Paying through the nose: We reveal health risks from popular nasal tanners
Meet Melanotan II: The unregulated and illegal drug with life-threatening side effects being taken by thousands of people craving a dark tan
Last updated 13th Sep 2024
Doctors, experts and the UK Government are issuing a warning about the soaring popularity of illegal and dangerous nasal tanning sprays.
Our exclusive investigation has discovered the sprays, which contain Melanotan II, are openly being sold on social media.
The unregulated drug is becoming increasingly popular among young people looking to achieve a natural dark tan with UV exposure.
However, it can cause serious side effects including melanomas, kidney failure and changes to skin pigment.
Experts say the products are often brought into the UK from abroad, and their unregulated nature means it is impossible to tell exactly what they contain.
This means it is often made in "underground labs", and can contain up to "100 chemicals in a vial", compared to the one stated on the ingredients list.
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What is Melanotan II?
Melanotan II is a synthetic hormone which when taken through nasal sprays or injections causes the body to produce more melanin which is responsible for causing the skin to tan.
When the drug enters the bloodstream, it causes the skin to temporarily darken when exposed to UV light - namely, natural sunlight or sunbeds.
The 'tan' will fade over time if you stop using it.
Is it new?
The short answer is no - the product has been around since the 1990s when it was first developed to try and prevent skin cancers.
At the time, there was the possibility of it being accessible on an NHS prescription basis for people with extremely vulnerable fair skin - until all the side effects started to emerge.
Dr Fabiola Creed has spent her academic career researching tanning culture in the UK - she said: "It appeared on the black market in the early 2000s but I never saw it and no one ever purchased it for a while.
"I guess it was before people were confident with buying things quickly online, consumer confidence was lower.
"I think extremity has been normalised, and I really think that has helped with the popularity of Melanotan.
"I think the mega internet consumerism we see on platforms like Instagram and Tik Tok with aggressive marketing combined with influencers is normalising it too.
"It goes hand-in-hand with botox and steroids culture - younger people aren't as afraid to take risks for beauty standards these days.
"Before, medicines and injectables were clinical. Now they're available for everyone if you know where to look."
What does it do to you?
Melanotan II has commonly been dubbed the 'Barbie drug' because of how it impacts the body - most noticeably, the darkening of the skin, a loss of appetite and prolonged erections.
The common side effects identified by experts include nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea, dizziness and headaches, and discolouration of the skin and nails.
However, studies link the drug to more serious side effects including:
- Melanoma, which is a form of skin cancer
- An increase in the development of new moles, and a change in colour and size of existing moles
- Kidney failure
- Potentially life-threatening destruction of muscle cells
READ MORE: 'I played Russian roulette by taking nasal tanners'
Stuart Warren manages the Sunset Beach sunbed chain across Glasgow and the West - and while he understands people's love of tanning - he said he cannot abide by the use of illegal products.
He said: "I find it really interesting as to why people would want to use these to accelerate their tans.
"I have had experiences and I have seen people use these products.
"I believe that they make you quite sick, give you headaches and keep you up at night.
"It can cause darkening of the eyes and lips - I've seen the lips go purple and it's not nice to see. The customer actually looks quite ill.
"We have to be aware in the salons and be able to spot the signs in customers who are using this product.
"Then we need to educate and advise the customer that it's not best to use these sprays."
Is it legal?
Under current UK laws, it is illegal to sell products containing Melanotan II.
You also cannot legally buy Melanotan II in countries like Australia and the USA.
The UK Government's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has confirmed Melanotan II is only classed as a medication and subject to regulation when it is in injectable form - leaving a legal loophole for the drug in its nasal spray equivalent.
Because they are unregulated, there is no guarantee exactly what the nasal sprays contain and the bottles often do not show an ingredients list.
The body said: "Products containing Melanotan II are classified as medicines if they are injectable or pens.
"If a product contains Melanotan II and is in the form of a nasal spray, it will be determined as a medicine only if sold with claims to treat or prevent disease.
"Whilst we accept and include Yellow Card reports for unauthorised medicines on our medicines database, their contents are unknown and there are no safeguards that these products meet our standards for quality, safety or effectiveness.
"These products may cause serious side effects, so our advice to those who have used Melanotan II injections or nasal sprays is to stop using them immediately and if you have suffered side effects, speak to your doctor and report them to the MHRA through our Yellow Card Scheme."
How are people buying Melanotan II?
You certainly won't find Melanotan II nasal sprays while wandering around the tanning section of Boots or Superdrug.
But, this investigation has discovered that all people need to buy this illegal drug is a social media account and a debit card.
Social media platforms including Tik Tok and Instagram are flooded with posts showcasing very dark 'natural' tans achieved by using nasal tanning sprays.
Because of the way algorithms work on social media pages, it is likely that if you see this type of content once, you will see it several more times.
