Exclusive | Men are injecting unregulated Barbie peptides for a quicker, darker tan despite the side effects

Hunter Neely wanted to be tan in the winter.He’d tried hitting tanning beds occasionally, but he’d just burn.His goal was simple: “to be more attractive,” the 22-year-old told The Post.

“A clean tan does that by enhancing eye color and teeth.” It also helps his skin tone by reducing redness, he added.Neely found a solution online: an injectable peptide called melanotan, or MT.It helped him avoid burning on the tanning bed and get the look he wanted.“When everyone else was pale, I was taking MT2 to be tan, to stand out.” Neely remembered people asking him how he got his sun-kissed look.

“I’m making a name for myself.I was known around my university as the peptide guy.”Neely is one of a growing number of people turning to gray market peptides to enhance their appearance — including by darkening their skin from the inside out.MT (aka tan jabs, or Barbie peptide) is a synthetic version of a hormone that’s often injected to increase melanin production, making the skin darker.While it can work in the absence of UV light, many people who take MT to tan also go out in the sun to get more pronounced effects.Both MT1 and MT2 make the skin increase melanin production by binding to melanocortin receptors.

The difference is that MT1 only binds to certain receptors, while MT2 binds to all of them, Dr.Joni Mazza, a dermatologist and owner of Mara Dermatology, told The Post.

That’s why MT2 is faster acting and produces a deeper tan.It also has more pronounced side effects.Neither is approved by the FDA for tanning, though MT1 is approved as a treatment for a rare skin condition.

MT2, meanwhile is one of a number of peptides Emergency Care Research Institute and Institute for Safe Medication Practices have warned are not proven to be safe for humans.Still, both can be found on the peptide “gray market” — where they’re sold, unregulated from manufacturers, or through peptide clinics, and even bodegas — with disclaimers like “for research p...