Creatine: what it does, how to take it, and the hair-loss question

Creatine is a substance your body makes naturally and also gets from foods like meat and fish. It helps your muscles produce energy during short bursts of intense effort, which is why a creatine supplement can improve strength, power and exercise performance. It is one of the most studied and best-evidenced sports supplements. This guide explains what it does, how to take it, and addresses the common hair-loss question honestly.

This is general information, not personalised medical advice. If you have a health condition or take regular medicines, check with a doctor or pharmacist first.

What does creatine do?

Creatine helps replenish energy in muscle cells during short, high-intensity activity such as lifting, sprinting and jumping. Supplementing increases the amount stored in your muscles, which can support greater strength, power and training volume over time — especially when combined with resistance training.

This is one of the areas where the evidence is genuinely strong. For high-intensity, repeated-effort exercise, creatine has a well-established performance benefit in many people. There is also emerging research into possible cognitive effects, but that is far less certain and should be treated as promising rather than proven.

Creatine is not a substitute for training, sleep or a good diet, and it does not build muscle on its own — it helps you get more out of the work you put in. Pairing it with enough protein matters; see our guide to high-protein foods.

Is monohydrate better than gummies or other forms?

Creatine monohydrate is the gold standard. It is by far the most studied form, it works, and it is usually the cheapest. Newer forms and formats — including gummies, "buffered" or liquid creatine — are often marketed as superior, but they rarely have the same depth of evidence and are typically more expensive.

Gummies can be a convenient way to take creatine, but the practical catch is dose accuracy: the amount of actual creatine per gummy varies between products, and creatine can be unstable once dissolved, so you need to check that a product genuinely delivers the dose it claims. For most people, plain creatine monohydrate powder is the simplest, best-evidenced and most economical choice.

How do I take creatine?

The simple approach works: around 3 to 5 grams a day, every day, including on rest days. You do not need a "loading phase." Loading (a higher dose for the first week) fills your muscle stores faster, but taking 3 to 5 grams daily reaches the same point within a few weeks. The timing during the day does not matter much; consistency does.

Why might I gain a little weight?

Creatine draws water into your muscle cells, so it is common to gain a small amount of weight — often a kilogram or two — in the first weeks. This is mostly water within the muscle, not fat. It is harmless for most people, though worth knowing if you take part in a weight-category sport. Staying well hydrated is sensible; our guide to electrolytes and hydration covers sensible fluid intake.

Is creatine safe?

In healthy people, creatine monohydrate has a strong safety record. Reviews of the evidence have found that both short- and long-term use at sensible doses is well-tolerated, with water-related weight gain being the main consistent effect.

The long-standing worry about kidney damage is largely unfounded in healthy people: the available evidence does not show that sensible creatine use harms kidney function. However, if you have kidney disease or reduced kidney function, or take medicines that affect the kidneys, you should talk to a doctor before using it. Creatine can also raise creatinine in a routine blood test without indicating kidney damage, so tell your clinician if you take it.

Does creatine cause hair loss?

There is no good evidence that it does. The concern traces back to a single small 2009 study in rugby players that reported a rise in DHT, a hormone linked to pattern hair loss. That finding was never about hair loss directly — no actual hair loss was measured — and it has not been reliably reproduced.

More recent research has looked at this more carefully. A 2025 randomised controlled trial that took creatine for 12 weeks found no significant change in DHT and no measurable effect on hair. It was a modest study (38 people who completed it), so it is not the final word, but it points in the same direction as the wider evidence: the link between creatine and hair loss is weak and not established. If you are worried about hair thinning, that is worth discussing with a doctor regardless of whether you take creatine.

Supplements are not a substitute for a balanced diet or medical care. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are unsure whether creatine is right for you, get advice first.