MT-2 (Melanotan II)
Tans your skin harder than MT-1 and also bumps libido, but brings rougher side effects. A less selective alpha-MSH analog.
MT-2 (Melanotan II): Tans your skin harder than MT-1 and also bumps libido, but brings rougher side effects. A less selective alpha-MSH analog. MT-2 is the more potent (and rougher) sibling of MT-1.
MT-2 is the more potent (and rougher) sibling of MT-1. Stronger pigmentation but harder side effect profile, including unwanted libido effects. Most people who tried MT-2 first migrate to MT-1 for cleaner results.
Who it's for
- →Users wanting deeper pigmentation than MT-1 delivers
- →People who specifically want the libido side effect
- →Anyone who tolerated the nausea/flush profile in past use
What to expect
- Week 1
Strong nausea early, facial flush, spontaneous erections in male users.
- Week 4
Visible pigmentation, deeper if UV is paired though not dependent on it. Side effects fade.
- Week 8
Maintenance dosing holds tan with weekly use.
Looking at MT-2 (Melanotan II)? Your next 3 steps
- 1Work out your syringe units
Vial size + BAC water turns into the exact units to draw for MT-2 (Melanotan II).
Open calculator → - 2See what to stack & monitor
The companion supplements and the bloodwork worth tracking on this kind of protocol.
Bloodwork guide → - 3Save it & ask the Coach
A free account gets you Coach questions every day, free; membership saves your stack and makes the Coach stack-aware.
Create free account →
How it works (mechanism)
Alpha-MSH analog with broader melanocortin-receptor binding than MT-1 (MC1R + MC3R + MC4R + MC5R). Stronger pigmentation but the MC4R activation drives the libido and appetite-suppression side effects.
Dosing protocol
Stacks well with
Side effects
When NOT to use
- ⚠Personal history of melanoma
- ⚠Atypical mole syndrome
- ⚠Pregnancy / nursing
Common mistakes
- • Starting at full dose instead of titrating up, nausea hits hard
- • Skipping the mole-map baseline
- • Confusing dosing with MT-1 (different side effect profile)
What it actually is
MT-2, or Melanotan II, is a synthetic analog of alpha-MSH, the hormone that tells your skin to make pigment. It makes you tan with far less sun exposure than you would otherwise need. It has never been approved anywhere, it is explicitly warned against by several national medicines regulators, and it is less receptor-selective than MT-1 — which is why it also causes erections, appetite suppression and nausea.
Alpha-MSH binds the melanocortin-1 receptor on pigment cells and switches on melanin production. MT-2 does the same thing but resists breakdown, so a small dose produces a sustained signal. It is not selective: it also hits the melanocortin-3 and -4 receptors, which sit in the brain and control appetite and sexual arousal. That is why the same injection that tans you also suppresses appetite and produces spontaneous erections. It does not need UV to work: melanocortin-1 activation drives melanin production directly, which is why pigmentation develops without sun exposure. UV still adds to it, and still does the same DNA damage it always did.
Forms, and which is which
Buyer reconstitutes. No approved product exists to compare against.
Verdict: The only real form, entirely unregulated supply.
Widely sold. Absorption of a peptide across nasal mucosa is erratic, so the dose you get is not the dose on the label.
Verdict: Unpredictable dosing of an already-unpredictable compound.
The consumer-facing version of the same unregulated product. Multiple regulators have issued warnings specifically about these.
Verdict: Same risks, marketed as a beauty product.
More MC1R-selective, so far less nausea and no significant erectile effect. Its prescription form, Scenesse, is approved for a rare light-sensitivity disorder.
Verdict: The cleaner molecule if pigmentation is actually the goal.
What it is claimed to do, graded
The pigmentation effect is real and mechanistically well characterised, but the direct human tanning evidence for MT-II is essentially a three-participant phase 1 study. Entirely missing is any trial showing the resulting tan reduces skin cancer risk, which is the claim that would justify it.
A consistent and well-documented effect, and the mechanism that PT-141 was developed from. Reported as a side effect as often as a benefit.
Real and consistently reported, via MC4R. Nobody has trialled it as a weight intervention and it would be a poor way to pursue one.
