Your body already makes a hormone that tells your skin to tan. Melanotan 2 is a synthetic peptide engineered to mimic that hormone but in a version that's more potent and longer lasting than Burning for a Tan: Why Sunbeds and Melanotan Aren't Worth the Risk Young Scot No, you don't need the 'Barbie drug' to tan, whatever TikTok says. Here's why melanotan II is so risky Changes in Oral Mucosa Associated with Melanotan II Injections: A Case Report