Does creatine cause hair loss?
What the studies we have published say — strongest evidence first. Every claim below links to the paper it came from.
Creatine monohydrate did not improve endurance performance in trained people across 13 placebo-controlled trials, with a trivial, non-significant pooled effect of -0.07.
well supported · human dataMeta-analysis of 13 placebo-controlled trials in trained populations only; endurance tests varied between studies; the finding does not contradict creatine's established benefit for short, high-intensity exercise.
A meta-analysis of 14 randomised trials (763 women across reproductive stages) found that adding protein, amino acids or creatine to exercise produced no significant improvement in skeletal muscle mass, appendicular lean mass, fat-free mass, bone mineral content or bone mineral density; only bench press (g = 0.279) and handgrip strength (g = 0.412) improved significantly, with no increase in adverse events.
well supported · human dataPooled from just 14 RCTs totalling 763 women, lumping together whole proteins, amino acids and creatine monohydrate, very different compounds, so heterogeneity is high and the null may hide effects of specific supplements. The authors note that trials were mostly shorter than 12 months and lacked site-specific bone measurements, and no head-to-head comparisons exist.
A meta-analysis of 10 randomised trials using direct muscle imaging found that adding creatine to resistance training produces only a very small extra increase in muscle size compared with training plus placebo. Gains in upper- and lower-body muscle thickness were in the region of 0.10-0.16 cm.
well supported · human dataMeta-analysis of 10 RCTs (44 outcomes) in healthy adults; the pooled effect was very small and its credible interval crossed zero; several authors declared ties to the creatine industry.
A 2026 meta-analysis in postmenopausal women found that creatine (around 5 g a day) alongside resistance training produced small but real gains in lean mass and leg strength, with no change in bone density and no safety signals.
well supported · human dataPooled from seven trials (608 women, median 38 weeks). Gains were modest, about 0.4 kg lean mass, and appeared mainly at ≥5 g a day with training; several trials had some risk-of-bias concerns, and bone density did not move.
Plain creatine monohydrate is the form to buy: the fancier, pricier versions have not been shown to beat it, and it is the form nearly all the research used.
well supported · human dataCreatine monohydrate is the most robustly supported sports supplement there is: a large body of human trials and the ISSN position stand agree it reliably improves high-intensity performance and, with training, gains in strength and lean mass.
well supported · human data
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This page collects what our published, cited studies say; it is information, not medical advice. Have a different question? Ask it here.