Addressing the Hair

The head will be propped on a block. You can lift the head and pull as much hair forward as you can. Don’t worry about the back of the hair since the head will be placed on a pillow later on. You want to pay close attention to the side of the face and hair that will be facing the room, this is the side that the body will be viewed from. The mortician will be able to answer this question for you.

 The hair will be laying flat to the scalp and quite straight, even if the deceased had curly hair.

These are things you will need to bring….

1.A spray on conditioner.

2.A blow dryer.

3.A curling iron or flat iron.

4.Mousse or gel.

5.Hairspray, firm hold.

6.A water bottle.

7.A dry shampoo.

8.Clip-pies, small and a couple of large ones.

9.A small towel.

10.Scotch tape and scissors.

11.Nail polish clippers and a file, a soft and rough one.

12.If you are doing the makeup, ask for their makeup bag and bring it with you.

13.A comb, comb out comb and a brush, both for round brushing and for brushing out.

Positioning Body

Adjust the base. On the bottom of the the body lift is either a bolt the casket. Adjust the height. Using the other lever or bolt, adjust the height of the arm of the lift that holds the straps. This will allow you to strap the body into the lift.

Rotate the body enough to get the straps underneath other side of the body so that you can click or fasten the straps. Make sure the straps are far enough apart on the body, but not too far apart to keep the body from falling apart in transit from the table to the casket. Swing the body. Now that the body is securely strapped to the body lift, swing the lift from the table to the casket. Adjust the height of the lift to casket level and slowly lower the body into the casket.

Undo the straps. Once the body is in the casket, undo the straps and position the body for viewing.

 

Dressing the Body for the Funeral

Every funeral professional uses different techniques when dressing a body.  Some choose to cut the clothes in a continuous line up the back and place them on the body much like a kindergarten teacher would dress a child in a smock for painting. Others refuse to cut the clothes, prefering to go the more difficult route of dressing the body with the clothing intact. 

The biggest concern is that the person cannot move and is, quite often, too heavy to be lifted for any length of time, meaning that you'll only get a few seconds to pull up skirts & pants or to pull down dresses and shirts. It should be noted that most funeral professionals will use undergarments, even when none are provided.  Often, this expense is not factored into the charges paid by a family.  Still, most professionals see it as a matter of honor that their clients are fully dressed, even if their families do not provide the appropriate garments

 Since dressing is always done before you style the hair or add cosmetics, we'll start with a clean body.  Undergarments are first, meaning underwear, socks and undershirt, if provided.  Place the feet and through the underwear and move the garment up the legs.  Lifting the thigh will help position the underwear over the buttocks. Undershirts can be harder to place, especially if you don't want to cut the clothes.  Embalmed arms are often stiff and will not bend at the elbow joint.  However, the shoulder joint is usually more flexible.  

Place the scrunched-up shirt on the stomach, guide both arms through the bottom of the shirt and out the arm holes.  Pull the shirt up the arms, keeping it gathered.  Grasping the back "scrunched" section and lifting the arms into a "touchdown" position, pull the shirt over the head.  Now you can place a hand between the shoulders and lift up to facilitate pulling the shirt down over the back. Pants go on just like underwear, provided that you have placed the belt into the loops BEFORE you pull up the pants.

Mixing the Embalming Fluids

When you think of embalming fluids, right away you think there is only one. Well let me fill you in with some information about this. There is many different types of embalming fluid. All depends on body and death. The skin color will change after death, dramaticly or not too much.

When mixing the embalming fluid for a small person, a small amount of fluids are needed. For a bigger person, using more fluids are for sure. Color is another issue sometimes. When a Peron dies, the skin color will change. Depending if they died from a disease, the color will change dramatically. Wasting the embalming fluid is not good because that fluid is very expensive.

This is where the embalming fluids matter. Fluids can make the body flexible or can make the body very stiff. When a person passes away in a bad car accident, more then likely, stiffer embalming fluid is needed. On the other hand, if the person passed away from natural causes, using the less stiffer one will do.

The Right Casket

Shopping for caskets can be trying and difficult. When people find themselves shopping for caskets, they are usually filled with grief and sadness, and the wide selection of caskets can be overwhelming. Burial caskets and funeral caskets are available in a wide variety of materials ranging from wood to gold. There are an endless number of designs available for caskets as well. They can be simple solid colors or can be covered with elaborate decorations and paintings.

 It is not uncommon for funeral homes to tell people about their more expensive caskets first and then give shoppers other options only at their request. Research shows that people usually buy the middle priced casket of the first three they are offered. Many people are also afraid of appearing cheap if they ask to see the less expensive models. It is a good idea that shoppers familiarize themselves with the Federal Trade Commissions Funeral Rule before buying a casket.

They need to decide whether they want an open funeral casket that displays the deceased during the memorial service. Funeral caskets often have two hinged doors that allow the torso of the deceased to be visible during the service. Burial caskets usually only have one hinged door that runs the length of the casket. Usually, either type of casket is suitable for burial, but some funeral caskets are not suitable for burial and are merely rented for the funeral service.

Cleaning Embalming Room

As municipalities adopt more stringent health codes, ceramic tile still in good condition may not be good enough. Often health inspectors are requesting the ceramic tile be replaced with seamless epoxy coatings to assure clean room standards. Now you can coat right over that good ceramic tile to encapsulate it at a fraction of the cost of demolition.

Epoxy coatings with 100% solids can be applied right over your ceramic tile for good looks and healthful environments. Epoxy flooring is not only seamless but can be Class III Laboratory qualified. These mold and mildew resistant surfaces are easy to clean with hose and squeegee. Bleach resistant epoxy flooring can take strong cleaners and heavy abrasion.

 Epoxy coatings have been used successfully in swimming pools, laundries, warehouses, garages, and various types of shops for decades. Now they are being used increasingly in embalming rooms, smooth or with fine skid resistant textured surfaces that are still easy to mop and squeegee clean.

Pumping Embalming Fluid

The embalmer must inject about 1 gallon of fluid for every 50 pounds of body weight. A typical gallon of fluid might be made up of 1 bottle of arterial fluid, 1 bottle of co-injection fluid, 1 bottle of water corrective, and enough water to complete the gallon. This recipe changes depending on the condition of the body.

The embalming machine has two knobs which regulate pressure (the force of the fluid) and rate of flow (speed of the fluid). These knobs are adjusted differently during embalming for each case to create the optimum rate of injection for the body. Some machines have a pulse feature that pumps the fluid much like a heart would pump, with alternating pressure. This is very effective in avoiding swelling of tissues. The machine is switched on and the fluid begins to move through the hose, through the arterial tube and into the body.

Once the embalming fluid begins to flow into the arterial system, pressure begins to build up in the entire vascular system. This helps the fluid reach all parts of the body and penetrate into the tissues. Evidence of this can be seen in bulging veins throughout the body. The jugular drain tube is opened periodically (it is normally closed) to allow blood to escape and prevent too much pressure in the vascular system which could cause swelling. The blood drains directly into the sewer system, which sounds gross, but in reality MUCH worse things go into our sewers.