Best Invention of Beauty.. Inject-A-Tan

coconut-butter

:DWell i know this one may rattle a few cages..
Recently i was informaed of this IMO greatest invention ever, basically the product is called 'Melanotan'
It is pretty much this chemical that you inject into your stomach i think 3 times a week, it builds up your tan gradually over as little as 3 weeks, its not available on irish shelves but i know a couple of people who can get this stuff for 100 euro, (syringes, needles, and 100mls of melanotan)
check out the you tube link below and have a look it seems to be a hit with some people in the US but as for personally injecting myself with a substance that isnt necesarily legal in Ireland.. ?
I dont know..
I use sun beds weekly and have quite sallow skin any ways but dark skin is nice skin to me..
what do u lot think??

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=0g6QXkE68io

phasers

:eek: Why would you willingly inject yourself with something?

coconut-butter

phasers wrote: »

:eek: Why would you willingly inject yourself with something?

all in the name of beauty my friend...
sunbeds will only damage me in the long run

xOxSinéadxOx

ewww injecting yourself!:eek: can't you get pills that makes your skin turn a bit darker?

vibe666

phasers wrote: »

:eek: Why would you willingly inject yourself with something?

insulin?

RxQueen

coconut-butter wrote: »

all in the name of beauty my friend...
sunbeds will only damage me in the long run

i fine it mind boggling that anyone would want to do this, esp in the name of beauty :rolleyes:

jellie

think this was talked about before..
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055442794

sounds weird

MILF

I read just recently about Katie Price using this stuff for ages and she's showing signs of suffering cos of it. I wouldnt willingly inject something into my body just to get a tan when spray tans work better and dont potentially harm you.

What would you do if you took an allergic reaction to something in the injection? It sounds like a savage idea but in reality, I think it sounds mega dangerous.

Pen1987

I know a person who did a lot of research on this for an article. Pretty interesting stuff.

This what I remember her telling me off the top of my head. My cousin has better info, I'll try get him to give me a copy of the resultant article.

Basically, any of the stuff you can get in Ireland has come from irrefutable sources, probably online locations.

It's been banned in the US.

Australia is the only country that permits it and the proper medically researched version and even then it has to be prescribed.

The OTC (over the counter) version that is probably the one available on the black market in Ireland is not advocated by many doctors in Ireland.

It's illegal in most western countries to sell injectable items for non-medical use.

A supplier of it here used the needle exchange in Tallaght to get the needles. They're not the correct size.

Side-effects include nausea and light-headedness.

The person she interviewed had more of a "greeny-hue" than a natural tan.

All in all, I wouldnt use it myself or advocate it, but if you're that desperate, it's not going to kill you... unless you have some kind of reaction to the substances used in it. Another problem is you cant officially discover what exactly is in it because there is no legislation governing it here.

coconut-butter

:P

Pen1987 wrote: »

I know a person who did a lot of research on this for an article. Pretty interesting stuff.

This what I remember her telling me off the top of my head. My cousin has better info, I'll try get him to give me a copy of the resultant article.

Basically, any of the stuff you can get in Ireland has come from irrefutable sources, probably online locations.

It's been banned in the US.

Australia is the only country that permits it and the proper medically researched version and even then it has to be prescribed.

The OTC (over the counter) version that is probably the one available on the black market in Ireland is not advocated by many doctors in Ireland.

It's illegal in most western countries to sell injectable items for non-medical use.

A supplier of it here used the needle exchange in Tallaght to get the needles. They're not the correct size.

Side-effects include nausea and light-headedness.

The person she interviewed had more of a "greeny-hue" than a natural tan.

All in all, I wouldnt use it myself or advocate it, but if you're that desperate, it's not going to kill you... unless you have some kind of reaction to the substances used in it. Another problem is you cant officially discover what exactly is in it because there is no legislation governing it here.

thanks very much, very helpful, ive been thinking about it for a while, but after a lot of research the past couple of days, im not sure i wud inject myself personally but if it does happen to be sold in ireland in the future and is deemed safe then i will definitley use it, but i think i'll keep to the st tropez and occasional sunbed for now.. ive got nice olive skin any way but hey i just fancied gettin a bit darker.. but i'll survive how i am!!
cheers

phasers

vibe666 wrote: »

insulin?

