Creatine Hairloss Anyone Know About It?

[Northface32]

Seems to be a real phenomenon that alot of people lose hair on it. If your pre disposed it just accelerates it by 50% atleast. Can finasteride bring that lost density back? I ask because my hairloss journey started around the time I did creatine for 3-4 months and when I felt it was causing hairloss I stopped and my hair has been the same since like the hairloss stopped at a point which is only discernable to me. People tell me I'm crazy and no male pattern baldness but I feel I lost density. Can finasteride save some for those losses? Anyone researched it at all? Thanks

 

[ihatebackstabbers]

I used to take a creatine supplement 4-5 days a week for years and didn't notice any issues. There seems to be a lot of talk about it causing hair loss but I don't believe the evidence is concrete. The papers I've come across mention that it can potentially increase testosterone which can then potentially convert to DHT. Increasing testosterone doesn't lead to hair loss for everyone. In my humble opinion, if it turns out to be true about creatine, then a 5α-Reductase inhibitor would definitely help. But taking finasteride would only apply to someone who has genetic hair loss to begin with.

 

[Who Farted]

I used creatine for almost 8 years, (cycle on bulk, cycle off cut), during college and graduate school. My hair didn’t change at all. I had many friends, (teammates and otherwise), who also used it without that effect. I had a variety of hairstyles and lengths during that time and it would have been super obvious if that was the case.

All of my years in athletics and as a gym addict I never once heard of that. When I could no longer keep with my regimen I stopped using it and never used it again.

Personally, I think it’s highly doubtful that creatine alone is the cause or can be demonstrated to be the cause. Given it’s unregulated nature, many people aren’t even taking it when they think they are and there isn’t a standard or verifiable measure of quality. Those that take it are rarely using only it and their diets are typically way outside the norm, (at least in my experience), and there is absolutely nothing about it’s cause of action that has anything to do with hair. The only way it would make sense, and I use that phrase loosely, is as a secondary contributor, not the primary cause. For that to occur, the entirety of the following scenario needs to be both scientifically sound and played out to perfection -

Maybe creatine causes you to work out marginally harder than before, maybe this boosts testosterone levels more than a standard workout, maybe during the hours in which that elevation exists your body randomly makes DHT and it creates marginally more, maybe that tiny increase is enough to weaken more hair, maybe the hair is weaker than it would be because you aren’t staying hydrated enough to accommodate the creatine, and maybe said hair sheds earlier than it would have...

Even if the above scenario occurred and creatine also implausibly stopped the hair from entering its growth cycle, it’s effects are not permanent, (though I sure wished they were back in the day), and hair would grow back after cycling off. It’s far more plausible that a given instanceof hair loss occurs for a different reason and the presence of creatine is a coincidence than it somehow causes it.

Losing density is honestly just a part of getting older. Unless it’s profound and widespread or following the MBP pattern, it’s not in itself a problem. If you are balding, it’s not the fault of creatine; male pattern baldness is genetic, not acquired. The only role creatine or any given medication or outside factor could play is as an accelerant. If these losses were a follicles swan song, then nothing will bring them back. If there is still life in them, however, the finasteride/Min combo could give you what you are looking for.

That being said, given the uncertainty referenced in your post, I would encourage you to verify that your hair loss is present and progressive before you start taking anything; is it really worth committing to a lifelong regimen and risking the potential side effects if you aren’t absolutely certain it’s necessary?

If I were you I would see a doctor and/or take pics every 3 months to definitively determine the presence of and/or rate of male pattern baldness.

 

[Northface32]

Thanks for the info. Could a loading phase be the culprit? Taking say 15-20 grams? I think this would be where the hairloss would start not 2.5-5 grams like most people take.

 

[Who Farted]

If we assume it can have that effect, then a high dose would probably make it more pronounced. If, however, the loss is secondary and caused by DHT conversion then it boils down to whether testosterone is converted to DHT while the levels are temprorarily elevated. I don’t think there is anyway to know when that process occurs.

