Secrets of Embalming--Getting Started

First things first. If the body is in the cooler, I remove it and preferably let it thaw out a little before beginning. Fresh bodies are highly preferable to refrigerated ones. Refrigeration wreaks havoc on a body's tissues.



I place the body on an adjustable embalming table.

Embalming table

Then, it is time to suit up. Not every embalmer suits up exactly the same way. I am a little accident-prone and find it rather distasteful, if not just plain dangerous, to have blood splash in my mouth, so I lean toward the "better safe than sorry" route of suiting up. I prefer the full-body hazmat-type suit. It covers my body, arms, and legs, and zips up the middle. It's even got built-in footies so my shoes are protected from stepping on bodily ooze. The suit is pretty essential. Fluids (i.e. blood, embalming fluid, saliva, urine) sometimes get EVERYWHERE. It is hard to predict when a splashing may occur.


The suit is not totally waterproof, however. A serious flaw in the design, if you ask me. Thus, I also wear a flimsy plastic apron over the suit. Next, I wear a clear face shield. This fogs up something awful, though, and sometimes gets removed after the most "splashiest" parts of the embalming process are completed. I also have the option of wearing a surgical mask, but I find the face shield is usually sufficient protection for my face. When I am pregnant or nursing, I also wear a respirator over my mouth and nose. It is extremely uncomfortable and hot, but these chemicals are not something I want my babies exposed to, if I can help it. On a non-pregnant day, I just rely on the ventilation system to keep my lungs relatively formaldehyde-free.


It probably goes without saying that I also wear gloves. Thick blue latex gloves. They are good gloves.


All right. On to the embalming. First, I position the body on blocks. The head rests on a concave head block. The feet are elevated on a body block or foot block. The arms get propped up on head blocks so that they are crossed on their chest or belly. Depending on the case, I may put various other body blocks under the body to facilitate positioning. The goal is to make the deceased look relaxed and peaceful in their casket.

Head block

Next comes disinfecting. I disinfect the eyeballs, up the person's nose, inside their mouth, their teeth (I find people's mouths to be absolutely hideous, if you must know. . . ), inside their ears, and their genitals. 


After the disinfecting process, I do any shaving that needs to be done and then it is time to "set the features". This involves closing the eyes and mouth. I put eye caps under the eyelids. They are plastic discs covered with small points. They help to hold the lid closed and also to plump up the eye itself. When you die, your eye flattens, so to make it look normal for a viewing, we put in the eye caps. 

Eye caps

There are different ways of closing the mouth. I usually go for the needle injector. The needle injector is kind of like a staple gun, I suppose. It powerfully injects a small metal spike into the decedent's jaw bone. 

Needle injector

I load up the metal spike, that has a metal wire attached to it, and shoot it into the lower jaw bone, underneath the bottom lip. You have to punch in the injector several times to really get it in there. It takes some real hand strength. I yank on the metal wire to make sure it is really in there good. Elderly people's jawbones usually aren't the strongest and sometimes it takes several tries in different parts of the bone. The needle injector is quite loud--BANG!


In mortuary college, we had 3 different kinds of needle injectors. One was an electric one. Anyway, once one of the spikes is in the lower jaw and holding very sturdy, I punch one into the upper jaw, under the upper lip. Once they are both in position and holding strong, I take the wire attached to the spikes and twist them together. This pulls the mandible up so that the teeth are flush and the mouth is closed effectively. Then, I cut the excess wire with a wire cutter or surgical scissors. If a person doesn't have teeth and/or their dentures didn't come with them, then I put in a mouth former. Here's a picture of one. 

Mouth former

There are other ways to close a mouth. Sometimes, I suture it. This involves threading some suturing thread through the nose, the upper gums, and the muscle in the lower jaw (or weaving around the mandible, through the skin). This leaves me with both ends of the string, which I then tighten to my satisfaction. Unfortunately, it leaves a small dimple or a hold underneath the person's chin, which has the possibility of swelling or leaking. If you can't get the spike to stay in the jaw bones, however, you've got to go with the suturing technique. Many embalmers prefer suturing to the injector, because, well, sometimes the injector can be a pain.


After closing the eyes and mouth, I kind of "mold" the eyelids and lips of the mouth with my fingers so that person looks--hopefully--relaxed and normal. Once the features are "set" how I want them, I start mixing the embalming chemicals in the embalming machine.