My Halloween costume is PERMANENT: California man who had clown make-up tattooed on his face

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Here's a guy who never has to think twice about what to dress up as for Halloween.

Richie the Barber's face is tattooed to look like a clown - and he even dyes his hair red to complete the look.

The 32-year-old barber, from California, uses his unusual look to draw attention to his business.

He poses for pictures with his split-tongue and gold teeth showing while wielding scissors or razors. 

Richie the Barber's face is tattooed to look like a clown - and he even dyes his hair red to complete the look

Richie the Barber (left, before tattooing his face, and right, after) said he got his first tattoo at 17

Richie was 17 when he used his high school graduation money to get his first tattoo - on his left arm.

Later, he moved to Hollywood where he worked in a barber shop. 

And his love of tattoos and hairdressing combined when he walked past a tattoo parlor one day and decided to ask if he could work there as a barber.

He learned clown tricks such as juggling and unicycling in a bid to get customers in the door.

Then one day, he decided to commit completely and got his face tattooed to resemble a clowns and dyed his hair red to boot. 

Richie the Barber (pictured with his daughter) was 17 when he used his high school graduation money to get his first tattoo - on his left arm

He likes to  pose for pictures with his split-tongue and gold teeth showing

Richie the Barber - who has a 12-year-old daughter - says people are curious, fascinated and sometimes scared by his appearance.

'Kids are hard; some are scared, and some are very happy and that's OK, I still love them,' he said. 

'People are people and that's OK, if you're kind I will give you love, if you're mean I'll smile and wave, honk and beep with my horn.

'People are curious about me, but I walk it and own it proud and with confidence, so they see that and I break the ice with funny acts of a clown.

'People loved me juggling, smiling and waving at them and they would honk at me and stop by to see me and talk to me - I became a Melrose staple.

'So, one day a guy comes to the shop and he brings me a unicycle and says 'hey, Richie, this is for you and I think it would be a good use to you' - my eyes light up, my hairs stand up and I began tearing with joy.

Richie the Barber says he uses his tattooed clown persona to attract customers to his barber shop

Richie the Barber - who has a 12-year-old daughter - says people are curious, fascinated and sometimes scared by his appearance

His love of tattoos and hairdressing combined when he walked past a tattoo parlor one day and decided to ask if he could work there as a barber

'So, things just started happening over the years - I was clowning more and more and getting little tattoos on the face one at a time.

'I remember, one day I looked into the mirror and I said to myself I want some confetti dots under my eyes because I love seeing confetti fall from the sky as it brings me joy.'

He adds that over the years, the women in his life haven't liked his face tattoos, but he has no regrets.  

'Of course, all my girlfriends over the years didn't like it but I liked it and I wanted to live my reality of what I see not through the eyes of others,' he said.

'Everyone is their own reality and people try to tell others what to do all the time, but we should just let people be who they want be and only reflect our reality with love and never force anything onto others.

'My clown look just started evolving over time; my inner child came out and all I want to do is have fun and one day I looked in the mirror and smiled, then I said out loud to myself 'I want to smile, I love to smile so I got it tattooed on my face.

Richie the Barber says the women in his life haven't liked his face tattoos, but he has no regrets

Richie the Barber added: 'I am a motivational speaker, I am a teacher for cutting hair and I have a clown school'

'My favourite color is blue, so I decided 'why not blue out the face?' So I did and I did it with a smile.'

The transformation took years to finish - with each tattoo taking hours and leaving him in pain and with a lot of swelling.

'The process of my transformation was not easy it was so much pain so many hours of having needles stabbing into my skin over and over with a lot of swelling,' he said.

'But I did what I did because dreams can become reality and if you really want to do something in life you can achieve all your dreams with just a thought.

'Now it's a reminder to always smile and always smile at others around you because a smile is a gift and you never know what they're going through, so smile and show them that it's OK to smile and it's OK to be free and to be you.

'It's up to you to decide to do it and not listen to others but only yourself and be strong.'

Richie the Barber added: 'I am a motivational speaker, I am a teacher for cutting hair and I have a clown school.

'I have eighty acres of land in El Paso and that will be the 'Richie the Barber' land - just call me Walt because I have a small Disneyland coming soon over the years.'

He learned clown tricks such as juggling and unicycling in a bid to get customers in the door