The harmful TikTok trend your daughter needs to stop

Young Australians are being warned about the rise of a dangerous tanning trend taking the country by storm, which may have sinister consequences.

Australians are being warned about the rise of an unregulated tanning market, with users turning to tablets, nasal sprays, and injections.

A Sunday-Mail investigation has found unapproved tanning products sold online are being bought by Australians containing potentially dangerous substances, prompting experts to issue warnings.

Videos posted to TikTok and Instagram show young women ingesting and mixing “tanning drops” despite warnings from medicos and the regulator over the risks of these unapproved products.

In the 2024-25 financial year to March 31, the TGA requested the removal of over 12,000 unlawful advertisements from digital platforms, which included a number of social media profiles dedicated to advertising melanotan products.

According to the TGA, Melanotans are synthetic peptides that increase melanin production in the skin to give it a tanned appearance.

They are often listed on the label as Melanotan I or Melanotan II. Melanotan is not approved for sale or use for tanning in Australia, the TGA said.

Ingestible tanning drops being bought online could be doing you harm. Photo: supplied

This follows the rise of the hashtag #sunburnttanlines, with creators sharing videos viewed by over 200 million users, dangerously promoting the UV index as a way to achieve their “perfect shade”.

Doctors from the Australian Medical Association Queensland said not only are these products not approved for sale or use as a tanning agent in Australia, but their side effects range from unknown to serious.

“It is extremely concerning that these products, which may contain variations in dosage, undisclosed ingredients, and the risk of microbial contamination due to being unregulated and are so easily available for purchase online,” AMA Queensland president Dr Nick Yim said.

“The most common reported side effects of melanotan products include headache, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and facial redness, with the most concerning being the risk of serious skin cancer.”

Dr. Timothy Piatkowski from Griffith University said that while regulations often don’t address the “root” causes of tanning, people should be given “education and access to the best evidence regarding tanning, tanning supplements, and both the positive and negative health effects”.

The trend has taken over TikTok Photo: supplied

Cancer Council lead of prevention programs Grant Brown said Australians should avoid nasal sprays, drinkable “tanning drops” and tanning injections due to the lack of available research into the products.

“We don’t encourage consuming betacarotene in any form for the purpose of getting a tan,” he said.

“All of these products can pose serious health risks, and there isn’t enough research on the short term and long-term effects.”