Peptalk: Peptides Unpacked

#46 The Tanning Peptide With A Surprise Side Effect

• Dr. Kylie Burton & Jessica Briecke

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0:00 | 21:15

The “Barbie peptide” might be the most misleading nickname in wellness. We’re talking about Melanotan-2 and yes, it can deepen pigmentation, but the real conversation is about skin biology, UV protection, and what it means to make a decision without robust long-term human data. 

We kick off this episode with a relatable reality for redheads (like Dr. Kylie) and other fair-skinned listeners: 

  • burning fast, 
  • never tanning,
  •  being told to “just wear more sunscreen,” 
  • and navigating a world that treats the sun like it’s automatically the enemy. 

From there, we break down where Melanotan-2 comes from and why it was developed. Researchers explored the melanocortin system to see if triggering the body’s own melanin production could offer more natural photoprotection and reduce sun damage. 

We also share our honest, mixed feelings: the concept is compelling, but the evidence base has limits, so informed consent and medical oversight are non-negotiable. If you have a personal or family history of melanoma, we explain why that’s a hard stop. 

Then we widen the lens beyond skin. Melanotan-2 can:

  •  influence brain signaling tied to appetite and satiety,
  •  and it’s been studied for libido and arousal. 

Ultimately, If you’re curious about peptides for tanning, Melanotan-2 is for you. Please subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave us a review with your biggest takeaway so far. We greatly appreciate it!

Want to connect more with the hosts? We'd love it! Connect with Jess at B2BwithJess.com/peptides or on Instagram @jessb.talkshealth. Grab your Blood Work & Peptides Mini Guide for free at drkylieburton.com. 

Ready to explore peptide therapy for yourself? Visit the company we recommend for pharmaceutical peptides and receive all the one-on-one support that comes included at drkylieburton.com

Want to offer peptide therapy in your business? Whether you're adding it to your existing practice or building something new, learn how to get started—and how we'll mentor you along the way—at drkylieburton.com

Legal Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider before starting any new health protocol. Dr. Kylie Burton and Jessica Briecke are affiliates and may receive compensation for referrals. Individual results may vary.

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This is PepTalk: Peptides Unpacked—science made simple, results made real.

Peptides And A New Lens

SPEAKER_01

Peptides are powerful and often misunderstood. But we had to change that one conversation at a time. I'm Dr. Kylie Burton. And I'm Jessica Brickie. This is Pep Talk Peptides Unpacked. Science made simple, results made real.

Redheads And Sun Sensitivity Facts

SPEAKER_01

I'm a redhead. So let me tell you a little fact about redheads. We are not just people with red hair. We have a completely different biological experience. We burn instead of tan, not because they forget sunscreen, but because our skin literally cannot produce the darker protective pigment the way everybody else can. They are statistically, we are statistically more sensitive to pain, more sensitive to temperature. So if you know a redhead like me who is always cold, they're not being dramatic. It's documented. And here's one of that stops people cold. Redheads require more anesthesia during surgery. Actual medical fact. Anesthesiologists have to account for it. Not just redheads, though, either. There's an entire population of people, fair skin, light eyes, maybe blonde, maybe light brown hair, who have spent their entire lives being told to just use more sunscreen. Who have never once come home from a vacation with a tan. That's me, but I'm a redhead, so who burn every 20 minutes flat, who have probably been called dramatic about the sun at least once. You're not dramatic. Your skin is doing exactly what it was supposed to do, built to do. It just has less natural protection than someone who tans easily. Every single one of these aspects is fascinating on its own. And about every single one of them connects to what we were about to talk about. I'm gonna leave that here. So let's get into it.

Introducing The Barbie Peptide

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_00

Peptide for skin, tanning, and so much more. So much more. Tell us about it. All right, so let's first talk about the nickname of this peptide. It's been nicknamed the Barbie peptide, which that in and of itself makes me feel a certain way. And not because I don't think Barbie is like iconic. I do. I love Barbie. Um, but when we talk about a peptide in this way, it makes it feel like it's a very superficial, very vein forward peptide instead of looking at why it was here and why it was discovered, which is to be protective. So you mentioned something in your intro talking about using more sunscreen, right? We just hear that screamed constantly. Protect your skin from the sun. We don't want to get cancer. And when you're fair, that is it's from a pain point, right? Yes, it increases when you burn more, you're increasing your chances of getting skin cancer, getting melanoma. Um, but it also just stinks to get a sun sunburn. It's painful. So you avoid the sun, which we need for a million metabolic reasons. Um but when we talk about this peptide in terms of its vanity from a Barbie perspective, we're kind of discounting that, but also the sunscreen factor with what are we doing with cancer there? Like, so this peptide for people that are fair skinned, that are hiding from the sun, so they're not getting what they need because they're lathered in sun shirts and hats and sunscreen, increasing the risk of taking on those carcinogens that are in the sunscreen

