Hair loss from creatine?

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This article is verified by 2 studies/publications.

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The worry that creatine causes hair loss comes mostly from one small study from 2009. It found a hormonal change but didn’t look at hair at all. A newer trial measured several hair outcomes directly.

Too long; didn’t read (Summary)

  • A small 2009 study saw DHT rise with creatine but didn’t measure hair loss.
  • A 12-week randomized trial from 2025 found no differences between groups in DHT or any hair measure.
  • The evidence doesn’t support the idea that creatine causes hair loss; longer studies in other groups are still missing.

What the 2009 study found

20 college rugby players took creatine and a placebo for 3 weeks each. During the creatine phase, dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and the ratio of DHT to testosterone went up. The researchers didn’t measure hair loss, hair density or hair thickness, though, so the study doesn’t show that creatine causes hair loss.[1]

What the newer evidence shows

In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial published in 2025, 38 resistance-trained men took 5 g of creatine or a placebo every day for 12 weeks. The researchers measured DHT, testosterone, hair follicle density, hair count and hair thickness. None of these changed differently between the two groups.[2]

Summary

The 2009 study raised a hypothesis from a hormonal signal but never looked at hair. The 2025 trial found no hormonal or hair changes caused by creatine over 12 weeks. The current evidence doesn’t support the idea that creatine causes hair loss, although it can’t tell you what happens with longer use, other doses or other groups of people.

Sources

  1. Three weeks of creatine monohydrate supplementation affects dihydrotestosterone to testosterone ratio in college-aged rugby players. van der Merwe J, Brooks NE, Myburgh KH. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine. 2009;19(5):399–404. doi: 10.1097/JSM.0b013e3181b8b52f.
  2. Does creatine cause hair loss? A 12-week randomized controlled trial. Lak M, Forbes SC, Ashtary-Larky D, et al. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2025;22(sup1):2495229. doi: 10.1080/15502783.2025.2495229.

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