Women's Health, What is the ‘Barbie drug’, or nasal tanning spray, exactly?
Nasal tanning sprays, otherwise dubbed the ‘Barbie drug’, offer an accelerated tan. Tan-chasers simply insert the tube into their nose and by inhaling the main ingredient – melanotan II – their skin will temporarily tan in the sun.
Melanotan II is a synthetic hormone that replicates natural melanocyte-stimulating hormones that pigment your skin. When users inhale the melanotan II, it stimulates the body’s production of melatonin. The tanning process isn’t complete without sunlight, or UV, which is why people spray then splay to speed up the pigmentation. The drug can also be injected.
Australian Broadcasting Co, Illegal tanning nasal spray not a 'harmless alternative' to sunbaking, says TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration)
Those side effects include the risk of skin cancer but can also be neurological. "The way the specific molecules work, they attach to receptors in the brain, and because of that, there can be some neurological side effects as well," said Professor Langham. "The most common of those would be nausea and vomiting and some facial flushing."
The TGA says users could also see a change in the size and pigmentation of existing moles, and an increase in new ones. There have also been rare cases of kidney failure and brain swelling linked to the use of melanotans.
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