You might not think of funeral professionals as a profession that could make it big online. But, TikTok’s funeral workers are making it happen. They have thousands of followers and are gaining hundreds of thousands of views by providing deep dives into macabre worlds.
Eileen Hollis (a licensed funeral director, embalmer, at Hollis Funeral Home of Syracuse, New York) and Mimi the mortuary scientist who posts under @mimithemortician, are two examples of funeral professionals that have amassed millions in likes and videos discussing everything about dead bodies.
The Mortuary Tech in Wiltshire, UK is giving tips on make-up, tools, and more to her 230,000-plus followers.
Your loved one’s funeral preparations will be taken care of by a mortician. This includes embalming.
The videos shared by morticians include joking about the sound of the mortuary and dancing before empty coffins. They also show how make-up is used to conceal the signs of decomposition.
American and British morticians gather millions of views via TikTok. Here they share details about their job, including embalming deceased bodies and the intricacies that go into their lives. A plastic head that was used for embalming makeup.
Eileen Ellis (pictured), a Syracuse, New York woman, owns her funeral home. She revealed that it can take her as much as an hour to finish the body’s embalming process.
Mimi (21), said that if you see this, I’d love to introduce you officially to Death Tok.
“I’m here for normalization of death care. As a normal 30-year old girl, I am about to complete mortuary school.
A student who stated on her Facebook page that she shared ‘ethical contents only’ invited people to ask questions about the fate of a deceased body. Nearly 32,000 likes have already been added to her account.
As a practice, the student uploaded videos showing her applying special makeup to a plastic head.
Eileen shared that she uses lip wax for funeral preparations. Speicalised moruary makeup should never be applied on anyone who is still breathing.
In one video, she also showed that embalming technicians wash their bodies multiple times during the process. This includes washing and massaging them as well as injecting embalming fluids.
Also, she explained that embalmers will seal the brain of an individual who is removed during an autopsy with paste, powder, and gauze during embalming.
Eileen from Syracuse, a mortician, says it takes her about an hour to finish a complete embalming.
She said, “But timing may vary depending on how the body is performing.”
Consider, for example: Did they suddenly die during the summer? Is their decomposition faster? Are they more likely to have edema from a very severe illness?
“Not every body is the same. Everyone comes to me with different needs,” she said.
Also, she said that it was a smart thing to get the loved ones to let you know if they would prefer to have their heads shaved or with facial hair at the wake.
Mimi (a mortuary student aged 20) demonstrated how to apply makeup with a plastic head. She also showed the products she had selected.
Mimi is shown in the photo. She said she’s a “normal 20-yearold” and will answer any questions people have about dead bodies via her TikTok.
“If the family wants to let the facial hair grow, I’ll scrub it really well, regardless of whether it’s a mustache of a beard, or a handlebar mustache. And I’ll add some beard oil just to moisten their lives,” she said.
According to her, she doesn’t see bodies come through the funeral homes in their usual state of disarray. A large portion of the embalming process involves disinfecting and cleaning out any traces of saliva, snot, or rheum left behind.
It is very thick and feels almost like wax. She also said that the makeup that is made for dead people is not as good as makeup that you would use on your own.
Mimi explained that family members can request for the dead’s personal hairdresser to come to their funeral home to do one last cut before they go.
The Mortuary Tech in Wiltshire is currently showing off her tools. From specialized makeup brands and drugs to curving needles for closing the lips of dead people,
She showed her student the powdered pigmented waxes she used to dress up deceased relatives before they were buried.
To hide decomposition after death, mortuary technicians resort to wax. Mimi also revealed that she uses several pencils, a ruler and spatulas for applying makeup.
The needles must be carved as they need to pass under the chin and back into the nasal cavity.
She explained in one of her videos that mortuary technicians such as her inspect bodies before treating them. This is to ensure they don’t decompose faster than necessary.
While she acknowledged that mortuary technicians are not allowed to stop relatives from visiting the dead, she explained that it’s illegal to prevent them. She added that embalming is stressful and makes the bodies look a lot different than they were meant to.
“And, we must also think about the deceased’s dignity. It’s very, very crucial that we remember, yes they have died, but they still enjoy rights,” she stated.
Eileen demonstrated how she uses wax and products to add colour to the lips of a person who is deceased.
Although they use specialist products, morticians also depend on the popularity of makeup, such as this Glossier selection, pictured
Dodge is an exclusive brand selling mortuary makeup and waxes for morticians who use them on cadavers.
For contouring the face and preserving its appearance, morticians employ wax and darker pigment pastes as shown in this photograph
It is not possible to fix all bodies, especially those who died from horrific causes like train crashes, but she admitted that it was impossible for everyone. Families don’t want to be seen doing this.
The loved ones of suicide victims tend to visit the morticians immediately to request to be seen and to inquire as many questions as possible to confirm that there were no foul plays.
Three mortuary specialists assured fans that they aren’t afraid of anything, have no nightmares and don’t fear the dead.
The Mortuary Tech stated that some bodies (e.g. those of children, or people who took their own lives) could prove to be distressing for staff.
One Wilshire mortician, known as the Mortuary Technology, explained that Mortuary workers use curved needles to shut people’s mouths.