Does creatine cause hair loss?

By Kalorya · July 22, 2026 · 5 min read

Homme se passant la main dans les cheveux

It is the second most widespread fear surrounding creatine, right after the kidneys. It is interesting because we can trace it back to its exact source: a single study, published in 2009, on twenty rugby players. And this study never looked at a single hair.

The origin of the myth: a 2009 study

In 2009, a double-blind placebo-controlled study followed 20 rugby players taking creatine for three weeks. After 7 days of loading at 25 g per day, their dihydrotestosterone (DHT) had increased by 56%, and remained 40% above baseline after two weeks of maintenance.

What the 2009 study actually measured(% above baseline)

2009 double-blind placebo-controlled study, 20 rugby players. Hair was never measured in this study.

Why did this cause concern? Because DHT is the hormone involved in pattern baldness. The reasoning thus chained itself together: creatine → more DHT → hair loss.

The missing link

This study measured a hormone in the blood. It did not count a single hair, measure any hair density, or track any hair loss. The final link in the reasoning — "therefore hair falls out" — was never tested by this work. For over fifteen years, the entire myth rested on this deduction.

2025: someone finally looked at the hair

In 2025, a randomized controlled trial tackled the question head-on — its title is literally "Does creatine cause hair loss?". Forty-five young resistance-trained men received 5 g of creatine monohydrate per day or a placebo, for 12 weeks.

This time, the researchers measured both ends of the chain: hormones (total testosterone, free testosterone, DHT) and the actual state of the hair — density, number of follicular units, and cumulative thickness.

What was measured	Creatine vs placebo result
Dihydrotestosterone (DHT)	No significant difference
DHT / testosterone ratio	No significant difference
Hair density, follicular units, thickness	No significant difference

In other words: at the dose actually used by practitioners (5 g per day), this trial found neither the increase in DHT observed in 2009, nor the slightest effect on hair.

And testosterone in general?

A 2001 study had already looked at the hormonal response to training: in healthy young men, short-term supplementation (20 g/day for 5 days) did not alter testosterone or growth hormone responses to a resistance training session. Creatine is not a hormonal product.

What we can honestly say

Claim	What the studies say
"Creatine causes hair loss"	No study has shown this. The only one that measured hair (2025) found nothing.
"Creatine increases DHT"	Observed once, in 2009, at a high dose. Not replicated in 2025 at 5 g/day.
"Creatine increases testosterone"	No — no change in the hormonal response (2001).

The limitations, all the same

Three studies are very few. The 2025 trial involves 45 young, trained men followed for 12 weeks — yet genetic hair loss unfolds over years, and these participants were not selected to be predisposed to it. Therefore, nothing proves an effect in someone genetically susceptible over the long term. What we can say is that to date no data supports the link — not that it is impossible forever.

Dosage, proven benefits, and study summaries: everything is on the creatine supplement page, with sources.

View the creatine supplement page

The other major fear, concerning the kidneys, is also based on a misunderstanding — we detailed it in Creatine and kidneys: is there any danger?.

This article is based on three studies — the only publications found on the link between creatine, androgen hormones, and hair. The underlined mentions each open their own. They are summarized from their abstract alone. Informational content, which does not replace medical advice.

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