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 No, you don't need the 'Barbie drug' to tan, whatever TikTok says. Here's why melanotan II is so risky Melanotan II: Benefits and Unexpected Lip Darkening TikTok What is Melanotan II, the drug that consumers are urged to avoid? Nitisinone increases melanin in people with albinism National Institutes of Health (NIH) Superpower