The Lyder Foundation for BFRBs

06/19/2024

We are having a Doublegood fundraiser selling gourmet popcorn, to help cover the costs of our fundraiser event happening in September. Please support if you can and spread the word! The fundraiser ends this Saturday.

Click here to buy ultra-premium popcorn and 50% of your purchase benefits this fundraiser.

01/30/2024

We have a GoFundMe up. Please consider donating to The Lyder Foundation to support education and resources for those with BFRBs.

Please join us as we embark on changing lives in our community. Help us to stop the silent suff… Bianca Lyder needs your support for Donate To Our Foundatiom

01/04/2024

⭐Meet The Lyder Foundation team⭐

Janet Wolpert, Board Member

About Janet:
"I was born in Tijuana, BC, however, I have lived most of my life in CDMX. I now reside much of the time in San Diego, CA.
Something a bit fortuitous is that I have changed my professional course several times in my life. My profession is graphic design. I worked as a packaging designer for many years, a discipline that I am passionate about to date. Due to life circumstances, I changed to the field of international education, an area in which I have been working for 20+ years, and to which I dedicate most of my time. I also direct the efforts of Fundación Kaluz, based in Mexico City and dedicated to providing support to all Spanish speakers who suffer from Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors such as Trichotillomania and other conditions on the obsessive-compulsive spectrum. I firmly believe that through awareness and education we can provide concrete help to lessen the suffering that these conditions cause.
Although they are totally different tasks, in all of them, working with and for people come together. I really enjoy helping people in any field.
I am passionate about traveling and spending time with my family, as well as gastronomy. Walking, preferably in nature, is another activity about which I am very excited."

11/14/2023

⭐Meet The Lyder Foundation team⭐

Gessie Perez, Programs Director and Board Member

About Gessie:
Having developed trichotillomania at the age of 11, Gessie Perez has long been an active member of the BFRB community. She is a proud advocate and dedicated to spreading awareness. She has presented numerous workshops at the TLC Foundation conferences and acted as an ambassador for the organization. Passionate about working with children, Gessie established her program "Trichster Sisters," in which she sent care packages to young girls with trichotillomania and serves as a mentor and big sister to them. Gessie is the author of two books, a memoir titled "Triumphant Trichster," and a children's book, "A Trichy Situation." She lives on Long Island and works as a community habilitation specialist for children with disabilities. She can be found at triumphanttrichster.com.

10/30/2023

⭐ Meet The Lyder Foundation team ⭐

Dr. Dave Ray, Vice President

About Dr. Ray:
Motivational Speaker and Life Skills Coach, Dr. Dave Ray, also known as “The Beauty Surgeon,” has upwards of 40 years in the beauty industry. An award-winning Beauty Educator, Trichologist, Entrepreneur, and Author of 12 publications, he is the new sought-after global Business Strategist and Customer Service guru. He travels through Europe and East Asia to both harness his skillset and facilitate training in his newfound passion.

Dr. Ray was featured as the main judge in Chris Rock’s HBO documentary, “Good Hair.” He was the stylist responsible for bringing to life the “Hair Battle Spectacular” logos for the Oxygen Network, and has completed hair pieces for the “Hair Battle Spectacular” promo ad. He has just finished filming for the premiere edition of a new series on Netflix called, “We Are The Champions” featuring him as a legend in the beauty industry.

As Board Certified Master Colorist and former Regional Training Director for Mizani/L’Oreal USA, he has won almost every national competition in which he has participated.

He also runs a successful Professional Salon/Spa & Trichology Center, along with a hands-on training facility in New York City for beauty professionals. As President/CEO of the education company and the nine salon franchise, BEAUTY WERKZ, he brings advanced education in nine areas of the beauty field.

Dave has been honored with “Cosmetologist of the Year Award 2006” by New York State and the same in Richmond, VA in 2011. He was awarded “Educator of the Year 2011” by the Black Beauty Association in Richmond, VA. In 2017, Dr. Ray was presented with the SAGE Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Beauty Industry Alliance for his commitment and support to his field.

He has a PhD in Clinical Trichology from the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. He attained a doctorate from the fraternity of NBCL, Washington, DC.

10/26/2023

⭐ Meet The Lyder Foundation team ⭐

Bianca Lyder, Founder and President

About Bianca:
Born in Trinidad, she migrated to the United States at the age of 12. After years of doing hair for family members, she became a hairstylist and barber’s apprentice, all at the tender age of 14. Bianca brings her Caribbean roots and American sense of style to each hair creation. Her vast knowledge is evident in her work. She served as a Board Member for the Trichotillomania Learning Center and Co-Chair for their first Diversity Committee (first black person to sit on their board and implement the D&I committee). She also directed the Salon Services for the Annual TLC Conference and was a Service Provider Member of the Trichotillomania Learning Center. She discovered her own BFRB is skin picking.

