Compare · Melanocortin
Afamelanotide vs Melanotan II
Both are melanocortin compounds. Here's how they line up on the evidence — graded the same way.
| Afamelanotide | Melanotan II | |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence | Preliminary human | Preliminary human |
| Class | Melanocortin | Melanocortin |
| Summary | Afamelanotide is an FDA- and EMA-approved implant for a rare light-sensitivity disease. The trial evidence is real but modest, and it is not the gray-market tanning drug. | A synthetic tanning peptide that does something, but is unapproved, unregulated, and tied to serious harms from priapism to melanoma case reports. |
| Full profile → | Full profile → |
Afamelanotide
Afamelanotide is one of the few compounds in the broad "melanotan" family that is an actual approved medicine rather than a gray-market product. Sold as Scenesse, it is a clinician-implanted drug for a rare inherited light-sensitivity disease. That distinction matters: most of what people read…
Melanotan II
Melanotan II is a synthetic peptide sold online to darken skin ("the tan jab"), suppress appetite, and boost libido. It is not approved as a drug anywhere, and the way people actually use it has never been tested in a controlled trial.