Do creatine gummies cause hair loss?
The hair-loss worry is the most common reason people hesitate to start creatine. Here is the one study it came from, the 2025 trial that finally measured hair, and what to do if baldness runs in your family.
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The short version. No study has shown that creatine causes hair loss. The worry comes from one 2009 study of 20 rugby players in which a hormone linked to hair loss (DHT) rose during high-dose loading; hair was never measured. A 2025 randomized trial that did measure hair — 5 g a day for 12 weeks — found no change in DHT, hair count, density, thickness or growth phase compared with placebo. The gummy format does not change this.
Where the myth came from
In 2009, van der Merwe and colleagues gave 20 college rugby players creatine (25 g a day for a 7-day loading phase, then 5 g a day) or placebo for three weeks. DHT — dihydrotestosterone, the hormone involved in male-pattern baldness — rose in the creatine group and stayed within the normal range. The study did not measure hair, nobody reported losing hair, and later studies did not reproduce the DHT rise. But “creatine raises DHT” spread fast, and “creatine makes you bald” followed.
The 2025 trial that checked the follicles
| Detail | What the trial did |
|---|---|
| Design | Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled |
| Participants | 45 resistance-trained men aged 18–40 (38 completed) |
| Dose | 5 g creatine monohydrate a day vs 5 g maltodextrin |
| Duration | 12 weeks |
| Hormones | No difference in DHT or the DHT-to-testosterone ratio |
| Hair | No difference in hair count, density, thickness, follicular units or anagen/telogen (growth/resting) ratio, measured by trichogram and FotoFinder imaging |
| Limits | Men only, 12 weeks, one dose, family history of baldness not assessed |
Sources: Lak M, Forbes SC, Ashtary-Larky D, et al. “Does creatine cause hair loss? A 12-week randomized controlled trial.” JISSN 2025;22(Suppl 1):2495229 (full text). van der Merwe J, Brooks NE, Myburgh KH. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine 2009;19(5):399–404. An ISSN review (Antonio et al., JISSN 2021, doi:10.1186/s12970-021-00412-w) found no consistent effect of creatine on testosterone or DHT across trials. The 2025 paper’s disclosure states that co-author Jose Antonio is a scientific advisor to brands including Create.
What this means for you
- If you have no family history of baldness: current evidence gives no reason to avoid creatine for your hair.
- If male-pattern hair loss runs in your family or you are already treating it: the 2025 trial did not screen for this, and it lasted 12 weeks. It is reasonable to skip the loading phase, stay at 3–5 g a day and mention creatine to your dermatologist.
- If you are a woman: no trial has studied creatine and hair in women. Hair shedding around menopause, after pregnancy or with weight loss has many other causes worth checking first. See creatine for women.
Skip the loading phase if hair is your worry. The only DHT signal ever reported came during 25 g/day loading. A steady 3–5 g daily dose reaches the same muscle saturation in about 3–4 weeks without it. A gummy makes high-dose loading impractical anyway: 25 g would be about 17 Create gummies a day.
Does the gummy format change anything?
No. Hair research is about the creatine molecule, not the delivery format. What changes with gummies is whether you get the dose on the label at all: 16 of 28 public gummy tests missed their label claim. Pick a product with third-party certification so your decision is based on the dose you think you are taking.
Want a steady 4.5 g dose without loading? Create’s 3-gummy serving lists 4.5 g creatine monohydrate, several flavors are NSF Certified for Sport, and SuppCo’s 2025 lab test measured 4.59 g. See the full review for the earlier failed round.
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Questions
Do creatine gummies cause hair loss?
There is no evidence that they do. A 2025 randomized trial of 5 g creatine a day for 12 weeks found no change in DHT or any hair measure versus placebo. The original concern came from a 2009 study that measured DHT, not hair.
Does creatine increase DHT?
One 2009 study of 20 rugby players found a rise in DHT during high-dose loading, within the normal range. Later trials, including a 2025 randomized trial, did not reproduce it.
Should I stop creatine if my hair is thinning?
Hair thinning has many causes, so see a doctor or dermatologist. If you continue creatine, skip the loading phase and stay at 3–5 g a day, and tell your clinician you take it.
Is creatine hair loss reversible?
There is no confirmed creatine-related hair loss to reverse. If shedding started around the time you began creatine, check other common causes such as stress, illness, diet changes, thyroid issues or genetics with a clinician.
Do women lose hair from creatine?
No study has examined creatine and hair in women. There is no known mechanism specific to women, and the hormone signal from the 2009 study was in men.
Research sources. van der Merwe et al., Three weeks of creatine monohydrate supplementation affects dihydrotestosterone to testosterone ratio in college-aged rugby players (Clin J Sport Med, 2009): the single study behind the hair-loss worry; Lak et al., Does creatine cause hair loss? A 12-week randomized controlled trial (J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2025): 5 g a day changed neither DHT nor hair measures; Antonio et al., Common questions and misconceptions about creatine supplementation (J Int Soc Sports Nutr, 2021): water retention, kidney, hair and other common worries reviewed.
Content review. Reviewed and approved by Henry Nguyen, founder of GummyGains, on October 29, 2026, against the research sources above. He is not a doctor or dietitian; ask a qualified healthcare provider about your own situation.
This article is for information only and is not medical advice. Talk to a qualified healthcare provider before starting any supplement.