We are excited to collaborate with Cold Hands and Monica Torres, renowned licensed funeral director, embalmer, cremationist, cosmetic reconstructive specialist, desairologist, and owner/founder of NXT Generation Mortuary Support! Every week Connecting Directors will now share “Cold Hands Embalming Tip of the Week,” which Monica posts each Sunday afternoon to her Instagram channel @coldhandshosts.
Cold Hands Embalming Tip of the Week: Protect the inner canthus of the eye by using a viscous Vaseline-like product.
Don’t let the name of this product (Trinity Fluids’ Stone Oil) confuse you with its competitors. It’s a unique product that I find most useful on emaciated cases. Dehydration can set in quick on cases that are emaciated. During the dying process the body goes through a period called “algor mortis.” During this time in those who were febrile at the time of death experience dehydration. Another attributing factor is if the ambient temperature was high dehydration may also be witnessed.
After death the lips and eyes are often the first places that this is visually evident. Brown tough dry patches begin to appear and if left untreated can completely ruin the natural appearance of these very important features of the face making the person look deformed and unnatural. Separation naturally occurs as the tissue begins to recede.
Pro tip:
Avoid using adhesive in the eyes after embalming as this will further promote dehydration and browning of the tissue
Hope you enjoyed this week’s tip! Until next week Happy Embalming!
Deathcare professionals: To gain online support for the embalming tips, visit Cold Hands Answers at
https://www.nxtgenmortuarysupport.com/product/cold-hands-answers-morticians/. NXT Generation Mortuary Support offers ongoing online continuing education opportunities for deathcare professionals!
