Baretan

This is OC’s OG spot for tanning! They have been here forever. The staff is the friendliest and the monthly packages are the best. I’ve been to a bunch of other places and they all end up closing down in months and then you have to go call them and try to cancel your membership. I hate that. This place never has a wait and if there is it’s only for a few minutes. They offer all different types of tanning and products and they don’t try to push it down your throat every time you’re there. This will be the only place I tan! Reallly highly recommend this place! Great job guys!

As far as I am concerned, this place is as good as it gets! I am always pleasantly surprised every time I go in! I went in for a spray tan today, and the owner Art was there. I had not seen him in WELL over a year (I tan very infrequently, but have been a member there since 2003), and as soon as I walked in, he knew my first and last name. He was helping to train a new staff member, and when my tan was finished, I met a friend up front. In my haste to meet her, I left my cell phone in the tanning room, and the new girl immediately brought the phone out upon re-​stocking the room! In addition, my friend brought her small dog, and the owner offered to watch her dog while she tanned! The customer service here is TOP NOTCH and that alone will keep me coming back! 5 stars for sure! Keep up the good work Baretan!

Love this place,
Personable staff, professional attitude, great prices.

Great place, great service, Haley and Art were very friendly and professional. It wasn’t over priced either. A+

Terrible tan

I didn’t check Unilocal reviews before I tried this salon, I should have. It’s a bit of a drive from my house, but I was looking for the closest Versaspa in my area and found Bare Tan in Irvine.
Their location is beautiful, hours are fantastic, and the girls working were very sweet. But wow. It’s like a nightclub it’s so dark in there, I mean seriously, pitch black in the bathroom I couldn’t even find the light switch. I’m not looking for bright lighting, but when you tan, (especially spray tan) you would like to be able to look in the mirror and actually see your self and get rid of any excess so you don’t end up blotchy?
The hook for your bag and clothes was hanging above the mirror on the back of the door, so I couldn’t look in the mirror anyway between the lighting and my clothes but whatever.
Then there were no baby wipes to wipe the barrier cream off of my hands and feet. I used paper towels which is again fine whatever, and a rough knubby hand towel they placed in the room.
Apparently they don’t wipe down the bottom of the machine, so when I was wiping off the barrier cream I noticed that the bottom of my feet were dark amber, almost black. When I finally found my way through the under lit hallway to the under lit bathroom, I tried to wash them but it’s like henna. My feet are still just a lighter shade of amber. So nice to look like you walk around barefoot all the time. My feet just look filthy on the bottom and I have used this machine at other salons so this is not the norm.
Anyhoo. They are open til midnight if you’re desperate.

I came in for my first time and was turned away because I left my drivers lic at home which is not close to here. They wouldn’t let me tan without proper Id and the girl wasn’t very nice about it either. Ridiculous IMO

The custom airbrush spray tan is AWFUL! I’m already a naturally tan person but I was going to Vegas and needed to even out my existing tan lines but the technician sprayed me twice so I left looking like I just came back from a trip to the sun. It wasn’t natural looking at all and it didn’t give me the glow I wanted.
When I got home, the tan was getting on everything! Anywhere I sat and all over my bed and it had that gross distinct tanning smell. I followed their after care instructions and just rinsed the next day and the water dripping off my body was dark brown!
Rinsing didn’t help with how dark I was. I went to Vegas and blended into the background.
The tan started to wear off 4 days later but it wore off in spots so that I looked like I had some kind of weird skin disease. Exfoliating just made it worse so there was nothing I could do except ride it out. I’ve uploaded a photo to their Unilocal page.
Extremely unhappy with this place. DO NOT GO HERE!

The people here are super nice. The hours can’t be beat and the prices are fair. Tastefully decorated. I’ve been going here for two years and have never had a bad experience.

I came in here the other day based off a recommendation from a friend and wow, I am thoroughly impressed. From the moment you enter, the staff greets you warmly and the entire place is immaculate. They have a great seating area where you wait and everything is really clean. I was interested in their packages, so Holly took the time to explain everything to me and gave me a great tour of the place. She was so helpful and kind! It’s hard to find that these days, especially at a tanning salon. This place is very reasonably priced for the area and its services. I used to be a customer of At The Beach but will not return now that I have found BareTan!