Bianca is also a humanitarian, a teacher, and a wonderful orator. She has put her personal skills to use by partnering with the American Cancer Society to facilitate the "Look Good, Feel Better Program” at NYU Langone Cancer Institute guiding women going through Chemo and radiation treatment manage their appearance by instructing them how to style and care for their wigs and apply makeup.

Bianca believes that education is very important; while accomplishing her goals and mastering her techniques as a Master Stylist, she found time to go back to school and graduated with her Bachelor of Art degree in Business Administration and an MBA in Business Management. She is the Community Health Advisor at her church, initiating the Health Ministry, the President of the Woman’s Ministry, and a church member for over 30 years.

10/12/2023

Gessie Perez here, programs director and social media manager for The Lyder Foundation for BFRBs. I had the joy of spending this past weekend in Minneapolis at the BFRBChangemakers friends reunion. I got to see friends I hadn't seen in 4+ years, as well as meet some new people who became instant friends.

Aneela, founder of the Changemakers and organizer of the reunion, unexpectedly asked me to come up and talk about The Lyder Foundation and our mission. I was met with applause from the whole room!

Christina Pearson, founder of the Trichotillomania Learning Center (TLC) in 1990, was in attendance. She brought up the point that how at these kinds of events, it's most often almost all white people. When TLC used to host annual conferences (pre covid) and I attended, I was always a small minority as a person of color.

There is still such little awareness of BFRBs in communities of color. Many people suffer feeling alone, not knowing that there are others out there like them. At The Lyder Foundation, we strive to change that by sharing education and resources in communities of color.

10/07/2023

Our founder/president Bianca Lyder and board member/programs director Gessie Perez were interviewed for this great article from Skin Picking Support on creating spaces for people of color in the BFRB community.

https://www.skinpickingsupport.com/blog/creating-spaces-for-people-of-color-with-bfrbs/?fbclid=IwAR3BS2xNY528GVteP1zfZqNz9f7o6i3i8cjodLRNz1Y7ZAyrtvaGbg7zoM0

Not all access to mental health resources is built equally.And for people of colour, access to resources for body-focused repetitive behaviours (BFRBs) does not come as easily as you might think or hope.For the most part, even BFRB organizations and groups with a special focus on people of colour ha...

10/04/2023

If you would like to donate to The Lyder Foundation to support BFRB programs, right now you can send donations via Zelle using our phone number:
917-496- 2899
OR mailing check, cash, or money order to:
P.O. Box 726
New York, NY 10037

Thank you for your support! We are working on getting Venmo and Cashapp as well, so stay tuned.

10/03/2023

This week, October 1st-7th, is

BFRB stands for body focused repetitive behaviors, and includes compulsive hair pulling (trichotillomania), skin picking, nail biting, and other excessive self-grooming behaviors.

These are more than just "bad habits" and can not be controlled with simple willpower. BFRBs are serious mental health conditions that affect around 3-4% of the population.

Many people with BFRBs suffer in silence, feeling alone and ashamed. At The Lyder Foundation for BFRBs, we aim to break the stigma that comes with living with a BFRB, remove barriers to accessing treatment, and foster a community of support. This is especially needed in communities of color, where mental health conditions are widely considered taboo and are not talked about.

BFRBs may not be curable, but shame and stigma is. You are not alone. There is hope. Together we are stronger. We welcome and embrace you with open arms. 💜

Visit www.thelyderfoundation.com for more information.

10/01/2023

Happy ! Thank you to everyone who attended our first anniversary celebration this afternoon, whether in person or virtually. We had some great speakers and inspiring conversation about body focused repetitive behaviors. We are getting the word out there, and we are only just beginning! There is healing in coming together as a community.

Special thanks goes out to:
Our speakers: Christina Pearson, Pavitt Thatcher, Jose Alvear, Saharra Dixon, Chaille DeFaria, and Karen Pickett.
Anniversary planning committee: Sondra, Samantha, Janet, Gessie, and Richard.
Our Spanish interpreter, Janet Wolpert.
And of course our founder and president, Bianca Lyder.

09/20/2023

Join us as we kick off BFRB Awareness Week and celebrate our 1st anniversary! Sunday October 1st, 1:00-4:00pm Eastern. In person in New York City OR virtually via Zoom! We will have some speakers and there will be opportunity to connect with other individuals with BFRBs. *Exact address provided upon registration. This event is free but registration is required.

Register here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScVazeHWkcf81cg_TVCEmjRJR7zVFNqasUAOV2EXhqQn2pCgw/viewform