CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland residents search for ways to remove or cover up their tattoos at one of the highest rates in the country, a new study finds. Cleveland ranked fourth in the U.S. for per capita searches indicating tattoo regret, suggesting a significant portion of the population reconsiders their body art.

The research by Turvallinen Kasino analyzed Google searches for terms like "tattoo removal" and "tattoo cover-up near me" across 177 U.S. cities. Cleveland registered 360.89 regret-related searches per 100,000 residents. Orlando, Florida, led the rankings, followed by Atlanta, Georgia, and Salt Lake City, Utah.

The findings align with separate dermatological research suggesting that an individual's motivation for getting a tattoo may correlate with later regret. A Turkish multi-center study on dermatology patients found that individuals who regretted at least one of their tattoos gave higher scores to the motivation of getting inked to be fashionable.

Conversely, people who did not regret their tattoos gave higher scores for motivations related to expressing individuality, being unique, being creative, or having a beauty mark.

The study also found that regret was related to tattooing practices: individuals who had their tattoos applied by an amateur had a significantly higher regret rate (43.3%) compared to those who chose a professional tattoo artist (19.3%).

Additionally, the mean age of getting a first tattoo was lower in the regretful group, at 19.3 years, compared to 22.7 years for the non-regretful group. The most common reason cited for regret was "not liking the tattoo anymore."

Nationally, the Turvallinen Kasino study showed Florida cities dominated the top 10 rankings, with Orlando, Miami (fifth), and Fort Lauderdale (ninth) all appearing.