Rise in use of 'dangerous' tanning injection Channel 4 News 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 What is Melanotan II the drug that the TGA urges consumers to avoid? People are injecting a tanning peptide to get darker skin without the sun., Its called Melanotan., It works by stimulating melanin production in the body but regulators have raised serious safety