Melanotan & Tanning Injections: Safe or Risky? Tanning peptides like melanotan are trending online, but theyre not approved, not regulated, and illegal to advertise in Australia. When products havent been properly tested, theres no way to know Viral 'Barbie drug' for tanning can cause brain swelling and even cancer, experts warn 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