea at first doses. Slight darkening begins; UV is not required for it.
- Week 4
Visible pigmentation if you've actually been in the sun.
- Week 8
Maintenance phase. Pigment holds with weekly dosing + occasional UV.
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How it works (mechanism)
Alpha-MSH analog that binds melanocortin receptors (primarily MC1R). MC1R activation in melanocytes triggers the eumelanin-production pathway directly, so pigment deepens without UV; UV adds to it.
Dosing protocol
Stacks well with
Side effects
When NOT to use
- ⚠Personal history of melanoma
- ⚠Atypical mole syndrome
- ⚠Pregnancy / nursing
Common mistakes
- • Skipping the mole-map baseline
- • Assuming no pigment appears without sun — melanocortin-1 activation drives melanin directly, so pigmentation develops without UV
- • Confusing dosing protocol with MT-2
What it actually is
MT-1, or Melanotan I, is a synthetic analog of alpha-MSH that drives pigment production in skin. Unlike MT-2 it is largely selective for the melanocortin-1 receptor, which means it tans without the erections, heavy nausea and appetite suppression its sibling causes. It also has something almost nothing else in this catalog has: a prescription form. Afamelanotide, sold as Scenesse, is approved in the US and EU for erythropoietic protoporphyria, a rare disorder where sunlight causes severe pain.
Alpha-MSH binds the MC1R receptor on pigment cells and switches on eumelanin production, the darker and more photoprotective form of melanin. MT-1 does the same thing but resists breakdown, so a small dose keeps that signal running. It is more MC1R-preferring than MT-2 rather than cleanly selective — it retains activity at other melanocortin receptors, which is why appetite suppression still appears on its side-effect list, just less prominently than with MT-2. It does not need UV to work: melanocortin-1 activation drives melanin production directly. UV adds to it, and still does the same damage.
Forms, and which is which
A dissolvable implant placed under the skin by a trained clinician, approved for erythropoietic protoporphyria. Assured identity and dose.
Verdict: The only regulated form, for a specific rare disease.
Buyer reconstitutes and doses daily during a loading phase, then weekly. Research-chemical supply with unverified identity.
Verdict: The common cosmetic route, entirely unregulated.
Less selective, so it tans harder and also brings nausea, flushing, erections and appetite suppression.
Verdict: More effect and considerably more side effect.
Absorption is erratic at best by these routes, so the dose delivered is not the dose on the label.
Verdict: Unpredictable dosing of an unregulated compound.
What it is claimed to do, graded
The approved indication, supported by randomised trials. This is the only claim about the compound with regulatory backing.
The pigmentation effect is real, dose-dependent and well characterised, and it does not depend on UV. What has not been shown is that the resulting tan reduces skin cancer risk.
Consistent with the receptor preference and consistently reported by users. No head-to-head clinical trial has compared them, so this is inference plus anecdote rather than a measured difference.
Studied in combination with narrowband UVB phototherapy with some encouraging results. Adjunct rather than treatment, and not established.
The dangerous claim. No evidence supports it, and darkening existing moles actively interferes with the visual monitoring melanoma detection relies on.
Grades describe how much human evidence exists for that specific claim, not whether it will work for you or whether it is safe.
Pros and cons
- • A prescription form exists and is approved, which is rare in this catalog
- • Genuinely more selective than MT-2, so far less nausea and no significant sexual effect
- • The pigmentation effect is real and dose-dependent
- • Randomised trial evidence exists for the approved indication
- • Darkens existing moles, which is exactly what dermatologists watch for melanoma
- • The cosmetic form is unregulated research-chemical supply
- • People commonly pair it with UV anyway, and it does nothing to reduce UV damage
- • Nausea and flushing in the first doses
- • The approved product is for a rare disease and is not what cosmetic users are getting
When to stop
- • Any mole changing size, shape, colour or border — stop and get a dermatologist to look
- • New moles appearing rapidly
- • Nausea that does not settle after the loading phase
- • You have not had a baseline full-body mole map and are already pigmenting
Interactions
Same receptor family. Adds pigmentation and side effects without adding benefit.
Another melanocortin agonist. Redundant and compounds the pigmentation effect.
Not required for pigmentation to develop, and commonly used alongside it. It remains the source of the actual skin risk.
Some antibiotics and diuretics increase UV sensitivity. A tan does not offset that.
Not an interaction. It is the thing that makes cosmetic use less unreasonable, and it is what most users skip.
Is this for you?
- • People with erythropoietic protoporphyria, under specialist care
- • Anyone set on a tanning peptide who has had a baseline mole map and will keep having them — MT-1 is the more selective of the two
- • You have a personal or family history of melanoma, or atypical mole syndrome
- • You have many moles or freckles — you are making dermatological monitoring harder
- • You are pregnant or nursing
- • You believe it protects against skin cancer — it does not, and that belief is the dangerous part
The one number
Sources for the claims above
- Role in vitiligo pathogenesis and emerging treatments
- Therapeutic advances in vitiligo
- Alpha-MSH pathway context in dermatology
Drug & supplement interactions
- ⚠MAO inhibitors theoretically amplify melanocortin response
- ⚠Antihypertensives: melanocortins may slightly elevate BP
- ⚠Use mole-mapping as monitoring; SSRIs may interact with mood-axis effects
The Pepdex take
Pepdex take: 500mcg loading for 14 days then 250mcg twice weekly is the standard pattern. Pigment holds cleanly with much less drama than MT-2, but the trade-off is real: tan ends up roughly 70% as deep as what MT-2 produces. MT-1 is the safer call though, no libido bump, no aggressive mole reactivity reports, no melanoma signal noise. If you want MT-2 results without the moles-and-libido conversation, this is the move. Take loading doses pre-bed to sleep through the nausea.
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Head-to-head with MT-1 (Melanotan I)
Tracked alongside MT-1 (Melanotan I)
Same goal, different aisle — each graded on its own evidence in the Pepdex catalog.