Does creatine cause hair loss?

If you’re avoiding using creatine to boost your gym gains because you’re worried it could cause or worsen hair loss; you’ve probably heard through the grapevine that creatine could hurt your hairline. A new study conducted this year (2025) suggests there is no link between creatine and hair loss, so you may not need to avoid it after all.

So where did the misconception come from, and why should you ignore the rumours?

What is creatine?

Creatine is used to enhance exercise performance and to increase muscle gains. It is thought to boost energy supply to your muscles, so you can work harder during exercise. It may also promote faster recovery and increase muscle mass.

So, does it cause hair loss?

Now we’ll answer what you really came here to find out.

The theory that creatine causes hair loss stems from a single 2009 study which had men supplement with 25g of creatine for 7 days, and 5g per day for a further 14 days (a technique known as ‘creatine loading’). After the first 7 days, DHT levels were 56% higher, and remained 40% higher than baseline for the remainder of the trial. This led the researchers to conclude that creatine may increase the conversion of testosterone into DHT. General guidelines usually advise supplementing with 3-5g of creatine per day, or 0.1kg/kg of body mass, so the amount used in this study far exceeded this recommendation.

DHT is a by-product of testosterone metabolism which plays a big part in male pattern baldness, as it binds to hair follicles and causes them to shrink. Hair grows thinner and shorter, before it eventually stops growing at all. The findings of the 2009 study would theoretically mean creatine supplementation would increase the risk of hair loss, due to the increased levels of DHT.

However, the results of this study have never been replicated.

A recent study carried out this year set out to address this misconception directly, and found that creatine supplementation does not increase testosterone or DHT levels. It also looked directly at the hair itself to see if any noticeable differences could be observed. To do this, they measured ‘hair outcomes’ with metrics like hair count, hair density, percentage of hairs in anagen (growth) phase and telogen (resting) phase and found no difference between the creatine and placebo groups.

Final takeaway

There is no solid evidence to back up the claim that creatine causes hair loss. The theory is based on the results of a single, outdated study which has never been reproduced. More recent studies show that creatine supplementation has no impact on hair health. So, if you’re skipping on creatine out of concern for your hairline, you can confidently put this myth to bed.

If you are worried about hair loss and want to do something about it, you can explore treatment options by taking our free consultation.

All of our blog articles are reviewed for medical accuracy by our Medical Director before publication.

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