What Actually Happens to Your Hair When You Take Creatine

One study can make a big impact on people's perception. In 2009, a study on rugby players supplementing with creatine found an increase in DHT levels. DHT is a derivative of testosterone that can cause male pattern baldness due to the way it acts on hair follicles.

This supported the anecdotal evidence made by some creatine users who said that they noticed hair loss when using it. However, that particular study only measured DHT, and not hair loss itself.

A new study on creatine measured hair loss in a more direct way. Researchers recruited 45 resistance-trained young men (ages 18–40) and split them into two groups for 12 weeks. One group took 5g of creatine monohydrate daily; the other took an identical-looking placebo. Neither the participants nor the researchers knew who was in which group until the end. Blood was drawn to measure testosterone and DHT, and dermatologists used specialized scalp imaging technology to directly measure hair density, thickness, follicle counts, and growth phases.

The researchers found no differences between the creatine and placebo groups in DHT levels or the DHT-to-testosterone ratio. This is in line with other studies as well. Creatine has been researched like crazy, and the rugby study was the only one that saw an increase in DHT.

More importantly, there were no differences in any hair measurement. Density, count, thickness, and follicle health all remained the same between groups.

This was the first creatine study to measure hair follicles directly. It was a well-designed study, but as always there were some limitations. Some may argue that 12 weeks is not long enough. The study also did not measure androgen activity specifically in the scalp. If you want to go the conspiracy route, some of the authors have ties to creatine brands.

With that said, the current body of evidence still does not support the idea that creatine causes hair loss. The concern largely rests on a single dated study, while more recent and more rigorous research points in the opposite direction. If you are worried about hair loss, your genetics are a far bigger factor than whether you take creatine. For most people, the well-documented performance and muscle benefits of creatine are likely worth far more consideration than this particular concern.

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This story was originally published May 31, 2026 at 7:58 AM.