Origins And The UV Protection Goal

SPEAKER_00

themselves. Let's talk about the facts behind why this was done. So back in the 80s or 90s, decades ago, researchers from the University of Arizona decided that they wanted to try to discover a way to help people have more skin protection naturally. How do we do that? Well, they started going in and finding ways to manipulate what was happening with these receptor sites. Um, and so it wasn't from cosmetic companies that this was discovered. It was from wellness professionals, researchers that were trying to help people understand the body protectiveness that we could get for UV protection. So, what is it? Where did it actually come from? Um, I have a few notes here, so I want to make sure that I get this right. Um, let's see. Melatonin, melanotan too. That's what the Barbie pepper.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, twice.

SPEAKER_00

There we go. I feel like that's kind of like uh it does. It's you know how in the um elf, the movie, the Christmas movie, and he says, Francisco, that's fun to say. That's kind of like melanotan. That's fun to say.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Melanotan too. Um, so it was developed, as I said, at the University of Arizona, and researchers were studying a system in the body called Melic uh Melan Melanocoratin system, melanocoritan system. They wanted to understand how skin protects itself from UV damage. And the idea was if we could trigger the body's own pigment-making process, then maybe we could reduce sun damage in those bare-skinned people like yourself and like so many other people that might be listening.

Research Limits And Informed Choices

SPEAKER_00

Um, I want to say this before we go any further, though, about this particular peptide, because I do kind of have mixed feelings on it. I think the idea behind something that can help people be protective with their skin is really awesome. And if we can do something that maybe is more beneficial to the body than sunscreen because of the carcinogenic impacts that those chemicals can have, cool. However, this particular peptide does not have a lot of human study research on it. So even though this one has been around for decades, I just want people to be informed when they're making a decision for themselves. It doesn't mean it's good or it's bad, because what we do have is animal studies, we do have clinical observation, and we do have a lot of real-world reporting. And that's all super important when we're talking about this. We just don't have a lot of long-term human data when it comes to this particular one. So I think that's important for us to say. So when you're advising, if you're in wellness, you're advising this for somebody, or you're somebody that's making the choice whether or not you want to do that. Understand that. Now, what is it?

How Melanotan-2 Works In Body

SPEAKER_00

Simplified. Um, our body makes its own mel uh mel I don't know why. So we got melanitan down, but melanocoritin hormones. Melanocortin. I need to say that multiple times too. Um, we make our own melanocoritin hormones naturally, and they're part of a bigger signaling family, like a lot of the peptides are that we talk about, and they connect to a bunch of different receptor sites found all over the body, not just the skin, but also in our brain, in our immune system, and our reproductive system. And that's gonna that last one is gonna be important. We're gonna talk about that one in just a second. Um, why this matters? So the skin and pigment comportion, one receptor handles the melanin production, which is what creates the tanning effect, what creates that ability for us to get that bronzed colored skin. Why some people can and some people cannot. Then we have, believe it or not, the impact on brain and appetite. So this wouldn't be something that we would use as a replacement for the GLP GIP and the satiety component, but it does impact that signaling. It is influencing the hypothalamus, which we have talked about with other peptides before. Um, and that is going to influence the hunger and satiety cues in the body. And then we have the sexual function modulation.

Libido Effects And Spontaneous Erections

SPEAKER_00

Um, this is studied a lot. It has been studied a lot for libido and arousal response that's also acted by this MT2, this melanotan 2 that we're talking about. One of the side effects of this medication is spontaneous erection. So when you hear this, you're like, whoa, spontaneous. I don't have any control about it. I'm back to being a teenager again. Great, I can't control it. Um, yes, that's true. That is a side effect. Uh, wish I could tell you that.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, side effects could be worse, like nausea, vomiting, you know, diarrhea.