Experts deem this as a form of 'aggressive' marketing which can encourage more young people to take the risk and buy the product.
Social media expert, Ali Olivier, said: "If you interact, like, watch something all the way to the end or send it to a friend, that signals to the algorithms that you like the piece of content.
"The algorithm's only intention is to keep you on the app for as long as possible, so it'll serve you more and more of the same.
"It is almost becoming more aggressive in the way that people are selling - especially with affiliate models where people earn commission if they sell something via a link.
"Anyone can be an 'influencer', as such, and what that's done is open the floodgates.
"It's become a volume game, and people are more likely to flog something they maybe wouldn't have before if they're getting a high commission."
As part of this investigation - we tested how easy it was to buy Melanotan nasal sprays through Instagram.
A quick search found hundreds of accounts offering a menu of nasal sprays, offering different strengths and flavours.
With prices starting from just £25 and deals for bulk buying, a direct message to the seller confirmed they would send the products in the mail for just £3.85 tracked postage.
Tik Tok and Instagram confirmed that as a result of our investigation, they have removed some accounts promoting and selling the nasal sprays.
Tik Tok says that guidelines are clear that the depiction, promotion, or trade of controlled substances like Melanotan II is not allowed.
The platform also said it has banned some hashtags, including #nasaltanning, and will continue to remove accounts and videos that depict or promote nasal tanning.
Meta, which owns Instagram, said: “We have removed the content brought to our attention for violating our policies on cosmetic products. ”
How popular is Melanotan II in the UK?
Because of social media promotion, the drug appears to be becoming more popular among young people.
A simple search for 'nasal tanning spray' on Instagram shows thousands of posts promoting the products, which then has hundreds of thousands of comments by interested viewers asking how they can get it, or warning of their own poor experiences.
Similarly, although Tik Tok has banned hashtags relating to nasal tanners, people still post about nasal tanners, showing off bronzed skin and boasting about the product.
Both men and women are turning to the method, with Melanotan II nasal sprays videos racking up more than 86 million views on Tik Tok to date.
There is a lack of modern research surrounding the use of the drug in the UK but anecdotally, it appears to be more popular than ever.
GP-turned aesthetics practitioner, Dr Cormac Convery, said it is a worrying new phenomenon.
He said: "Talking to colleagues, they tell me that lots of friends are using this.
"So this is something that is being used, but we don't fully know what it is or what it does other than make your skin darker.
"We have no idea what's in these products, yes there will be the hormone, but what else is in there?
"It could be anything off their kitchen floor, cat litter tray or anything else.
"People are promoting this by seeing some tanned guy pose for a mirror picture in the urinals... my god."
"The challenge is, because it isn't classed as a medication, how do we pin down exactly what negative outcomes are associated with it?"
Why isn't there a crackdown on Melanotan II?
The legal loophole previously discussed means that it is very difficult for bodies like the MHRA, Trading Standards or even Police Scotland to crack down on sales of Melanotan II.
Because of the non-medical level of regulations on the nasal spray form of the drug, the UK Government's Department of Business and Trade said any nasal spray sold must be "safe".
However, an FOI to the department revealed that all Melanotan II nasal sprays that have been subjected to investigation have failed on labelling requirements and were ordered to be removed from sale.
A spokesperson said: “Nasal tanning sprays must comply with safety regulations, which means those selling products, including online, must ensure they are safe before placing them on the market.
“Anyone with concerns about a product is urged to contact Citizens Advice or their local trading standards department.”
Lawyer, Susan McMahon, explains: "It's definitely harder to regulate because it's not classified as a medication.
"With medicines, there are places to go like the MHRA - but Melanotan II is probably deemed to be a 'natural' or 'organic beauty product' when it's in it's nasal spray form.
"Cracking down on that is then really difficult, so that's why we need these things perhaps classified in a different way.
"I think the Government has a part to play in reclassifying these things that could be harmful but can be sold.
"For example, vapes are classified, whereas Melanotan products are one of those random things that appears on the market.
"It's definitely a classification issue in the first instance, and then a public safety in the second instance."
Trading Standards and Police Scotland refused to comment on Melanotan II.
What needs to happen next?
Firstly, charities, industry and government bodies recommend that anyone using the drug should stop immediately as it is impossible to know what the products contain or how they will affect you.
Beth Vincent from Cancer Research said: “Melanotan nasal sprays and injections are illegal in the UK.
"They have not been tested for safety, quality or effectiveness, so it is not known if using them causes side effects or how serious they might be.
“If you have used Melanotan, you should stop. We encourage everyone to own their natural skin tone, but if you really want a tan, it’s safer to use fake tan from a bottle or get a spray tan.”
However, experts say that more must be done to prevent the sale of these products and recommend that the UK Government reclassify all products containing Melanotan II as medications.