Embalmer reveals what happens to your body after you die

A woman who grew up in a funeral home and became a mortician has revealed the unusual way dead bodies are cleaned before funerals.

Ever wondered what happens to a body after a person dies, but before the funeral?

US embalmer and funeral director Eileen Hollis has shared the low down on what happens to the body when a person dies – and there’s a very detailed process.

Eileen is one of the numerous young women who work in the US death-care industry, who have been sharing secrets of their business on TikTok in what’s been labelled a “Death Tok” trend.

In one of her videos, Eileen was asked what she does to clean a body when it arrives at her funeral home.

“It’s important to note that funeral directors do wash your entire body,” she explained.

“At mortuary school, we’re taught to wash your body three times – once at the very beginning, second time during the actual embalming when we’re injecting, and third time at the end of the process so you’re all squeaky clean.”

Stream more than 20 global & local news sources with Flash, Australia’s biggest news streaming service. New to Flash? Try 14 days free >

Funeral director Eileen Hollis has revealed what happens to your body when you die. Picture: TikTok/hollisfuneralhome

In fact, as well as getting rid of any nasty smells or marks, the cleaning process also helps “the embalming chemicals distribute throughout your body”.

In the second part of the question, Eileen was asked what she does if someone has a lot of facial hair when they pass away.

“In terms of facial hair, yes I will clean it up,” she said. “I don’t really pluck eyebrows, just because I don’t want to create any more redness or blemishes.

“But even if you don’t have a lick of facial hair, I will actually go through and shave your face, because it just makes the application of make-up go on a little smoother and it doesn’t cake on as much.”

However, if you were someone who had chin hairs, Eileen would check with your family as to whether or not they wanted them to be removed.

“Because honestly, chin hairs are sometimes like a part of grandma’s identity,” she smiled.

Another video saw Eileen answer a question about whether or not she has ever given a dead body a haircut.

The US woman says she was taught to wash bodies three times before their funerals. Picture: TikTok/hollisfuneralhome

She replied that while she has given a few haircuts to the deceased, sometimes their family will bring in their own hair stylist, who looked after the dead person’s hair for years.

“I love that, because honestly, who knows your hair better?” she said.

She added that the same applies for nail technicians, explaining that “if you want to bring your own nail technician in, go ahead!

“I want you to leave this Earth with drop-dead gorgeous hair and stunning nails!”

Another embalmer recently revealed how she covers up bruising on a body after a person has passed on as well as the make-up secrets she uses to make a dead person look “life like”.

Mortician Evie Rodriguez works as a funeral director and embalmer in Illinois, and recently talked about using airbrush make-up to deal with a body that comes in with bruising and trauma.

Mortician Evie Rodriguez is a big fan of using airbrush make-up to conceal bruises on dead bodies. Picture: TikTok/@retseleve

“When trauma is present on a decedent and wax work is needed, I prefer to use an airbrush,” she said, demonstrating the impressive coverage by using it to cover up her own tattoo.

“I find that it effortlessly hides bruising, discolouration due to illness and trauma,” she explained.

“I save the airbrush for those decedents that really need the extra coverage. I don’t use it daily and prefer to apply minimal cosmetics on a decedent when possible.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Embalmer reveals what happens to your body after you die