The parlour launched by professional tattoo artist Richard Assary

The parlour launched by professional tattoo artist Richard Assary, can be found in the backroom of the Wild Ginger boutique.
The prices for the wide range of coloured designs on offer, vary from R150 "for a zodiac sign lettering," to R5,000 "for a tattoo on the whole
of a person's back," Mr Assary told Business Nation.
He said he’s had around 10 customers in the last fortnight.
"Girls especially like tribal designs on their lower backs, while guys usually ask for angels and demons on their arms and backs," he said.
Anaesthetic is not used at the shop because "the anaesthetic gel hardens the skin and makes it difficult for the ink to penetrate and the results
don’t turn out so great," he said.
"It’s been about a year since I’ve been doing tattoos. I used to draw before and then I went for a little course (in tattooing) to Singapore last
year to better my skills," Mr Assary said, adding that he has performed more than 100 tattoo jobs from home before officially opening his
parlour.
"I get people from hotels (tourists), American sailors from the navy ships and then the locals," he said.
He said that new needles are used on every client. "I use disposable needles compared to other tattooists who sterilise their needles and re-use
them."
"Some artists even charge both, for their designs and the tattoos but my designs are for free and if someone doesn’t like them, then they can
bring their own," Mr Assary added.
The precision of any design that a client chooses is achieved by tracing a computer printout of the image on the skin using carbon paper and
a roll-on gel, which transfers the outlines of the design onto the skin for the tattooist to work on, he explained.
The process is obviously very painful, but Mr Assary said, "the pain depends on an individual’s body – some people find it more painful than
others, as some people have a higher resistance to pain than others."
"The outline hurts more than the colouring in," he added.
Mr Assary also said that customers can choose their own colours from the wide selection available, adding that he imports all his material
from Singapore.
Another feature to be available "in another week or two," is temporary Arabian henna tattoos, he added.
He can be contacted on 766204 for appointments or for more information, although he also takes walk-ins from Monday to Saturday between
11 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Ishveen Singh