Where the idea came from: the 2009 rugby study
In 2009, researchers at Stellenbosch University in South Africa gave 20 college rugby players either creatine or a placebo for three weeks: 25 g/day for a 7-day loading phase, then 5 g/day for 14 days. They measured testosterone and dihydrotestosterone (DHT), the more potent androgen that shrinks hair follicles in men who are genetically prone to male-pattern baldness.
Testosterone didn't change. But DHT rose 56% after the loading week and was still 40% above baseline at the end of the three weeks, and the DHT-to-testosterone ratio rose 36%. The levels stayed inside the normal clinical range, and the study never looked at hair, but "creatine raises DHT" was enough for the internet to connect the dots.
Three things about that study matter. It was small (10 men per group). It used a full loading dose, five times the maintenance dose. And in the 16 years since, no one has replicated the DHT finding. At least a dozen trials have measured testosterone, free testosterone or DHT during creatine supplementation; none found a meaningful change.
The 2025 trial that measured hair
A randomized, placebo-controlled trial published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition in 2025 gave 45 resistance-trained men aged 18–40 either 5 g of creatine monohydrate or a placebo every day for 12 weeks, four times longer than the rugby study, at the dose most people actually use. This time the researchers measured DHT, testosterone, the DHT:T ratio, and, for the first time, the hair itself: follicle density and hair-shaft thickness by trichogram at the start and end.
| Measure | 2009 rugby study (25 g → 5 g, 3 wk) | 2025 RCT (5 g/day, 12 wk) |
| Participants | 20 men | 45 men |
| Testosterone | No change | No change |
| DHT | +56% after loading, +40% at week 3 | No change vs placebo |
| DHT : testosterone ratio | +36% | No change |
| Hair density / thickness | Not measured | No change vs placebo |
The 2025 study isn't perfect either. Critics, including the American Hair Loss Association, point out that it didn't screen participants for a family history of baldness, didn't measure DHT at the scalp (which is where it does its damage), and ran for three months rather than years. Those are fair limits. But it is the only trial that has looked at hair at all, and it found nothing at the dose 95% of users take.
Why a DHT bump wouldn't necessarily mean hair loss anyway
Male-pattern baldness needs two things: DHT and follicles that are genetically sensitive to it. Men without that sensitivity keep their hair at any DHT level; men with it lose hair even at low-normal DHT. A temporary 40–56% rise inside the normal range, during one week of loading, is a small nudge compared to the day-to-day and year-to-year variation in androgens that prone men already live with. It might, in theory, speed up a process that was already under way; it can't start one that wasn't. And the only trial to measure hair found no speeding up.
What to do if baldness runs in your family
- Skip the loading phase. The only DHT finding ever recorded came during 25 g/day loading. Taking 3–5 g/day reaches the same muscle saturation in 3–4 weeks and has never been shown to move DHT. Our loading calculator has a no-load option that shows your saturation date.
- Use the smallest dose that works for you. The dosage calculator gives 0.03 g/kg; for most men that's 3 g, not 5.
- Take a baseline photo. Hairline and crown, same light, before you start. Compare at 3 and 6 months. Memory is a terrible instrument for hair.
- If you see shedding, stop for 8 weeks. Creatine washes out of muscle in 4–6 weeks, so any effect would reverse in that window. If shedding continues after stopping, it wasn't the creatine, and it's worth seeing a dermatologist about finasteride or minoxidil, which have decades of evidence.
Creatine has no known interaction with finasteride, dutasteride or minoxidil. Men already on those medications can take it normally.
What about women?
The DHT concern is specific to men. Women have roughly a tenth of the circulating testosterone and DHT, female-pattern hair loss is driven by different mechanisms, and the creatine trials in women (5 g/day for up to a year in some) report no hormonal or hair changes. See the creatine for women calculator for dosing.
Find my maintenance dose (no loading) →
Frequently asked questions
Does creatine cause hair loss?
No trial has shown it. The 2009 rugby study found a DHT rise during loading but didn't measure hair; the 2025 RCT at 5 g/day for 12 weeks found no change in DHT or hair density.
Does creatine raise DHT?
One study, during a 25 g/day loading week, found +56%. A dozen later studies, including one at 5 g/day for 12 weeks, found no change.
Should I avoid loading if I'm worried?
Yes. Loading is the only condition ever linked to a DHT rise, and it's optional; 3–5 g/day saturates muscle in 3–4 weeks.
Does creatine HCl or any other form avoid the issue?
There's no evidence any form affects DHT differently. Monohydrate is the form used in every study cited here. See HCl vs monohydrate.
Will my hair grow back if I stop?
Any creatine-related effect would reverse within 4–6 weeks. Genetic hair loss continues regardless, so persistent shedding after stopping points elsewhere.
Does creatine affect hair for women?
No. Trials in women at 5 g/day report no hormonal or hair changes.
Sources
- van der Merwe J, et al. Three weeks of creatine monohydrate supplementation affects dihydrotestosterone to testosterone ratio in college-aged rugby players. Clin J Sport Med 2009.
- Does creatine cause hair loss? A 12-week randomized controlled trial. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2025.
- American Hair Loss Association: what the latest creatine study got right and what it missed.
- Antonio J, et al. Common questions and misconceptions about creatine supplementation. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 2021 (section on hair loss and androgens).