That's very different, diabetics aren't doing it because they want to, I know my mam hates injecting herself with insulin. This tanning thing is used by people with no need for it

Allison91

Sounds disgusting, Ill stick with my pale skin.:)

eth0_

I think if you would actually buy an unlicensed product like this, off the internet, and inject it yourself, you seriously need to assess your mental state.

Not only that but using this product largely increases your chances of getting skin cancer.

FruitLover

*shakes head slowly

...and I thought the fake tan lotion idiots were bad...

Pen1987

It actually perscribed to reduce your chances of skin cancer in Australia. Its usually only given to extremely fair-skinned people. The over the counter stuff, I don't know how well it would work for that type of thing, but the real stuff, definitely doesnt increase your chances of getting skin cancer.

It also has been reported to increase libido so it's being looked at as an a possible off-label alternative to viagra. (Off-label = usually a drug that is easier to get a prescription for or costs less, but has attractive side-effects)

coconut-butter

eth0_ wrote: »

Not only that but using this product largely increases your chances of getting skin cancer.

if u researched this product, it was invented to treat skin cancer as it contains melonin.. hence the name:P

topdog8

I have used this product with great results, it reduces the risk of skin cancer gives you a great looking natural tan..

What more do you want LOL

Esel

Pen1987 wrote: »

(Off-label = usually a drug that is easier to get a prescription for or costs less, but has attractive side-effects)

Totally incorrect definition.

fuzzywiggle

This seems really nasty..there's just something not right about it

topdog8

fuzzywiggle wrote: »

This seems really nasty..there's just something not right about it

I think you have to question your whole morals about it and its really a personal thing, from my own experience i think its an excellent drug and will continue to use it to combat against skin cancer, nice tan and an increased libido (not that i need it or anything LOL)

Melanotan

Wired Magazine's just published an article about the melanotan peptides:

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/01/tan.html

Pretty interesting reading.

Cheers.

briggan

CAN YOU GET ME SOME?

Einstein

pale skin ftw. Why do women think they look better with a poxy fake tan?
Turns me off tbh

Melanotan

Einstein wrote: »

pale skin ftw. Why do women think they look better with a poxy fake tan?
Turns me off tbh

Well just know that a tan that people achieve from using one of the melanotan peptides is absolutely not fake. The peptides actually cause the body's own tanning system (melanocytes) to generate eumelanin (what makes our skin turn brown). This type of a tan once achieved fades in the same fashion as any other tan. I think what makes the peptides so interesting is that fitzpatrick skin type I and II people (those who cannot tan at all whatsoever and those who have difficulty doing so) can achieve a tan for once in their lives this way.

Cheers

Einstein

Melanotan wrote: »

Well just know that a tan that people achieve from using one of the melanotan peptides is absolutely not fake. The peptides actually cause the body's own tanning system (melanocytes) to generate eumelanin (what makes our skin turn brown). This type of a tan once achieved fades in the same fashion as any other tan. I think what makes the peptides so interesting is that fitzpatrick skin type I and II people (those who cannot tan at all whatsoever and those who have difficulty doing so) can achieve a tan for once in their lives this way.

Cheers

its not achieved by walking around in the sunshine, therefore = fake.

take sales pitch and remove thyself from the board.

*Lees*

Einstein wrote: »

its not achieved by walking around in the sunshine, therefore = fake.

take sales pitch and remove thyself from the board.

