Melanotan II user experiences: what users themselves report
Users’ own accounts, not research. The accounts are self-selected and prove neither that it works nor that it is safe.
This page does not list users’ doses or sellers, and no figure on it is a recommendation. Doses used in studies, with sources: Melanotan II dosage in studies.
In short
Of 109 people, 62 (57%) said Melanotan II brought some benefit and 65 (60%) some harm.
- An AI model read and classified 300 public Reddit posts one by one, following written instructions. 114 were first-hand accounts, from 109 different people.
- Benefits mentioned most often: tan (51, 47%), less sunburn (5, 5%) and sexual desire or erection (5, 5%).
- Harms mentioned most often: uneven or unwanted darkening (freckles, face, lips) (24, 22%), nausea or vomiting (18, 17%) and flushing (12, 11%). In addition, 15 (14%) described some other, rarer harm. People tend to post when something goes wrong, so this share does not tell how common harms are.
- Almost all accounts (112 of 114) came from the users' own forum r/Melanotan2, where a tan is the goal. 7 (6%) described mole changes; the accounts cannot tell how often such changes are dangerous.
- The accounts cannot separate the substance from placebo or other causes. What the research shows: Melanotan II: what the research shows.
Where the accounts come from and how we read them
Sources: the Reddit forums r/Melanotan2 (112 accounts) and r/Peptides (2), 23 Nov 2024 to 6 Oct 2026. The posts were retrieved from a public Reddit archive. From first-person posts about Melanotan II, 300 were picked at random, and every one was read.
Coding: for each account we recorded the route, reported benefits and harms, how strong a harm was, whether and why the person stopped, length of use and other substances used at the same time. We kept accounts that reported some effect, some harm, or no effect. Questions and plans were left out. A harm was recorded when the person reported it during use, even if the cause was uncertain. Several posts by one person count as one person. One person can mention several things, so the shares in the tables do not add up to 100.
Check: an AI model read and classified the posts following written instructions. A second, separate AI run classified a random tenth (30 posts) again without seeing the first classification. The main fields matched: 28/30 (93%).
Whose accounts these are: routes mentioned: injection 36, nasal spray 15; the others did not say. The figures describe the writers and are not a recommendation. The products were not verified, so we do not know what people actually took.
Did Melanotan II help? The overall picture
Of 109 people, 38 (35%) reported benefit only, 24 (22%) both benefit and harm, 41 (38%) harm only and 6 (6%) neither.
Stopping. 7 people (6%) said they stopped or paused: 2 because of harms and 5 because they noticed no effect or for another reason.
| Overall picture: benefit, harm or neither | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Benefit only | 38 | 35% |
| Both benefit and harm | 24 | 22% |
| Harm only | 41 | 38% |
| Neither benefit nor harm | 6 | 6% |
Most common reported benefits
Of 109 people. 62 (57%) mentioned some benefit; the table lists every benefit reported.
| Reported | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Tan | 51 | 47% |
| Less sunburn | 5 | 5% |
| Sexual desire or erection | 5 | 5% |
| Less appetite or weight loss | 3 | 3% |
| Other benefit | 8 | 7% |
Share = people / 109.
Most common reported harms
Of 109 people. 65 (60%) mentioned some harm; 6 said explicitly they had none.
| Reported | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Uneven or unwanted darkening (freckles, face, lips) | 24 | 22% |
| Nausea or vomiting | 18 | 17% |
| Flushing | 12 | 11% |
| Mole changes or new moles | 7 | 6% |
| Prolonged or unwanted erection | 6 | 6% |
| Fatigue | 3 | 3% |
| Headache | 2 | 2% |
| Heart or blood pressure | 1 | 1% |
| Yawning or stretching | 1 | 1% |
| Other, rarer harm | 15 | 14% |
| Harms mentioned but not named | 1 | 1% |
Share = people / 109.
How severe were the harms?
Of the 64 people who described how strong a harm was, 41 (64%) described it as mild, 20 (31%) as clearly bothersome and 3 (5%) as severe. The strength is the writer's own description, not a doctor's assessment.
| Strength of the harm as the writer described it | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Mild: minor and manageable | 41 | 64% |
| Clearly bothersome: several days, sleep or work affected | 20 | 31% |
| Severe: emergency visit, hospital or unable to function | 3 | 5% |
Harms known from research and regulators: What are the side effects of melanotan II?
How long did people use Melanotan II?
64 of 109 people (59%) said how long they had been using it at the time of writing. Where one person wrote several posts, the longest stated time counts.
| Stated length of use | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under a week | 22 | 34% |
| 1-4 weeks | 25 | 39% |
| 1-3 months | 9 | 14% |
| Over 3 months | 8 | 13% |
Many people post partway through, often in the first days or as soon as harms start, so short times are over-represented. The numbers describe the writers; they do not say how long it should be used.
Other substances at the same time
12 of 109 people (11%) used other substances at the same time. The most common: melanotan 1 (4), antihistamine (2), beta-carotene (2) and retatrutide (2). Then the account cannot tell which substance had the effect.
About dosing
We do not repeat the amounts or ways of use people mention, and we give no dosing or how-to instructions. A safe dose is not known. Doses used in studies, with sources: Melanotan II dosage in studies. Legal status: Is melanotan II legal in Finland?
What can be concluded?
A tan was the intended and most often reported effect. The most common harm was unwanted or uneven darkening, and some described mole changes, which the accounts cannot assess.
The accounts prove neither that it works nor that it is safe. The writers are self-selected, the product contents are unknown, many used several substances at once, and placebo effects can be large. The research and its evidence levels: Melanotan II: what the research shows.
Quotes
Short excerpts in the writers’ own words. Writers’ names and links are not shown. We picked quotes from every group: benefit, both benefit and harm, no effect, harms and people who stopped.
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"I have now achieved a nice colour and people are noticing, so i dont want to overdo it"
r/Melanotan2, 2025-06, Nasal spray for two weeks together with tanning beds or the sun. A tan, the most common benefit reported in the sample, became visible and others noticed it.
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"have been using M2 for the past few months with great results. Probably the best part is not getting sun burned so easily."
r/Melanotan2, 2025-09, Route not stated, a few months of use. The fair, red-haired writer got a good tan and burns less easily in the sun than before.
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"I am so excited with the color I've been getting from MT2 , but am noticing some dark freckles/moles on my face"
r/Melanotan2, 2025-05, Route and duration not stated. The tan worked, but dark freckles or moles appeared on the face, which was the most common harm in the sample.
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"I haven't experienced any flushing, nausea og any symptoms which is a bit odd. I'm very pale and haven't seen any new moles or color yet."
r/Melanotan2, 2026-06, Route not stated, about a week of use and one tanning bed session. No effects and no side effects, and the writer suspects the product is fake.
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"Slight nausea - does this go away or will this happen everytime I pin?"
r/Melanotan2, 2025-02, Injected under the skin, first time using it. The writer had slight nausea and asks whether it eases with continued use.
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"I have not and will not take more M2 because I think this may be the cause."
r/Melanotan2, 2025-03, Route not stated, first week of use. The writer had several days of jitteriness, palpitations and a higher than usual resting pulse and blood pressure, and stopped. They are not sure the substance was the cause.
Other summaries made with the same method: BPC-157 user experiences, GHK-Cu user experiences, PT-141 user experiences, Melanotan 1 user experiences, Glutathione user experiences, GLOW blend user experiences, KLOW blend user experiences and user experiences with collagen and skin peptides.
Content is general information about research, not medical advice. If you have symptoms, contact a healthcare professional.