Demand for tattoo removal is growing in Russia

Demand has shifted from getting tattoos to removing them

Russians' interest in tattoos is shifting toward their removal: according to a 2GIS study, reported by Gazeta.Ru,, by September 2026 the number of search queries about tattoo removal had grown by 13% compared with the same period in 2025, while queries for getting tattoos fell by 3%. This is not a one-off spike but a shift reflected in the market: in October 2026, more than three thousand locations in 16 million-plus cities offered the 'Tattoo removal' service, versus 2,375 in October 2024 — a 27% increase over two years and 7% over the past year.

Where the service is widespread and how much it costs

The tattoo removal market grew fastest in Chelyabinsk (up 63%, to 106 locations), Samara (up 51%, to 119), Nizhny Novgorod (up 47%, to 100) and Voronezh (up 41%, to 72 locations). It grew slowest in the largest markets: Moscow (up 17%, to 890 locations), Volgograd (up 19%) and St. Petersburg (up 20%). On prices, 2GIS analysts cite a median starting cost per session of 1,920 rubles. The service is most affordable in Omsk, Krasnodar and Nizhny Novgorod — 1,000 rubles, and most expensive in Moscow (3,000 rubles), Rostov-on-Don (2,400) and Kazan (2,250); in St. Petersburg it is 1,800 rubles. Thus, the difference in starting prices between cities reaches threefold, and Moscow, with the largest number of salons, remains the most expensive city.

Risks of the procedure

In connection with this topic, Gazeta.Ru recalls its earlier article in which a doctor explained which diseases can be transmitted through getting a tattoo; the content of that article is not disclosed in the current publication.