The most dangerous claim attached to it. No evidence supports it, and the compound darkens existing moles, which actively interferes with the visual monitoring melanoma detection depends 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
- • The pigmentation effect works and is dose-dependent
- • Pigment without needing sun exposure is, on its face, a coherent goal
- • Appetite suppression is a side effect some users want
- • The pigmentation effect is dose-related and does not depend on sun exposure
- • Darkens existing moles, which is exactly the signal dermatologists watch for melanoma
- • Never approved anywhere, and the subject of explicit regulatory warnings
- • Nausea and flushing are common, especially when starting at a full dose
- • Case reports link it to serious vascular events including renal infarction
- • People commonly pair it with UV anyway, and it does nothing to reduce UV damage
- • Erections are not optional, and prolonged priapism requiring emergency treatment has been reported
When to stop
- • An erection lasting four hours or longer — priapism is a medical emergency and published MT-II cases required aspiration and phenylephrine. Go to an emergency department, do not wait it out
- • Any mole changing size, shape, colour or border — stop and get a dermatologist to look
- • Chest pain, sudden severe flank or abdominal pain, or any focal neurological symptom
- • Nausea that does not settle after the loading phase
- • New moles appearing rapidly
- • You have not had a baseline mole map and are already pigmenting
Interactions
Same receptor family. Compounds nausea, flushing and blood pressure effects.
Redundant — both drive the same pigment pathway. Stacking adds side effects, not tan.
Both affect vascular tone and MT-2 already produces erections. The combination is not studied.
Not required for pigmentation, and often used alongside it anyway. The peptide does not make sunburn or UV damage less likely.
Melanocortin agonists affect blood pressure, and case reports of vascular events exist.
Is this for you?
- • Honestly, very few people — and only those who have had a baseline full-body mole map and will keep having them
- • Anyone comparing it against MT-1 and deciding the extra effects are worth it
- • 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 have cardiovascular disease or uncontrolled hypertension
- • 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
- Case report of renal infarction with literature review
- Qualitative study of user experience and self-reported effects
- Receptor selectivity across melanocortin receptors
Drug & supplement interactions
- ⚠Same melanocortin-class warnings as MT-1, more pronounced
- ⚠MC4R activation drives libido effects, disclose to provider if on PDE5 inhibitors or psychiatric medications
- ⚠Caution with alcohol (compounds nausea)
The Pepdex take
Stronger tan and a libido bump that some users find surprisingly intense, others find genuinely uncomfortable. The mole-darkening signal is real and worth a baseline mole map photo before starting. If you've cycled MT-2 before with no skin changes, the dose-control is fine. If you spook easy or have a lot of moles, run MT-1 instead and accept a 70%-as-deep tan for materially less risk noise.
Community patterns
New to MT-2 (Melanotan II)? Grab the starter checklist.
Drop your email and we'll send the one-page starter checklist beginners actually need first. No account needed.
No spam, and we never sell your email. Just the checklist. Email support@pepdex.co to opt out any time.
Numbers redacted in this preview. Members get the full answer, on their own stack.
Ask the Coach anything about MT-2 (Melanotan II) or your own stack. This is it working.
Trained only on Pepdex content. Does the dose math, flags interactions, knows your stack. Won't push vendors, won't pretend to be a doctor.
Unlock the full Coach, from $4.99/week →Frequently asked
What is MT-2 (Melanotan II)?+
Is MT-2 (Melanotan II) FDA approved?+
Is MT-2 (Melanotan II) legal?+
Is MT-2 (Melanotan II) banned by WADA?+
Are you still natty after taking MT-2 (Melanotan II)?+
Do doctors prescribe MT-2 (Melanotan II)?+
What's the typical dose of MT-2 (Melanotan II)?+
What are the side effects of MT-2 (Melanotan II)?+
How long until MT-2 (Melanotan II) starts working?+
What can you stack with MT-2 (Melanotan II)?+
Where do people get MT-2 (Melanotan II)?+
MT-2 (Melanotan II) vs MT-1 (Melanotan I), which is better?+
Common questions about MT-2 (Melanotan II)
Head-to-head with MT-2 (Melanotan II)
Tracked alongside MT-2 (Melanotan II)
Same goal, different aisle — each graded on its own evidence in the Pepdex catalog.