Gordon Ramsay's £30,000 hair transplant has been hailed as a rip off by a prison warder who solved his own baldness - using a £15 spray.
Father-of-three John Banks, 47, was nicknamed Friar Tuck over his lack of hair but instead of resorting to expensive treatment he trawled the high street for a cheaper solution.
He bought a can of Nanofibres, which filled in the empty patches on his head with tiny keratin fibres that clung to his existing hair.
Before spraying his head (above), Mr Banks said he was called 'Friar Tuck' by his friends. He said he is far more confident after using the Nanofibres (below)
Mr Banks from Eastbourne, said: 'It just shows you don't have to be a rich celeb like Gordon Ramsay to cover up your baldness. I was amazed about how quickly the treatment worked; people noticed straight away and gave me compliments.'
The prison worker was 35 when he first began thinning and spent years cutting his hair short and wearing hats in a bid to disguise the growing bald patches at the top and back of his head.
Mr Banks said: 'I used to just grin and bear it when my hair first started falling out, but in the last 3-4 years it's started to come out much more.
'At first I had to cut my hair really short as I didn't want to have one of those awful comb overs.'
But three years ago the patches had grown and people began calling him 'baldy', with some saying he looked like Friar Tuck.
Even his fiance Claire Sharman, 42, joked that she wanted to marry him before he went completely bald.
Prison warder John Banks (pictured with fiancee Claire Sharman) who used a £15 spray from Boots to stop people calling him Friar Tuck
Fed up of trying to cover up his embarrassing condition he turned to the internet for a non-surgical solution to his problem, where he found Nanofibres by Nanogen on sale at Boots.com. It comes in black, brown and grey and costs around £30 for two-months supply.
Mr Banks said: 'My only concern was if it started to come out, especially in the rain. I've been out and about though now and never had any problems even when it's wet. It only comes out when you wash it properly.
'I use it more for going out than work. A lot of people know at work anyway, so it doesn't matter so much there. Plus I wear a cap as a part of my uniform so my head is well covered up.
'But when I go out with Claire I want to look my best for myself and for her.
'At a Christmas party people couldn't believe the difference it makes. They were all taking pictures of the back of my head!'
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay spent £30,000 to thicken his thinning pate. Mr Banks spent just £15 on his own treatment
Mr Banks, who lives with his fiance and step-daughter Holly, nine, and has three sons, aged 18, 19 and 24, says he now has the confidence to walk down the aisle with his girlfriend.
Miss Sharman, who runs a bridal shop, said: 'It sounds harsh but working in my industry for so long I talk to blokes all the time about this and know how much it affects them and how self conscious it makes them.
'Obviously I love John for him, but hair loss ages men so I would like to marry him whilst he's at his best!
'Women use all kinds of make-up and little tricks to make us feel better about ourselves. It's no different to me using hair straighteners or having fake eyelashes on.'
