Claim check

Does creatine cause hair loss?

One small 2009 study saw a rise in DHT, a hormone tied to male balding, but later hormone studies and the only trial that measured hair found no effect.

“Creatine makes you lose your hair.”

The claim, as it’s posted. Seen on hair-loss clinic and pharmacy blogs, lifting forums and fitness newsletters.

Our verdict: Doesn’t hold up

Verdict: Doesn’t hold up

The fear rests on one 2009 hormone result; the only trial that measured hair found no change, though the evidence is still thin.

Checked
Oct 2026
Sources
4
Newest
2025

The key numbers

  • 56%

    Rise in DHT after a week of creatine loading in the 2009 rugby study

    Source 1

  • 10 of 12studies

    Other testosterone studies in a 2021 review that found no change

    Source 3

  • 38men

    Men who finished the 2025 trial that measured hair directly

    Source 2

  • 5g/day

    Daily dose in that trial, within the ISSN’s 3 to 5 g range

    Source 2

What the evidence says, in six sentences

Our own summary of the sources listed at the bottom of this page.

  1. The claim traces back to a 2009 study of 20 college rugby players, in which DHT, a hormone linked to male pattern balding, rose 56% after a week of high-dose creatine loading.
  2. That study never looked at hair, and its DHT values stayed within normal clinical limits, so it showed a hormone shift rather than hair loss.
  3. A 2021 expert review counted 12 other studies of creatine and testosterone, 10 of which found no change and 2 of which found small short-term rises, and the five that measured free testosterone, the form turned into DHT, found no rise.
  4. The first trial to measure hair directly randomized 45 men who lift to 5 g a day or a placebo for 12 weeks, and among the 38 who finished it found no difference in DHT, hair density, follicle counts or hair thickness.
  5. There is still no meta-analysis on hair, so this verdict rests on one direct trial and a review of hormone studies rather than pooled evidence.
  6. The 2025 trial lasted only 12 weeks, studied only men and did not record family history of balding, and both key papers list authors with ties to creatine makers or sellers.

The numbers, drawn

Every chart is drawn from the published estimates. Bars and intervals show the uncertainty; a dashed line marks no difference.

Figure 1DHT change from baseline in the 2009 rugby study% change from baseline
  • Creatine, after 7 days of loading (25 g a day)+56
  • Creatine, after 14 more days at 5 g a day+40
  • Placebo, after 7 days−13
  • Placebo, after 21 days−16

The creatine values are as published; the placebo values are computed by us from the group means reported in the 2025 trial’s discussion (1.26 to 1.09 and 1.06 nmol/L). Hair was not measured. Sources: van der Merwe 2009 and Lak 2025.

Sources: 1Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 2009 2Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2025

Figure 2What other creatine studies found for testosteronenumber of studies
  • No change in testosterone10
  • Small, short-term rise in testosterone2
  • Measured free testosterone and found no rise5

Counts from a 2021 expert review of 12 studies other than the 2009 rugby study; the five free-testosterone studies are among the 12. Source: Antonio and colleagues, Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.

Source: 3Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2021

Figure 3Testosterone change over 12 weeks in the 2025 hair trialng/dL (change from start)
  • Creatine, 5 g a day124
  • Placebo216

Testosterone rose in both groups over the 12 weeks, with no significant difference between them; DHT, the DHT to testosterone ratio and every hair measure also showed no group difference. Source: Lak and colleagues, 2025.

Source: 2Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2025

Figure 4The claim and the evidenceSide by side

The claim

  • Creatine raises DHT, so it causes balding
  • Studies show creatine makes hair fall out
  • The question is settled

The evidence

  • One 20-player study saw DHT rise; most hormone studies saw no change
  • The only trial that measured hair found no difference
  • Only one direct trial exists, and no meta-analysis yet

A side-by-side summary of the creatine hair-loss claim and what the studies found. Sources: van der Merwe 2009, Antonio 2021, and Lak 2025.

What to do with this

  • If you take creatine, the ISSN position stand supports 3 to 5 g a day of creatine monohydrate, and a high-dose loading phase is optional.
  • If you notice thinning hair, see a dermatologist rather than guessing at the cause.
  • Treat both alarm posts and reassurance posts with care, since the evidence here is one trial deep.

Key terms

DHT
Dihydrotestosterone, a hormone made from testosterone that can shrink hair follicles in people prone to male pattern balding.
Androgenetic alopecia
The medical name for male or female pattern hair loss.
Free testosterone
The share of testosterone not bound to proteins in the blood, which the body can turn into DHT.
Loading phase
A short period of higher creatine intake to fill muscle stores faster.
Trichogram
A hair test that counts hairs in growing and resting phases.

What we read 4

  1. 1Three weeks of creatine monohydrate supplementation affects dihydrotestosterone to testosterone ratio in college-aged rugby playersClinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 2009
  2. 2Does creatine cause hair loss? A 12-week randomized controlled trialJournal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2025
  3. 3Common questions and misconceptions about creatine supplementation: what does the scientific evidence really show?Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2021
  4. 4International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicineJournal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2017

Written and drawn by go4 with AI assistance (Claude, by Anthropic) after reading these sources, and checked against them. No text or figures were copied. Checked Oct 2026.

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