The Truth About Melanotan: Tanning Peptide or More? How Melanotan Peptides Work to Enhance Skin Tone and Promote Tanning Age Well ATL MELANOTAN EXPLAINED! Benefits, Risks, Side Effects 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 Melanotan is not a tan. It's an unregulated peptide with real risk. As a dermatologist, here's the reality: It has been linked to new and changing moles including cases of