SPEAKER_00

Like, well, people do have that too. But they do get that. You hear about the side effects on prescription commercials? It's like, science. It's like, okay. It's so much worse than the problem itself. Um, and then also, this is going to help with um immune modulation. So there's there is just early research on this that's suggesting that there's some anti-inflammatory impacts through the pathways, these same pathways. So, again, we are talking about skin and pigmentation primarily because that's why it was being researched. But then we have the brain, the appetite signaling, sexual function, and the immune modulation. Early research on that one. So everybody knows that, or people that don't, maybe you don't know that this particular one um is helping us ramp up the melanin production. So that is going to give us a darker pigmentation. So somebody like yourself that has fair skin probably doesn't

Appetite Signaling And Dose Tradeoffs

SPEAKER_00

ever really truly tan. Maybe you do. Do you get tan lines at all? No. I mean, some people just don't really.

SPEAKER_01

It's like because I'm always in a t-shirt, yeah, you get the difference on the middle of the uh like just below the shoulder. Yeah, the farmer tan, a little bit. Yeah, a little bit. But it's not like like my husband, we are complete opposite sides of the spectrum as far as skin color. He tans without even blink, like he just tans naturally, blink an eye, and the sunburn turns into a tan the next day. I peel.

SPEAKER_00

Well, you will see people on this where their pigment is naturally getting darker because it is increasing that. Um, so somebody that's fair skin might start to get a little bronzy or golden. And it's pretty, it's nice, but I know.

SPEAKER_01

I will say I've got a cousin who's a redhead. Yeah. I have two redhead daughters. Yeah. One is just like me, and the other two are similar. So the cousin and Chloe, my two-year-old, she tans. She's got like the perfect gene code, as same as Josh, my cousin. They have the perfect gene code, they've got the red hair and they tan. Where there's me and Hallie, we've got the red hair, and we are fair beyond fair. And I used to care. So I have a funny story. I played volleyball growing up. I played it volleyball in high school and college. And with volleyball, we'd wear the Sphinx, spandex, right? Yep. So your spandex are going two inches down. I the two inches seems were my favorite.

Candidates, Side Effects, And Contraindications

SPEAKER_01

That's what everybody wore. Well, I'm white. And now we're talking. Let's see, I graduated so early 2000s, where everybody wants to be tan. That's the thing. Going to tanning bands, we're putting the slope the lotions on. So I bought a lotion and I was putting it on my legs. It's the only place I cared, was on my legs. And one day I took off my knee pads after a game, and I have this layer on my leg of dark lotion, and then white where the knee pads had rubbed off the lotion, and then the dark layer in my calves, where the lotion still existed. Ever since then I haven't cared.

Where To Find Us And Closing

SPEAKER_01

And when it got rubbed off by volleyball practice. That is really just like, you know, I am who I am, and I'm fine with it. I wouldn't change my red hair for anything.

SPEAKER_00

Right. And you know what? This is this is, I hope that that message is becoming very clear that it doesn't matter. This is not from for me, this is zero to do with how you look. But some people like that look. Some people wish they had a little bit more color. That's fine. Um, the dose matters when it comes.

SPEAKER_01

When I think about Milana tan, I've had a couple conversations with people before this got introduced. So now we can offer it. And oh my gosh, I love that thing. It looks like I get back from Mexico all the time.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And they they love being tan. And if that's you, this is a great podcast, great peptide. But if it's not you, this is not my first option. I'm gonna go get clo, I'm gonna go get one of the other things before I ever think about Milana Tan.

SPEAKER_00

But I want to stop you right there, though, because one of the things that for somebody like you might consider, you're a pretty active person outside, right? So you have to always be very conscious of how you are protecting yourself from the sun.

SPEAKER_01

Wouldn't it be cool? I also don't use sunscreen. I use sunscreen like when I'm at Lake Powell, and I would really regret it if I didn't. I very rarely use sunscreen in the summer because it's like I have this, I have this issue when people make the sun feel like it's evil. It's not the sun is not evil. And I also am not afraid to get a little pink. My husband thinks it's a burn, crazy burn every time I get a little pink. And I'm like, no, my shoulders haven't blistered, so that's not pink. It's a little pink. Um, but I do wear it like at the lake. But I just have this issue when people are like, oh, the sun is evil, like it's gonna burn your skin and you're gonna get skin cancer. Like, uh, I'm pretty sure not every redhead is dying from skin cancer.

SPEAKER_00

But we make it out to be this evil thing, like, but a small dose of this, not because you're looking to change the pigment, your pigment color from this, but a small dose of this would help you with the UV protection.