You still have to go out in the sun to actually get the tan!! Just injecting yourself with it does absolutely nothing to your skin colour!!!
How quickly you get results depends on your skin type!! If you are someone who tans anyway you would still benefit from using it as it takes so much less time in the sun, thus reducing the chances of getting skin cancer!!
Really pale people need to take a lot more of the stuff to see any results but its amazing the way the drug works, it changes someones skin type over time so someone with really pale freckled skin can actually end up looking like a darker skin type person. The wierd thing about it is that red heads start growing darker hair when on this!! Ginger men who take this stuff grow black hair & facial hair!!!
It was actually invented by a cancer research place! I would say the reason it has been banned in america is because of the fact that there were so many companies selling the stuff and they couldn't regulate it!! Either that or they knew it would lead to the collapse of their billion dollar beauty industries as people would no longer spend money on tanning!!!!
I think when it's been fully approved everyone should take it! Not just for tanning, remember tanning was actually a side effect of the drug, the main reason it was developed was to protect against skin cancer!!!

Melanotan

*Lees* wrote: »

It was actually invented by a cancer research place! I would say the reason it has been banned in america is

It's not been banned anywhere. It is just generally illegal to market and sell it (particularly for human usage). The funny thing is that melanotan-1 (under the generic name "afamelanotide") will probably soon be available through a doctor's administration as a bioabsorbable subcutaneous implant. This video talks about it.

artnotort

i read about this a few weeks ago. injecting yourself to turn orange is absolutely ridiculous. take a step back and think about this like

Melanotan

artnotort wrote: »

i read about this a few weeks ago. injecting yourself to turn orange is absolutely ridiculous. take a step back and think about this like

I would agree with you if one did turn orange but you don't, you go brown. Still it's advisable to wait until a well regulated and doctor administered option (as described above) becomes an option as there are a number of risks of danger to using unlicensed grey market drugs.

artnotort

Melanotan wrote: »

I would agree with you if one did turn orange but you don't, you go brown. Still it's advisable to wait until a well regulated and doctor administered option (as described above) comes on the market as there are a number of risks of danger to using unlicensed grey market drugs.

yes but putting on a bit of cream and putting a syringe in your stomach are very different things. id much rather be streaky or pale

Melanotan

artnotort wrote: »

yes but putting on a bit of cream and putting a syringe in your stomach are very different things. id much rather be streaky or pale

The way that folks who are self-administering the peptides do it now is the same way that diabetic folks inject the peptide hormone insulin. Identical.

But like I said already, folks will do well to wait until a well regulated, licensed and doctor administered version becomes available.

*Lees*

artnotort wrote: »

yes but putting on a bit of cream and putting a syringe in your stomach are very different things. id much rather be streaky or pale

It sounds sick but it's just like an insulin injection! It's not injected into your veins, just into the fat so it's practically painless!!!

artnotort

im not convinced. if one of my mates was using it id seriously attmept to talk them out of it. injections for a tan. ugh

Melanotan

artnotort wrote: »

injections for a tan. ugh

I say the same about smoking. For what? Inhaling a known carcinogenic just to "calm one's nerves"? ugh

At least the melanotan peptides don't engender physiological dependence like nicotine, etc. does.

xOxSinéadxOx

I find this a bit digusting, can't you take pills to get a tan?

_Whimsical_

Melanotan wrote: »

It's not been banned anywhere. It is just generally illegal to market and sell it (particularly for human usage).

It may not be illegal but numerous medicine safety boards have warned against it's use.
Aswell as the many possible side effects of injecting yourself with hormones that you do not need,when you deal with companies who are unregulated and unlicenced you run a serious risk that their preparation of the injection may be substandard.You have the possibility of contracting any number of serious infections.

On Feb 29th this year there was a recall in Ireland of certain vials of Melanotan powder used for the preparation of Melanotan injections.

From The Irish Medicines Board:

The Irish Medicines Board (IMB) wishes to advise that it has recently detected the presence of microbial contamination in the water vial supplied with a pack of Melanotan II. Microbial contamination of an injectable product exposes any recipient to the risk of serious infection.

In addition to the detection of microbial contamination, Melanotan (I and II) is not authorised for use in Ireland, or anywhere throughout the EU, so there can be no guarantees as to its quality, safety or effectiveness.

