Typically, funeral homes dont hire outside cosmetologists to work on the makeup of the dead. Instead, the funeral director or embalmer will dress the body and apply makeup to the face as part of a long process of preparing the body for an open-casket service.

Does a mortician do makeup?

Mortuary makeup artists are licensed cosmetologists who perform a variety of cosmetic services to prepare a deceased person for their funeral. Those services might include hair cutting and styling, manicures and applying makeup.

What is the person that puts makeup on dead bodies?

cosmetologist A person must be licensed—as a cosmetologist, funeral director, or embalmer—to perform cosmetic services on deceased persons. In many funeral homes, unless the family requests special services or a certain cosmetologist, funeral home personnel do the necessary cosmetic preparations.

How do you become a makeup artist for the dead?

The most common method of training to become a funeral makeup artist is to attend a mortuary science program. Mortuary science schools prepare you for embalming bodies, arranging and conducting funerals, interacting with the bereaved as well as cosmeticizing the dead.

Do morticians use special makeup?

Thats all thanks to the skill of the mortician who prepped the deceased persons body at the mortuary right up to the final touch of makeup. Although in some cases special makeup artists are on hand to prepare the dead, more often than not the person who does the makeup is also the embalmer.

Do morticians wash hair?

The hair also is cleaned during the embalming process, Stonacek said. When Mrs. Stinson goes in to style hair, the deceased is laying flat on a table, with the head propped up. She said most of the work involves curling and combing.

Do undertakers wash hair?

After the embalming, the body is washed. Hair is washed and men are shaved. An embalmer will also trim nose hairs and fix up the deceaseds nails. Makeup—but not too much—is applied to lessen the waxy look a dead body might have.

Are morticians?

A mortician or funeral director is a professional serving in the business of funeral rites. A mortician is responsible for tasks that include embalming, cremation, or burial of the deceased. With that noted, a mortician does not need to be a physician to embark on this type of career.

Is being a mortician traumatic?

With long hours, unpredictable workweeks, and emotional demands, funeral directors are continuously exposed to significant psychological stressors. A funeral director, also referred to as an undertaker or mortician, is a professional in the death care industry involved in the business of funeral rites.

Do morticians go to med school?

Unlike a doctor going to medical school, youll take your funeral directors education at a regular college. Courses for a degree in mortuary science typically include embalming, restorative techniques, ethics, grief counseling, funeral service and business law. Embalming is an education in itself.