SPEAKER_01

What if somebody has skin cancer in their genetics? Then this is not for you.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. So because I think there's limited human studies, if you have a history of skin cancer, you're gonna get flagged, and you should be doing this with medical oversight. Right. And you have this history, you don't know if you're putting yourself at risk. But this is something that one of the things you're getting flagged for is if you have a history of of skin cancer of melanoma, then this is this peptide is not for you because not only is it giving you UV protection and changing your pigment, but it will also increase the amount of if you tend to have freckles, it can increase or darken the freckles that you have and increase the coloring you have on moles on your skin. So there's not enough data to know if you have a history, you're just out. If you're you shouldn't be doing this on your own, but there's plenty of people that are unfortunately that are. Um, but for skin protection alone, that's why it was was developed. And I think that that's why it's an important peptide to consider. But then there's the part two, which is libido and sexual function. Um, we've obviously covered this when we came out with the PT141 and the elate spray, that there is a lot of people that are walking around with low libido and erectile dysfunction. So in this particular case, it doesn't work in the same way that the medication to Dalafil will work, Viagra. It's not going to work on that same pathway. If this is a different kind of brain signaling that happens, but it does increase desire and arousal, and it again will influence somebody's ability to have and maintain erection. But the side effect is that sometimes that's a little spontaneous. So you have a little less control than you might with some of those other things. But there's workarounds around that, right? Like if that's something that you are able to understand that that happens with the human body just in general. But if you haven't had it since your teen years or your 20s, maybe some of the men out there, they don't, they're like, Oh, I forgot how to deal with this. Um, you just you just figure that out. But the libido part has been really wonderful. Again, appetite and satiety, the same brain receptors involved in sexual response play a role in appetite regulation. So it's gonna help the body get the signal that it's full, which is why it's a commonly reported effect. Um, some people love this effect, and some people think that we want to monitor that and not go too high on your dose. So a lot of people that are going for that real dark bronzy skin are doing high doses to get that dark pigmentation, but you have to also understand the flip side of those higher doses is more of the erection issue because then it becomes less of a, hey, this is kind of funny. I haven't had this happen for a while. I had the spontaneous erection, and maybe you're walking around with more of an issue than you want to, but your appetite is suppressed to the point that you're not nourishing your body. So we want to make sure that we're paying attention to that. Um, so who does this make sense for? Who's a candidate for it? A candidate for this is going to be somebody with low libido or sexual dysfunction. Believe it or not, melanitan, we're looking at sexual wellness with this one, especially in the context of people that have had some hormonal shift like um peramenopause or andropause or a post-hormonal therapy situation. We would consider that. Men dealing, like I mentioned, with erectile dysfunction, um, fair-skinned individuals who want additional photoprotection from the sun, and then clients where there's maybe you want a little bit of mild appetite modulation if it fits in your whole kind of clinical picture. Those are the primary focuses. The vanity part for those that want to have darker skin obviously is there.

SPEAKER_01

Um, but that isn't just melanotan, tanning. If you want that summertime glow, go get some. Just make sure you're supervised with a physician prescription and the dosage is kept intact, and then some additional benefits from that are the sexual function, are the other components.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, but that's what they were kind of the other components are what it was developed for. All right, there's side effects. We'll cover those really quick and then we can rant negative side effects. What's that? The negative side effects, negative side effects, nausea. That can be one, facial flushing can be another. The spontaneous erections, which we talked about. And here's a weird one: yawning. You yawn with this one. Um it's linked to how it activates certain brain pathways. It's can be annoying for some people, totally harmless. The mole and freckle darkening, and it can for some have a temporary shift in uh blood pressure changes. So, again, medical oversight, super duper important. And a lot of this is dose dependent. So, those people that are not doing it with medical oversight, that are overdoing it because they're doing it on their own, not looking at the risk factors, they're gonna deal with these things more. So, a slow, low dose of this, you probably you may not even experience some of these side effects, like is true with many of these peptides. Um, hard stops, people that shouldn't be doing this at all, anybody that has a personal or even a family history of melanoma, um, the pigmentation makes this a clear contraindication. So, melanoma, an absolute no-no. Active hormone, sensitive conditions, and pregnancy and breastfeeding. Um, and again, this is not one we should be doing without medical oversight. So that's basically the Barbie peptide, melanotan too, in a nutshell.

SPEAKER_01

Your summertime tan all year round. All right, Jess, where can they find you?

SPEAKER_00

All right, find me at Instagram, jessb.toxhealth. We can uh you can pick me up for more education around peptides and all wellness things there. You can source your peptides through me there or on my website, which is b2bwithess.com.

SPEAKER_01

You can find me and get started. You can even go grab your blood work and peptide protocol at drkylieburton.com. This is peptock, peptides unpacked. If you haven't shared this with your friends yet, please do. If you haven't given us a review yet, we would greatly appreciate it. See you on the next one.