Does Creatine Cause Hair Loss?

No study has ever shown that creatine causes hair loss. The fear traces back to a single 2009 study of 20 rugby players that measured a hormone, not hair. The only trial to measure hair directly, published in 2025, gave men 5 g a day for twelve weeks and found no change in the hormone, no change in hair density and no change in hair thickness compared with a placebo.

• Trials showing hair loss from creatine: none
• Origin of the worry: a 2009 study in which DHT rose after a 25 g a day loading week
• Has that result been repeated? No. Later studies have not found a consistent rise in DHT or testosterone
• Direct test: a 2025 randomised trial, 5 g a day for 12 weeks, no change in DHT or hair measures
• If you are losing hair: the likely cause is genetics and age, and it is worth seeing a GP or dermatologist

Where did the idea that creatine causes hair loss come from?

From one study, in 2009, of 20 college rugby players in South Africa.¹ For seven days they loaded with 25 g of creatine a day, then took 5 g a day for two weeks. Their testosterone did not change. But dihydrotestosterone, usually shortened to DHT, rose by 56% after the loading week and was still 40% above baseline two weeks later.

Creatine itself has no hormonal action; what creatine does is store energy in muscle. DHT matters because it is the hormone that shrinks hair follicles in people genetically prone to pattern hair loss. So the chain of reasoning became: creatine raises DHT, DHT causes baldness, therefore creatine causes baldness.

Three things about that study are worth knowing. It was small. It used a loading dose five times higher than most people take. And it did not look at anyone's hair. Nobody in the study lost hair, because nobody checked.

Evidence: limited. One small study, never replicated, measuring a hormone rather than the outcome people care about.

Will 5 g of creatine a day increase DHT?

The best available answer is no.

In 2025, researchers ran the test that had been missing for sixteen years.² Forty-five resistance-trained men aged 18 to 40 were randomly given either 5 g of creatine monohydrate a day or a placebo for twelve weeks, with their usual diet and training. Blood was taken before and after to measure total testosterone, free testosterone and DHT. Hair was assessed directly, with a trichogram and a hair-imaging system that counts hair density, follicular units and cumulative hair thickness.

There were no differences between the creatine and placebo groups on any of it: not DHT, not the ratio of DHT to testosterone, not hair density, not hair thickness. Testosterone shifted over the twelve weeks in both groups equally, which is what you would expect from normal variation and training, not from the supplement.

A 2021 review by an international group of creatine researchers reached the same conclusion from the wider literature: the 2009 finding has not been consistently reproduced, and no study has shown creatine causing hair loss.³

Evidence: strong that 5 g a day for twelve weeks does not raise DHT or thin hair. Limited beyond twelve weeks, because no trial has run longer, which is a gap rather than a warning sign.

Can creatine cause hair thinning?

Not on the evidence we have. Hair thinning in the 2025 trial was measured two ways, by hair count per area and by cumulative hair thickness, and neither moved. If creatine thinned hair at normal doses over three months, that study was designed to catch it.

What creatine does do, early on, is pull water into muscle cells and add roughly a kilogram to the scale in the first fortnight. That is visible and sometimes surprising. Hair is not part of it.

Does creatine cause hair loss in women?

There is no evidence that it does, and even less reason to expect it. The DHT worry was about men. Women have far lower baseline androgen levels, and the reviews of creatine in women across life stages report no hormonal safety signal.⁴ Female pattern hair loss has its own causes, mostly genetic and hormonal, and creatine is not among the factors dermatologists look for.

I started creatine and my hair is shedding. What is going on?

Possibly nothing to do with creatine. Hair shedding is common and has many triggers: a period of stress or illness, rapid weight change, a new training programme, low iron, thyroid changes, hormonal shifts, and the slow start of pattern hair loss that was going to arrive anyway. Starting a supplement at the same time makes it an easy suspect.

If you are genetically prone to pattern hair loss, it will progress whether or not you take creatine. Nothing in the evidence says creatine speeds it up, and nothing says it slows it down.

If the shedding is sudden, patchy, or comes with other symptoms, see your GP. A dermatologist can tell pattern hair loss from a temporary shed in one appointment, and both have treatments that work. Stopping creatine will not substitute for that conversation. The full picture on creatine side effects, and who should check with a GP first, is here.

Can stopping creatine reverse hair loss?

Nobody has studied this, because the premise has not held up: there is no established hair loss from creatine to reverse. If you stop and your hair recovers, the likelier explanation is that the shed had another cause and ran its course. Muscle creatine stores return to normal about four weeks after stopping, so if you want to test the idea for yourself, a month off is long enough to know.

Is creatine good for your hair?

No. There is no evidence either way, and no reason to expect an effect. Creatine is a store of quick energy for muscle and, to a lesser degree, the brain. It is not a hair supplement and should not be taken as one.

What we don't know

• Beyond twelve weeks. The 2025 trial is the only direct test, and it ran for three months. Years of use have not been studied for hair specifically, though decades of general safety data have raised no hair signal.
• Loading doses. The 2009 study used 25 g a day for a week. The 2025 trial used 5 g a day. Whether a loading week briefly moves DHT in some people, and whether that would matter, is untested at the level of hair.
• People already losing hair. Both studies recruited healthy young men. Nobody has run a trial in men with established pattern hair loss.

Frequently asked questions

Does creatine affect hair loss at all?

On the evidence, no. One 2009 study found a rise in DHT after a heavy loading week but did not measure hair. The 2025 trial measured both at 5 g a day and found no effect on either.^{1, 2}

Can creatine cause hair fall?

No trial has found it. Hair fall after starting creatine most likely has another cause, and a GP can usually identify it.

Should I avoid creatine if baldness runs in my family?

The evidence gives no reason to. Pattern hair loss will follow its own course either way. If it would give you peace of mind, the standard 3 to 5 g a day with no loading week is the dose the 2025 trial tested. How much creatine to take is covered here.

How long would I have to take creatine before any effect showed?

Muscle stores are full within about four weeks, and the 2025 trial ran three times that long without a hair effect. What to expect week by week is here.

Sources

1. van der Merwe J, Brooks NE, Myburgh KH. Three weeks of creatine monohydrate supplementation affects dihydrotestosterone to testosterone ratio in college-aged rugby players. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 2009. PubMed 19741313.
2. Does creatine cause hair loss? A 12-week randomized controlled trial. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2025. PubMed 40265319.
3. Antonio J, et al. Common questions and misconceptions about creatine supplementation: what does the scientific evidence really show? Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2021. PubMed 33557850.
4. Smith-Ryan AE, et al. Creatine supplementation in women's health: a lifespan perspective. Nutrients, 2021. PubMed 33800439.

This article is general information, not medical advice. If you are losing hair, speak to your GP or a dermatologist.