Those who work on their body are also in love with their face! That’s why many beginners have questions such as “Does creatine bloat your face?”, “Does Creatine cause acne?”. We will answer these questions today.
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Creatine is a well-known and respected supplement in the athletic and bodybuilding community not only because it is very effective but also because it is safer than many others. However, Creatine may have some minor side effects, and probably that’s what leads to many questions and doubts in the minds of new users.
So does Creatine bloat your face? The answer is yes; there is a bit of bloating that happens. Does it cause acne? No, there is no evidence to support this claim.
There are many rumors revolving around these questions, so let us explain the answers in more detail and with the help of the proper scientific research to back our claims.
What Does Creatine Do to Your Face?
Your face can bloat up a little if you take more than the prescribed dosage of Creatine. However, it is unlikely that you will get acne from Creatine.
Creatine helps your muscles to grow and look bulkier because it helps to increase water retention in muscle tissue. It also helps increase the amount of ATP in the body, which is the source of energy for all your actions.
Excess Creatine can cause excess water retention in various parts of your body, which includes your face. This is what causes bloating. This bloating is hard to cure and especially so since our facial skin is very thin and sensitive to external stimuli.
Unlike steroids, which can cause acne, Creatine is a natural supplement that already exists in your body, and therefore there is no link to Creatine and acne.
What Causes Bloating of Your Face:
The prime reason behind the cause of face bloating is water retention inside our muscles.
Creatine helps your muscles to increase their water retention, but this also includes facial muscles. The water retention that happens in the facial muscles makes a face look bloated. The bloating happens in everyone who takes Creatine, especially during the initial loading period.
During the initial period of training, bodybuilders consume close to 25-30gm of Creatine a day. This is followed by a steady period when they will consume between 5-10gm a day.
Since the loading phase involves such excess creatine consumption, it is bound to cause excess water retention and hence bloating. The muscles in our body get puffed up, but unwillingly the muscles in our face too become big and make a face look odd.
You can avoid this problem by not doing the loading phase at all.
Does Creatine Cause Acne?
The answer is a big no. However, controversy persists, so we want to put this claim to rest.
Bloating is surely one of the more serious problems that are caused by Creatine, but it only happens in the long run. But some people also believe that supplements such as Creatine can cause acne.
Why people think Creatine causes acne:
Creatine absorbs water from the muscle, accelerating the process of water retention. But in doing so, it causes the water quantity in our body. People believe that lower water levels will cause the quality of your blood to go down, and this can further cause acne.
What’s the truth about Creatine and acne?
The truth is that this theory is baseless, and there is no scientific evidence to back this claim. A lot of this misinformation is spread by cosmetics manufacturers who want to ride the Creatine wave to sell their products.
Does Creatine Bloat Go Away?
The bloating caused by Creatine is not permanent.
That said, it takes its own sweet time to go away. The bloating is caused because of excess water in the facial muscles, and it can only be resolved once your body starts getting used to it and you start to reduce your daily dosage.
Creatine causes the muscles to naturally become larger through water retention, so it is hard to see its effects wear off easily. However, the good news is that Creatine has very few side effects, including facial bloating, and like all others, it can also be cured easily.
How To Treat the Bloating of Face Caused by Creatine:
Firstly, do not worry; the Creatine bloat on your face is not a permanent problem.
However, it can take time to heal. Since bloating is caused by an increase in water retention in your muscles, it may take you 2 to 3 months to see a decrease in the bloating once it starts to heal. You can either get medical help from a doctor or professional dietician or can wait for it to get away gradually with time.
Another easy way to avoid bloating is to cut out the loading phase of Creatine supplementation. If you are not particularly interested in gaining a lot of muscle mass suddenly, this might be a good time to just go to standard dosage instead of loading up on Creatine.
You can also decrease the dosage of Creatine in your body to slowly decrease bloating. The process may be slow, but it is effective. You can try cutting off Creatine completely from your diet, but it will obviously reduce your muscle growth. The bloating will surely wear off, but it will be more effective to get medical help to accelerate the process.
Does Creatine Slim Your Face?
The only reason why your face may look slimmer after you start taking Creatine is that your muscles are getting bigger, and in comparison, the face is still the same size.
Apart from this, there is no direct linkage between Creatine and face slimming. Creatine does cause bloating, that too only in the loading phase. Apart from that, there is no other relation between Creatine and your face.
Creatine has very little effect on your face, and we want to assure you that making it slim is surely not one of them. Creatine, on the other hand, only blooms our face, but it can never cause our face to be slim. It is one of the rumors that revolves around Creatine, but there is no evidence to support this theory.
Is Creatine Safe for Your Face?
So, to summarize, Creatine is safe for your face and body.
There might be some temporary effects, such as bloating, but apart from that, any damage is very rare. If you have proper guidance and are taking an appropriate amount of dosage, then you will surely be safe from any ill effects. The quantity of creatine intake determines a lot, so it is better not to get an overdose and exert pressure on the working of the body.
A Few Final Words
We would like to conclude by saying that Creatine is safe for you until you already have a medical history or any medical problems. The chances of facing a side effect are very slim, and if proper dosage is maintained, then the chances drop even further.
I hope you have been able to get answers to the questions that you might have been wondering about. Let us know what more you would like to know more about through the comment section.
We will try our best to provide you with an answer. In the meantime, you can read the other articles on our website to understand how Creatine supplements work.