Frequently asked questions
Creatine FAQs
Browse common questions about creatine. Each answer explains what the evidence supports, where it is limited, and provides supporting references.
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Does creatine cause hair loss?
The current human evidence does not show that creatine causes hair loss, but it is too limited to rule out an effect with confidence. One small 2009 trial found a rise in DHT but did not measure hair, while a 2025 randomized trial that directly measured hair found no difference from placebo over 12 weeks.
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Does creatine cause water retention?
Yes, creatine can increase body water. A 28-day randomized trial in resistance-trained adults found greater total-body-water increases than placebo without a significant change in fluid distribution. It does not show that all retained water is intracellular or predict an individual weight gain.
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Does creatine help brain health and cognition?
Creatine may provide a small benefit for memory, particularly in some older adults, but broader cognitive benefits are unconfirmed. Meta-analyses of randomized trials found small pooled improvements in memory, while overall cognitive function and executive function did not improve significantly.
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Does creatine help build muscle and strength?
Creatine can add a modest increase in lean body mass when combined with resistance training. It is also associated with improvements in muscle strength, power and other short-duration high-intensity performance. The meta-analyses summarized here report roughly 1.1 kg of additional lean mass versus training alone; the no-exercise subgroup in the 2022 review did not show a statistically significant lean-mass difference.
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Does creatine help older adults?
Creatine can modestly improve lean tissue and some strength outcomes in older adults when it is added to resistance training. Meta-analyses report advantages for lean mass, chest press, leg press, and in one analysis chair-stand performance, but the trial base is limited and results vary by protocol.
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Does creatine help women?
Creatine may support lean mass, strength, and muscle function in women, especially when combined with resistance training. Female-specific evidence is smaller than the broader creatine literature, and the most direct randomized benefit data come from a 24-week trial in 60 older women.
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How do creatine forms compare?
Creatine monohydrate is the most extensively studied form. Reviews find little to no evidence that creatine HCl, buffered creatine, ethyl ester, salts, or other newer forms are more effective or safer than monohydrate. Micronized creatine is still creatine monohydrate; micronization changes particle size and dissolution characteristics rather than creating a new chemical form.
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Is creatine safe for the kidneys?
In generally healthy adults, pooled human studies have not demonstrated kidney damage at the amounts and durations studied. A newer 2026 meta-analysis found a small average rise in serum creatinine but no significant difference in urea or estimated glomerular filtration rate, reinforcing why a creatinine change should not be interpreted as kidney injury by itself.
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What creatine doses have been studied, and is loading or cycling required?
A loading phase is not required to raise muscle creatine. In one controlled study, about 20 g per day for six days reached an approximately 20% increase quickly, while 3 g per day reached a comparable increase over about 28 days; about 2 g per day maintained an already elevated level in that study.