Does Creatine Increase Testosterone? What the Research Shows

Creatine is the most studied sports supplement in history, with decades of research supporting its effects on strength, power output, and lean mass. Naturally, the fitness community has asked whether those performance benefits extend to testosterone. The claim has circulated widely: creatine raises testosterone, which is why it builds muscle so effectively. It is a compelling narrative. The evidence, however, tells a different story.

The 2021 JISSN Review: 12 Studies Examined

In 2021, the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition published a review from a panel of creatine researchers that addressed common questions about the supplement, including whether it raises testosterone. Beyond the 2009 DHT study discussed below, the authors identified 12 other studies that measured testosterone in people taking creatine, using doses from 3 to 25 g/day for between 6 days and 12 weeks.^[1]

The results were consistent: ten of the 12 studies reported no change in testosterone. Two reported small, physiologically insignificant increases in total testosterone after six and seven days of supplementation. Five of the studies also measured free testosterone and found no increases.^[1] The review concluded that the current body of evidence does not indicate that creatine supplementation increases total testosterone, free testosterone, or DHT. When you look at the weight of evidence rather than individual studies, creatine does not appear to meaningfully affect testosterone.

This should not be surprising. Creatine increases the creatine and phosphocreatine content of muscle, which may help explain improved performance in repeated high-intensity exercise.^[4] Its proposed mechanism lies in muscle energy metabolism, not the endocrine system, and there is no established pathway by which it would stimulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis to make more testosterone.

The DHT Study: Where the Hair Loss Myth Began

While creatine does not appear to affect testosterone, there is one study that has generated enormous concern. In 2009, researchers in South Africa studied college-age rugby players (n = 20) in a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design. Players took creatine (25 g/day for 7 days, then 5 g/day for 14 days) or a glucose placebo. Total testosterone did not change, but dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a potent androgen made from testosterone by the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase, increased by 56% after the loading week and stayed 40% above baseline after the maintenance period.^[2]

DHT is the androgen most strongly associated with male pattern baldness (androgenetic alopecia) in genetically predisposed individuals. So the logic chain became: creatine raises DHT, DHT causes hair loss, therefore creatine causes hair loss. The problem is that this chain rests on a single small study that did not look at hair.

More recently, researchers tested the question directly. In a 2025 randomized controlled trial, 45 resistance-trained men aged 18 to 40 took 5 g/day of creatine monohydrate or a placebo for 12 weeks. There were no significant differences between groups in DHT, the DHT-to-testosterone ratio, or hair follicle measures (hair density, follicular unit count, and hair thickness). The authors described it as the first study to directly assess hair follicle health after creatine supplementation.^[3] One 12-week trial in young men is reassuring but not the final word, and it does not tell us about individuals with a strong family history of hair loss.

What the Studies Actually Found

If creatine does not raise testosterone, why does it help build muscle? The leading explanation is that it supports energy supply during high-intensity exercise. A meta-analysis of 100 studies found small but significant effects of creatine supplementation on body composition and performance, with larger effects for lean body mass and for short, repeated, high-intensity efforts such as resistance exercise.^[5] In practice that can mean more work in the gym, which is a well-understood driver of adaptation, without any change in hormones.

What Creatine Actually Does Well

On cognition, a systematic review of six randomized trials (281 people) found that creatine may improve short-term memory and intelligence or reasoning in healthy individuals, but results in other domains were conflicting.^[6] Creatine remains one of the most researched supplements available, and its benefits for resistance training performance are well documented.^[4] It simply should not be marketed or consumed as a testosterone supplement, because that is not what the evidence supports. Another supplement facing similar scrutiny is turkesterone, which has gained popularity despite limited human research.

Practical Recommendations

The Bottom Line

Creatine is a well-researched supplement. It is not, however, a testosterone supplement. The claim that creatine raises testosterone is not supported by the available evidence: 10 of 12 studies found no change. The related claim that creatine causes hair loss started with a single 2009 DHT finding, was not replicated, and was not borne out in a 2025 randomized trial that measured hair directly.

Take creatine, if you choose to, because the performance evidence is solid. For general hormonal wellness, direct your efforts toward habits associated with healthy hormone function: quality sleep, compound resistance training, healthy body composition, stress management, and adequate micronutrient intake. Individual results vary, and none of this replaces medical advice.

How Thrive Helps

Thrive helps you cut through supplement marketing by focusing on consistent daily habits. Track your training, sleep, and nutrition in one place and see how your routines add up over time. Thrive is a wellness app, not a medical device, and individual results vary. Try Thrive and build your routine around habits with real research behind them.