shadow109
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The vast majority of speculation regarding the relationship between creatine supplementation and hair loss/baldness stems from a single study by van der Merwe (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7871530/#CR61) where college-aged male rugby players who supplemented with creatine (25 g/day for 7 days, followed by 5 g/day thereafter for an additional 14 days) experienced an increase in serum dihydrotestosterone (DHT) concentrations over time. Specifically, DHT increased by 56% after the seven-day loading period, and remained 40% above baseline values after the 14-day maintenance period.
In this forum, creatine is widely known to increase DHT. DHT is also known to shrink hair follicles in men prone to balding. Some speculated, If creatine boosts DHT, and DHT leads to hair loss, than maybe creatine leads to hair loss.
DHT is a metabolite of testosterone, formed when the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase converts free testosterone to DHT. In males, DHT can bind to androgen receptors in susceptible hair follicles and cause them to shrink, ultimately leading to hair loss. However, in the study, no increase in total testosterone was found in the 16 males who completed the study. Free testosterone was not measured.
Moreover, the increase in DHT and the DHT: testosterone ratio remained well within normal clinical limits. With the dotted lines being the normal range. Furthermore, baseline (prior to supplementation), DHT was 23% lower in the creatine group (0.98 nmol/L) compared to the placebo group (1.26 nmol/L). Thus the small increase in DHT in the creatine group (+ 0.55 nmol/L after 7 days of supplementation and + 0.40 nmol/L after 21 days of supplementation), in combination with a small decrease in the placebo DHT response (-0.17 nmol/L after 7 days of supplementation and -0.20 nmol/L after 21 days of supplementation) explains the “statistically significant” increase in DHT noted by the study. While it is possible that creatine supplementation upregulated 5-alpha-reductase activity in these males (potentially leading to increased formation of DHT), no study has reported hair loss/baldness in humans.
With the two dotted lines being the healthy range. Additionally just going to the gym increases DHT aswell, so by many of your logic of skipping creatine for the DHT increase you may aswell skip the gym. Lastly, and this is the point that disproves the hairloss myth, as shown in this and all the studies you will be able to find, creatine boosts serum DHT, not hair follicle DHT, with only hair follicle DHT being linked to hairloss.
To date, 12 other studies have investigated the effects of creatine supplementation (i.e. doses ranging from 3-25 g/day for 6 days to 12 weeks) on testosterone. Two studies reported small, physiologically insignificant increases in total testosterone after six and seven days of supplementation, while the remaining ten studies reported no change in testosterone concentrations. In five of these studies, free testosterone, which the body uses to produce DHT, was also measured and no increases were found.
In this forum, creatine is widely known to increase DHT. DHT is also known to shrink hair follicles in men prone to balding. Some speculated, If creatine boosts DHT, and DHT leads to hair loss, than maybe creatine leads to hair loss.
DHT is a metabolite of testosterone, formed when the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase converts free testosterone to DHT. In males, DHT can bind to androgen receptors in susceptible hair follicles and cause them to shrink, ultimately leading to hair loss. However, in the study, no increase in total testosterone was found in the 16 males who completed the study. Free testosterone was not measured.
Moreover, the increase in DHT and the DHT: testosterone ratio remained well within normal clinical limits. With the dotted lines being the normal range. Furthermore, baseline (prior to supplementation), DHT was 23% lower in the creatine group (0.98 nmol/L) compared to the placebo group (1.26 nmol/L). Thus the small increase in DHT in the creatine group (+ 0.55 nmol/L after 7 days of supplementation and + 0.40 nmol/L after 21 days of supplementation), in combination with a small decrease in the placebo DHT response (-0.17 nmol/L after 7 days of supplementation and -0.20 nmol/L after 21 days of supplementation) explains the “statistically significant” increase in DHT noted by the study. While it is possible that creatine supplementation upregulated 5-alpha-reductase activity in these males (potentially leading to increased formation of DHT), no study has reported hair loss/baldness in humans.
With the two dotted lines being the healthy range. Additionally just going to the gym increases DHT aswell, so by many of your logic of skipping creatine for the DHT increase you may aswell skip the gym. Lastly, and this is the point that disproves the hairloss myth, as shown in this and all the studies you will be able to find, creatine boosts serum DHT, not hair follicle DHT, with only hair follicle DHT being linked to hairloss.
To date, 12 other studies have investigated the effects of creatine supplementation (i.e. doses ranging from 3-25 g/day for 6 days to 12 weeks) on testosterone. Two studies reported small, physiologically insignificant increases in total testosterone after six and seven days of supplementation, while the remaining ten studies reported no change in testosterone concentrations. In five of these studies, free testosterone, which the body uses to produce DHT, was also measured and no increases were found.