Even if we assume that DHT conversion occurs during that state, I’m not sure any amount of creatine would matter that much. While high intensity workouts do spike testosterone levels, creatine tends to only elevate that intensity moderately (little heavier weights/extra rep or 2), rather than dramatically. Personally, I never found that creatines effects were amplified by increased dosage. It works by drawing more water into skeletal muscles, thus allowing for more efficient ATP conversion, but your muscles can only hold so much extra water so the benefits and effect are capped. When that happens your body gets rid of the rest via urine.

Loading gets you to that cap quicker, but the result is still ultimately the same. Once you hit the cap your body just gets rid of the excess, so I don’t think that loading would make a huge difference as their is no excess accumulation. The only thing I can think of is that the load itself shocks your system a bit more by maxing the levels quickly intstead of gradually drawing more water and blood flow to your skeletal muscles. Dehydration is always a problem, as is blood flow, but the affects on hair usually result from a consistent, persistent change. If you are hydrating extra and keeping a vitamin sufficient diet, then it doesn’t negatively affect your body. The blood flow could in theory be an issue but we are only talking about the pump from a workout being greater, not full time diversion. You would need it to consistently deprive the scalp for it to damage your hair follicles to the point where they wouldn’t regrow.

Looking at your timeline, one thing that jumped out at me was you stating it happened 3 months or so after starting creatine. This time table fits the effects of Telogen Effluvium. Usually, Telogen Effluvium happens within 3 months of a severe shock to the system. While I wouldn’t expect a creatine load to do that, everyone’s body is different and perhaps in your case it did. That being said, hair lost during an incidence of Telogen Effluvium usually returns within 6 months of The triggering event.. In your case, if the creatine load was the trigger, your hair should have started returning by now. If, however, the general presence of the substance was the issue, it may not return until you have completely removed creatine from your body. If you haven’t stopped creatine entirely, that may be the problem.

 

[Northface32]

If we assume it can have that effect, then a high dose would probably make it more pronounced. If, however, the loss is secondary and caused by DHT conversion then it boils down to whether testosterone is converted to DHT while the levels are temprorarily elevated. I don’t think there is anyway to know when that process occurs.

Even if we assume that DHT conversion occurs during that state, I’m not sure any amount of creatine would matter that much. While high intensity workouts do spike testosterone levels, creatine tends to only elevate that intensity moderately (little heavier weights/extra rep or 2), rather than dramatically. Personally, I never found that creatines effects were amplified by increased dosage. It works by drawing more water into skeletal muscles, thus allowing for more efficient ATP conversion, but your muscles can only hold so much extra water so the benefits and effect are capped. When that happens your body gets rid of the rest via urine.

Loading gets you to that cap quicker, but the result is still ultimately the same. Once you hit the cap your body just gets rid of the excess, so I don’t think that loading would make a huge difference as their is no excess accumulation. The only thing I can think of is that the load itself shocks your system a bit more by maxing the levels quickly intstead of gradually drawing more water and blood flow to your skeletal muscles. Dehydration is always a problem, as is blood flow, but the affects on hair usually result from a consistent, persistent change. If you are hydrating extra and keeping a vitamin sufficient diet, then it doesn’t negatively affect your body. The blood flow could in theory be an issue but we are only talking about the pump from a workout being greater, not full time diversion. You would need it to consistently deprive the scalp for it to damage your hair follicles to the point where they wouldn’t regrow.

Looking at your timeline, one thing that jumped out at me was you stating it happened 3 months or so after starting creatine. This time table fits the effects of Telogen Effluvium. Usually, Telogen Effluvium happens within 3 months of a severe shock to the system. While I wouldn’t expect a creatine load to do that, everyone’s body is different and perhaps in your case it did. That being said, hair lost during an incidence of Telogen Effluvium usually returns within 6 months of The triggering event.. In your case, if the creatine load was the trigger, your hair should have started returning by now. If, however, the general presence of the substance was the issue, it may not return until you have completely removed creatine from your body. If you haven’t stopped creatine entirely, that may be the problem.

Yeah I stopped creatine years ago. The hairloss decreased for sure but density not sure....I'm on finasteride and feel my hairs improving.