Tanning injections make the skin dark by increasing the production of the hormone named melanin, which increases the darkening of the skin. In numerous Western societies, tanned skin is generally seen as appealing and attractive, thus tanning injections are popular with huge demand.
Are tanning injections safe to use?
Melanin injections are unregulated, making it a major health concern. Buying Melanin injections is illegal, but still, it is sold as purchased by people through different online outlets. That’s because government health organizations do not have strict monitoring of online outlets. Along with regulating issues, there are long-term side effects of using tanning injections in the body. The most commonly observed side effects of tanning injections are;
- Nausea
- Flushing
- Appetite loss
- Drowsiness
Moreover, if there is a huge amount of melanin secretion it can also cross the blood-brain boundary, which can lead to various fatal and life-threatening health issues like;
- Erectile dysfunction
- Skin cancer
- Kidney failure
Certain points that are referred to as melanin benefits are;
- It reduces the time for which one needs to get sun exposure. This reduces our exposure to the harmful UV rays, saving us from several UV rays infections.
- Tanning injections ensure deep pigmentation through every layer of the skin. It helps in increasing the effect of melanin and get a tanned body more much faster than the natural response to the sun.
- Natural tanning can fade away in few days if one is not exposed to the sun. But taking melanin holds the tanned look even if there is no sun exposure even for months.
How do tanning injections work?
Tanning injections are generally of two types.
- Melanotan I
- Melanotan II
Both these injections replicate alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone in the body. Binding with the melanocortin receptors, this hormone stimulates melanin production in the skin cells. This changes the skin color to a darker shade because the more the melanin contain darker the skin would appear. Melanotan-I also known as afamelanotide, takes more time than Melanotan II in the process of breaking down to simpler substances by enzymes. Melanotan II ties with a more extensive run of receptors than Melanotan I and encompasses a shorter life in the human body. In simple words, melanin maximizes the degree of the reaction as long as the body is exposed to UV rays. This leads to more tanning in lesser UV exposure. It helps in cutting down the time one needs to spend in the sun because of increased melanin production.