Nine out of 10 salon owners say teenagers who have access to and use professional tanning salons are less likely to sunburn when they do go outdoors or go on sunny vacations, according to the SmartTan.com poll. Only 10 percent thought otherwise.

“A tan is the body’s natural protection against sunburn,” Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. “And there’s no doubt that tan skin with sunscreen works better than untanned skin with sunscreen at preventing sunburn when outdoor sun is intense. And that’s true no matter what age you are.”

Anti-sun naysayers have called tans “damage” to the skin. “Calling a tan ‘damage’ is akin to saying that exercise damages muscles, and therefore exercise is harmful,” Levy said. “On the micro-level, exercise does damage muscles. But examined properly, that’s what the body is designed to do. Calling it damage is misleading and inaccurate. Similarly, a tan means the body is producing melanin, which is a powerful anti-oxidant and which is the body’s natural and intended cell-by-cell defense against sunburn.”

Every study done on this topic has shown that people who tan in salons are less likely to sunburn when they do go outdoors.