I’ve been coming here for 3 years now. Amazing staff, great beds, always a flawless spray tan, and never have to wait for a bed. I won’t go anywhere else in OC.

I’ve been a happy customer of Baretan Irvine location since 2002. The customer service is always amazing. The staff is personable, accommodating and very knowledgeable. I’m always greeted and greeted with a smile. The hours are perfect-​open early and close late! Convenient for any schedule. Plenty of high quality tanning beds so waiting, if I ever have to, is for only a minute or two. Plenty of parking and valet parking available during holiday season. I look forward to going to Baretan; it’s the most relaxing 12 minutes of my day and I love my tan. I highly recommend Baretan!

I was really hoping to like this place because it’s much closer than my usual place but… I didn’t even have the chance to check it out because I was told by the owner that I’d have to LEAVE MY KIDS OUTSIDE as soon as we sat down. WTF!!! How offensive. As if they’re dogs that can be put on a leash and tied to a pole.
What upsets me most about this is that I was told about their «liability policy» right after I had just asked the girl at the front desk if I could take 5 – 10 minutes after my scheduled appointment time to finish feeding my kids next door at Wahoo’s. If there really is a liability policy, why aren’t the employees aware of it and informing the new clients? In all my experiences at other tanning salons, I’ve never had a problem bringing my kids, especially when they have their iPad and other things to do.
So while I can’t comment on their services, I will say that businesses that tell you to leave your kids outside will never have my business.

Love it. Great custom spray tan. Awesome customer service. No high pressure sale. 1^st time $ 19.95 for custom spray tan.

This is a delayed review from February. Will not come here anymore. A few years ago this was the best place for airbrush but not anymore. The place is pretty run down now too. Prices have gone down but you get what you paid for. Freezing cold solution, cringe worthy towels, streaky tan that borders on orange. No thanks!

I have been coming here for years leading up to a special occasion /​trip and I have always had an impeccable experience. The staff is very kind and insightful, most especially Art and Myra. You can be assured at BARETAN that your spraytan will keep and look authentic.

Yeah… best in orange county? Holy cow. Thursday night I go in. It’s dark inside… how the heck they can see to do a custom spray tan is beyond me. Well, clearly they can’t. I do a level 2 (in Phoenix the place I went to did a blend of levels based on customer needs/​desires — not an option here apparently). They spray a pH balancer first… ok…whatever. Then goopy hand cream on palms and nails (places in Phoenix spray the hands and feet to avoid the darkening in those areas — I feel now like I have moved to the dark ages…). Too much cream. Disgusting. Takes ages to get off after the spray is done, but whatever.
Friday, I am orange. Yep. Orange. Saturday, I am cracking. Day 2 is supposed to be the best day for a spray tan. Nope. Not with Baretan apparently. Today is Sunday and I am so cracked it is disgusting. (and yes, I moisturize heavily!)
Tried to fill out a contact form on their website early this morning… not working. Figures.
I will try another place, but so far I am stunned that these guys are considered the best. Haven’t had a tan this bad in years!

My wife and I decided to get Mystic Tans before our honeymoon to the Dominican Republic. We are both VERY white and didn’t want to blind the other people on the beaches. We had never done this before but found an Amazon Local deal for 2 spray tan sessions for $ 10. How can you beat that? We each got a package and went about 2 weeks before our trip. The facility was nice and the staff were very friendly. There are a LOT of things you must remember when getting a spray tan so pay attention! After we were finished the manager gave us some lotion and helpful hints on how to prolong the tan. The downside is the smell. You smell like chemicals until you shower and even after that for a bit. It’s nothing noxious but you notice something is there. I thought once we were sprayed we could go about daily life but no. You must constantly moisturize using a moisturizer without oil (which we found hard to find) and shower with baby wash (also oil free). We found that Aveeno Baby worked perfectly. After a day or two we did find some streaks in the tan but figured that was due to our inexperience with the process. I don’t think we toweled off the excess properly. On our second session we figured it out and got a GREAT second coat! I think we may need to do this at the start of every summer…
Hints:
–Wear baggy clothes you don’t care about
–Use more barrier cream that you need
–You can use a Magic Eraser to «erase» parts of the tan you don’t like (feet/​hands/​nails)

