Skin Expert Warns Against Fast-Tanning ‘Barbie Drug’

As the summer ends and the sun has been conspicuous by its absence, a leading UK skin expert has warned of the dangers of fast-tanning produced by a fashionable “Barbie drug” which has been promoted by influencers and social media.

Melanotan is a synthetic product, injected or used as a nasal spray, which can produce heightened skin browning as well as weight loss – hence the Barbie name. It has been widely mentioned on platforms such as TikTok and has become a trend among mainly young, white women.

However, it has never been regulated or licensed, has significant health risks and remains illegal to sell in the UK. The Medical and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said in a recent report that it had spent 10 years targeting Melanotan products.

Dr Cormac Convery, Co-founder and Medical Director of the award-winning Glasgow-based Ever Clinic, said: “God know what’s inside these nasal spray products. At the very least, anything within them will be questionable. And the tragedy is that they are likely to be taken up by the more vulnerable users.”

Dr Convery, who is also vice-chair of the not-for-profit Complications in Medical Aesthetics Collaborative (CMAC), which was established in 2020 to maximise safety in clinical practice, pointed out that people needed to be informed of the dangers associated with nasal sprays and Melanotan.

He said: “Medical experts around the world, not just in the UK, are sounding alarm bells about these products and the simple fact is that nobody really knows what the long-term repercussions of their use could be.

“You would expect standard pharma products to contain about 10 ingredients, but a recent BBC report asked Imperial College to analyse nasal tanning sprays and it found up to 100 unidentified ingredients. They could be using cat litter for all anyone knows.

“We know of people who have had moles cut out after using these products, but they continue to take them. We have to appeal to people who have the sense to see that there are significant dangers involved.”

Melanotan, created in a laboratory, mimics a natural hormone which regulates skin pigmentation. It stimulates production of melanin, a black-brown pigment which colours the skin, hair and eyes.

Used as a nose spray, the Melanotan is absorbed by the mucous membrane in the nasal passage, and enters the bloodstream directly, since the membranes do not provide the same kind of barrier as skin.

Adverse effects can include acne, freckles and moles, sun sensitivity; gastro-intestinal issues; loss of appetite; muscle cell loss, possibly leading to organ failure; and increased risk of melanoma, and invasive and potentially fatal skin cancer.

Dr Convery said it is difficult for experts to quantify the extent of the potential damage to users, since the issue is not generally discussed in the course of normal medical treatment unless the patient is deeply and unnaturally tanned, prompting relevant questions.

He said: “Scottish skin is naturally lighter because of the northern latitudes in which we live. If you want a tan, you should apply it from a bottle, rather than subjecting your body to sunbeds or these sprays

“It is rather telling, I think, that the Urban Dictionary now lists the phrase Pale and Interesting as a compliment, meaning someone who is more intelligent, and therefore interesting, as tanning can be associated with an obsession about personal appearance.”

Dr Cormac Convery was interviewed recently as part of an investigation into Melanotan and the podcast can be downloaded here Paying through the nose: An investigation into nasal tanning sprays - Behind the Headlines - Rayo (hellorayo.co.uk).