Don’t expect to get your nails done or cross paths with someone leaving after a deep-tissue massage at Nude Sugar Bar. It’s not that kind of place.
The one-service sugar hair removal bar takes a clean, effective, no-frills approach to the task. “You’re just coming here to get exactly what you need done,” says owner Lindsey Peterson.
Having spent several years in Toronto, Lindsey noticed a trend in one-service waxing salons lining Toronto’s streets. She planned to put down roots in Toronto, but realized she might miss out on an opportunity in Winnipeg. “Instead of escaping Winnipeg, it’s exciting to bring something to Winnipeg to make it better,” she says.
Since opening Nude Sugar Bar on Corydon Avenue in late September, Lindsey has found that women jump at the chance to get-in-and-get-out when it comes to sugaring, especially thanks to the shop’s flexible hours. (The sugar bar is also open to male clientele, though women have been its primary customers.)
Nude is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
The evening options were inspired by Lindsey’s own frustrations when trying to schedule sugaring appointments while working full-time at Nygard. She found many places closed down for the evening and couldn’t accommodate people with regular work schedules. Plus, she found many salons were ill-equipped to perform the service.
There seemed to be a range from nail salons offering sugaring or waxing behind merely a curtain to afford privacy, or lavish relaxation spas offering the service as a pricey luxury – and not much in between.
Lindsey found her home right in the middle of these worlds – Nude Sugar Bar has two private rooms to perform the sugaring in; each decorated tastefully with moderate touches to add comfort, but the takeaways are the gleaning white walls and surfaces that communicate cleanliness.

Nude Sugar Bar also cozily inhabits a shared space with Beautifeye Lashes, another niche beauty bar specializing in eyelash extensions.
Nude’s casual, on-the-go approach to hair removal helps make clients comfortable – but Lindsey and her “girl gang” are also inviting and familiar, making the experience relatively effortless.
Lindsey credits her studies in Red River College’s Creative Communications program for unleashing her entrepreneurial side and her ease in conversation.
“I remember being such a shy chicken,” laughs Lindsey. The program taught her “just to have the balls to do something and believe in (my)self.”
Though she’s an experienced social media coordinator, she decided to opt for simply an Instagram account for Nude, @nudesugarbar. She jokes that it’s mostly weird photos of naked women (they’re usually fairly PC memes), but she uses it to throw up flash sales when they have space available – and that, along with the website, has been enough to generate word-of-mouth for the business.
Lindsey also introduced herself to her new neighbours down Corydon and in Osborne Village by offering a discount on Nude’s services to the businesses, and between that and a first-week discount, she has already seen about 75 per cent of the clientele return for their second rounds.
Though sugaring was rather obsolete in Toronto, Lindsey researched the hair removal processes and found the benefits of sugaring were worth advocating for.
“Because it’s an all-natural product, the chances that you’re going to have an adverse reaction are really low,” begins Lindsey. Plus, “the sugaring only connects to your hair and your dead skin cells” so it acts as an exfoliant.
Since wax is a toxic adhesive, it peels a layer of skin right off and can breed bacteria due to the double-dipping technique used in many salons, she explains. Nude Sugar Bar uses Sugar of the Nile exclusively, an all-natural product developed in Winnipeg comprised of sugar, water and lemons.

Lindsey can talk the benefits of sugaring forever – it removes hair at the root, pulls hair in the direction it grows, and hair comes back thinner.
But, she maintains her dedication to no-nonsense: it still hurts.
Visit http://www.nudesugarbar.com for more information and follow @nudesugarbar on Instagram to receive notice of deals on Nude’s offerings.