We can also state that, in September 2007, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advised consumers to stop using Melanotan II as it was an unapproved drug and that there was no evidence that it was safe or effective for its labelled uses. The FDA also issued a Warning Letter to the owner of the company that was illegally selling and marketing the product on its website.

In November 2008 the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) warned people not to use Melanotan (I and II) as it is an unlicensed medicine and may not be safe. It also warned eighteen different companies in relation to their selling or advertising of the product.

Source :http://www.totalrecallinfo.com/freerecalls.php?id=10091

Also a recent article in the British Nursing Times linked use of Melanotan to rapid growth and colour change in skin moles. The letter to the BMJ may just reference the experience of 2 patients but in proportion to the small amount of Melanotan users that is enough to cause concern.

A letter to the British Medical Journal reports a 'concerning' new development. The letter says that two recent users of the drug had visited a skin clinic after moles on their bodies had rapidly changed in size and "darkened over a few weeks". Both women had injected Melanotan I and II, which they had bought over the internet, shortly before their moles changed in appearance. The authors advise that there is a cause for concern with the increasing use of Melanotan, and that healthcare professionals should be aware of this when presented with patients with altered moles.

Anyone currently using Melanotan should stop doing so immediately for their own safety.The drug has not been safety tested by the UK medicines safety agency. Users are advised to consult their GP for advice.

Source : http://www.nursingtimes.net/news/Copy_of_behindtheheadlines/2009/02/top_up_tan_injection_melanotan__what_nurses_need_to_know.html

Gsloaner316

HEY MATE JUST WONDERING ANY CHANCE YA CAN GET ME SOME?

fiali

This was on a BBC documentary at the start of the year. Some guy using it in the UK nearly died from one injection of the stuff. There wear no instructions with the set he bought to tell you how much to inject or anything.

Melanotan

fiali wrote: »

This was on a BBC documentary at the start of the year. Some guy using it in the UK nearly died from one injection of the stuff. There wear no instructions with the set he bought to tell you how much to inject or anything.

Yes I watched it. Garri Bailey diagnosed himself as being near death. No medical practitioner was ever quoted or interviewed saying that he nearly died.
One of the discovers of melanotan II, Mac E. Hadley, actually discovered its libido enhancing properties as a result of injecting himself with 10 mg of it mistakenly. Typically melanotan II is sold in 10 mg vials.

Still the problem in Mr. Bailey's case is that without proper testing of what he used no one can be sure if it was pure and sterile or outright counterfeit. Those are big issues when people engage in usage of unlicensed and unregulated medicines/drugs.

Since this thread was last active there's been a big development in that melanotan-1 (under its generic name 'afamelanotide' brand name 'Scenesse') has been approved and become available in Italy as a medicine treatment for those suffering painful UV and light sensitivity stemming from the rare disease erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP): http://www.lifescientist.com.au/article/346731/clinuvel_gets_pre-approval_win_italy/

Lynseyp

Just found this thread today as it was bumped back up by the new comment, but I first heard about Melanotan years ago and I've always thought the effects sounded excellent, but I really don't think I'd go as far as injecting myself!

The below quote, however, is very mistaken!

companies who are unregulated and unlicenced you run a serious risk that their preparation of the injection may be substandard.You have the possibility of contracting any number of serious infections.

On Feb 29th this year there was a recall in Ireland of certain vials of Melanotan powder used for the preparation of Melanotan injections.

From The Irish Medicines Board:

Quote:
The Irish Medicines Board (IMB) wishes to advise that it has recently detected the presence of microbial contamination in the water vial supplied with a pack of Melanotan II. Microbial contamination of an injectable product exposes any recipient to the risk of serious infection.

It is incorrect to call the companies unlicensed and unregulated when a recall was generated by the Irish Medicines Board, as they are the regulatory agency, and the FDA would also be regulating such companies. Stringent quality procedures are in place for licensed production of all drug products, be they for human or animal consumption.

The issue here is not with the product as such, or with the companies producing it (provided you purchase from a genuine source, the product quality is of no concern), but rather the issue is that melanotan is not licensed or approved for use in humans.