I first visited BareTan on the suggestion of a friend who used to tan there for years. I was going to Vegas and am very fair skinned (I’ve never had an actual tan in my life — I just burn :-(), so I got a Versa Spa spray tan. Last night I went for my second Versa Spa spray tan, since I’ll be in San Diego this weekend.
The facility is very nice and in a great shopping center right off the 405 (although parking/​traffic is rough, so give yourself a little extra time.) The employees have been very friendly and helpful both times I went, and were extra accommodating in showing me how the VersaSpa works and giving me a refresher the second time.
When I called about the VersaSpa, on the phone it was mentioned when you come in for your first tan, the second one is free. However, when I paid the second time and mentioned my first trip a week ago, I wasn’t offered the second tan (I guess there is a coupon online, so be sure you print it out if you go.) I asked about packages and, while they bring down the price, they were fairly expensive. Plus, the manager who explained them to me wrote them down on a post-​it note and didn’t have anything printed up. It made me feel like he was quoting me something and not giving me the same price anyone else would get, so I opted to just purchase an individual session.
The VersaSpa is $ 38 for one session, but the packages can bring them down as low as $ 16. As for the VersaSpa itself, the experience was very easy. Both times I’ve gotten a great, streak-​free, natural looking tan and have been very happy with how quickly the process takes. I hadn’t told anyone I went for a spray tan, and on my first day in Vegas my friend told me, «Wow, you really got a lot of sun this week!» Last night when I got home after my spray tan, my brother commented, «Wow, were you outside a lot? You are really tan!» I love the way my skin looks, and it feels really smooth and hydrated. The first tan I received was a clear coat, and the second is a bronze coat. The clear coat wasn’t quite enough cover for me, and I think the bronze coat is just right.
The tan lasted about 5 days last time, and I hope as long this time. For $ 38, it will probably be something I do for special occasions or if I know I’m going to spend the weekend at the beach or by a pool. I wish that there were monthly memberships or payment options — that would make the package purchases a little easier.

I just moved to Orange County and this was my first visit to Bare Tan in Irvine. Here is the rundown:
PROS:
–Lobby looks very nice, trendy and inviting
–Staff is upbeat and friendly
CONS:
–Parking is terrible
–False advertising. Site advertises free tan for first time customers, but when I mentioned it they would not grant it since I didn’t have a printed out coupon (the site mentions nothing about needing to print out anything)
–Unsanitary bed! The bottom portion of the bed appeared to have been cleaned but the side and top portion was filthy with greasy prints and all sorts of white «stuff» splattered everywhere — I don’t even want to know what that could possibly be! How has the health department not shut this place down?
–GHETTO Condition of the bed! The handle appeared to have once been broken and was taped together with duct tape. The head rest pillow had a big rip/​split down the pillow.
–PRICE $ 20 for a tan in an unsanitary, ghetto bed. I get that it is Orange County so it’s acceptable to charge more, but if you are going to charge more, the standards need to be higher to meet the price. The condition of the bed was simply unacceptable even at the lowest standards.
–Tan quality — I picked a level 2 bed because I was told it would offer more bronzing and less burn. I didn’t see any bronzing at all and later that evening I appeared to have slight sunburn (I do not burn easily)
Despite the cool atmosphere and friendly staff, I will not be returning to this tanning salon.

I bought a Groupon for this place not too long ago and redeemed it on the day of expiration for a Versaspa tan. I came in around 9:30 pm and was greeted by the owner (?)… he could not have been any nicer and more welcoming! As an avid fan of Groupon and Living Social deals, I’ve come across plenty of employees that have been snobby and/​or rude when they find out that I am one of «those» customers… um, why would you market to Groupon and Living Social then if you’re gonna be a f**king a**hole about it? But I digress…
The staff at Baretan were SO polite and welcoming… I was in and out of there in minutes. The Versaspa is just like mystic tanning (the booth spray tan) but better. I can’t even put into words what makes it «better» but it just was! I opted for the clear coat so I didn’t have to worry about stains and such. When I woke up the next morning, I was a beautiful bronze goddess! No, really, I was. It was so surprising! I can’t wait to return to Baretan.
I would highly suggest taking advantage of their late hours and coming when the traffic in the parking lot is not a clusterf**k. In other words, avoid 6:00 pm!