I reckon it will be available in many more countries in the next 6-10 years, provided the tanning industry don't pool funds to buy out the patent for melanotan II.

pikachucheeks

Melanotan wrote: »

Well just know that a tan that people achieve from using one of the melanotan peptides is absolutely not fake.

How can it be "not fake" when you're injecting your body with a substance to make yourself brown / orange, to achieve an altered appearance?

You're changing the colour of your natural skin tone, albeit through different means than a more traditional cream or liquid.

It's a purely cosmetic thing and there's nothing natural about it, so anyone using it or trying to pursuade others to use it shouldn't really be fooling themselves otherwise.

I think it's not available in Ireland for good reason. Buying it online could prove to be quite dangerous - You can't vouch for the people selling it to you, you can't 100% guarantee what they've put in to the product. They could be selling you anything! And you could be injecting yourself with a whole host of chemicals you know little or nothing about.

Aside from the risks about the product itself, I think anyone willing to self-inject just to achieve browner skin is crazy.
It's just further proof of how far people will go to achieve the 'beautiful' ideal.

EDIT: I didn't actually know that melanotan isn't approved for use in humans. I've read about it before in a magazine article, but that was never mentioned. Knowing that, why would anyone even consider injecting themselves with the stuff?

Melanotan

pikachucheeks wrote: »

How can it be "not fake" when you're injecting your body with a substance to make yourself brown / orange, to achieve an altered appearance?

When a person goes to a solarium and develops color, a tan, we don't say that the color they developed is fake? The body produced the color through a natural (albeit forced) process therefore the color is real. This is unlike spray-on and/or 'tan-in-a-can' where the color is not produced by the body.

These peptides actually cause the body to produce its own color. The mechanism by which color is produced comes from the body's own color producing cells, melanocytes.

Melanotan

pikachucheeks wrote: »

EDIT: I didn't actually know that melanotan isn't approved for use in humans. I've read about it before in a magazine article, but that was never mentioned. Knowing that, why would anyone even consider injecting themselves with the stuff?

As was previously mentioned, melanotan-1 (under its generic name 'afamelanotide') is now approved and available as a prescribed medicine in Italy. It will likely soon be approved as medicine throughout Europe.
You are correct though about melanotan II. It has only been approved for human usage in a number of clinical trials including this one in New Zealand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g6QXkE68io

cailinrua2011

hey guys does anybody know whats happening with this. is it going to be on the market or what. has anyone tried it. is it dangerour i heard it can change your hair colour is this true. would love to hear from anybody who has tried it especially if you were very pale and could never get a tan.:)

LivingDeadGirl

What on earth is wrong with your natural skin colour in the first place? It's like people are ashamed of their own skin colour.

cailinrua2011

i hate being pale, would do anything to ne able to get even a slight tan. i love fake tan i dont overdo it but its so much effoert and maintainence .

Daisy2010

Hi,
I heard of this recently and it sounded fab until I read an article on it. It's very dangerous. I'm a fake tan addict but would not dream of using this.

Why is it there are so many people who have nothing constructive to say just reply nonsense when they have zero interest in the topic.

cailinrua2011

ya like me i am totally addicted to fake tan i live on bottles of st tropez and egypt wonder. ya i am curious as i am getting married next summer and thinking of going abroad for it and just think itn would be lovely for once not to have to be worrying about fake tan and putting it on everyday . i would only do it for the month or two before the wedding. what bad things did you hear about it.

Jayrocco

A friend if mine has injected herself four times with1ml and has the most amazing tan since.. In two weeks. I have the vial in my Fridge ready to use... But nervous as iv heard such bad things but such good things aswell. I am pale skinned bit nervous ... Should I??

Tayla

Don't be so stupid, apart from the unknown health risks people have been known to end up covered in black moles which do not disappear when you finish using the injections.....they can be all over your face ew

Jayrocco

I no.... Iv read all the bad stuff... Still tempted as the colour has come up so nice on my friend..... I no stupid...