Funeral cosmetology

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Funeral cosmetology, also known as mortuary makeup or restorative arts, sometimes known by the older name desairology, are activities related to the practice of viewing a deceased person in their open casket prior to burial. If a family requests a viewing, the funeral director will discuss with the family how they would like the decedent to appear, and even ask the family to provide a reference photo of the deceased. This photo may be given to the desairologist. A decedent's usual hairdresser may also be called upon.

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In the United States

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration's official view is that while no certification is required to practice funeral cosmetology, a person must be a licensed 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.

According to the National Accrediting Commission of Cosmetology Arts and Sciences (NACCAS), no schools in the United States currently offer specific programs of study for mortuary cosmetologists, however, many schools offer classes on mortuary services as part of their cosmetology curriculum. States don’t require special licensing for mortuary cosmetologists beyond the standard cosmetology license, which is a requirement for cosmetologists in all 50 U.S. states. [1]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Funeral</span> Ceremony for a person who has died

A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect the dead, from interment, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor. Customs vary between cultures and religious groups. Funerals have both normative and legal components. Common secular motivations for funerals include mourning the deceased, celebrating their life, and offering support and sympathy to the bereaved; additionally, funerals may have religious aspects that are intended to help the soul of the deceased reach the afterlife, resurrection or reincarnation.

A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the dead and their families. These services may include a prepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Service Corporation International</span> American deathcare provider

Service Corporation International is an American provider of funeral goods and services as well as cemetery property and services. It is headquartered in Neartown, Houston, Texas, and operates secondary corporate offices in Jefferson, Louisiana. SCI operates more than 1500 funeral homes and 400 cemeteries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barber</span> Person who cuts, dress, groom, style and shaves males hair

A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boy's hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Historically barbershops were also places of social interaction and public discourse. In some instances, barbershops were also public fora. They were the locations of open debates, voicing public concerns, and engaging citizens in discussions about contemporary issues.

Embalming is the art and science of preserving human remains by treating them to forestall decomposition. This is usually done to make the deceased suitable for public or private viewing as part of the funeral ceremony or keep them preserved for medical purposes in an anatomical laboratory. The three goals of embalming are sanitization, presentation, and preservation, with restoration being an important additional factor in some instances. Performed successfully, embalming can help preserve the body for a duration of many years. Embalming has a very long and cross-cultural history, with many cultures giving the embalming processes a greater religious meaning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morgue</span> Place for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification or burial

A morgue or mortuary is a place used for the storage of human corpses awaiting identification (ID), removal for autopsy, respectful burial, cremation or other methods of disposal. In modern times, corpses have customarily been refrigerated to delay decomposition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmetology</span> Study and application of beauty treatment

Cosmetology is the study and application of beauty treatment. Branches of specialty include hairstyling, skin care, cosmetics, manicures/pedicures, non-permanent hair removal such as waxing and sugaring, and permanent hair removal processes such as electrology and intense pulsed light (IPL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beauty salon</span> Hair and cosmetic treatment salon

A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, and medical spas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Funeral director</span> Professional in the business of funeral procedures

A funeral director, also known as an undertaker or mortician, is a professional involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks often entail the embalming and burial or cremation of the dead, as well as the arrangements for the funeral ceremony. Funeral directors may at times be asked to perform tasks such as dressing, casketing, and cossetting. A funeral director may work at a funeral home or be an independent employee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viewing (funeral)</span> Funeral custom

In death customs, a viewing is the time that family and friends come to see the deceased before the funeral, once the body has been prepared by a funeral home. It is generally recommended that a body first be embalmed to create the best possible presentation of the deceased. A viewing may take place at the funeral parlor, in a family home or at a place of worship, such as a church. Some cultures, such as the Māori of New Zealand, often take the body to the marae or tribal community hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natural burial</span> Method of burial

Natural burial is the interment of the body of a dead person in the soil in a manner that does not inhibit decomposition but allows the body to be naturally recycled. It is an alternative to typical contemporary Western burial methods and modern funerary customs.

Mortuary science is the study of deceased bodies through mortuary work. The term is most often applied to a college curriculum in the United States that prepares a student for a career as a mortician or funeral director. Many also study embalming to supplement their mortuary science studies. Some states require funeral directors to be embalmers as well.

The death care industry in the United States includes companies and organizations that provide services related to death: funerals, cremation or burial, and memorials. This includes for example funeral homes, coffins, crematoria, cemeteries, and headstones. The death care industry within the U.S. consists mainly of small businesses, although there has been considerable consolidation over time.

Neglect is defined as giving little attention to or to leave undone or unattended to, especially through carelessness. Mortuary neglect can comprise many things, such as bodies being stolen from the morgue, or bodies being mixed up and the wrong one was buried. When a mortuary fails to preserve a body correctly, it could also be considered neglect because of the consequences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nail technician</span>

A nail stylist is a person whose occupation is to style and shape a person's nails. This is achieved using a combination of decorating nails with coloured varnish, transfers, gems or glitter. Basic treatments include manicures and pedicures, as well as cleaning and filing nails and applying overlays or extensions.

The Funeral Rule, enacted by the Federal Trade Commission on April 30, 1984, and amended effective 1994, was designed to protect consumers by requiring that they receive adequate information concerning the goods and services they may purchase from a funeral provider.

The Unified Victim Identification System (UVIS) is an Internet-enabled database system developed for the Office of Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York (OCME) in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks on New York City and the crash of American Airlines Flight 587. It is intended to handle critical fatality management functions made necessary by a major disaster. UVIS is a strong flexible role-based application and permissions can be controlled dynamically.

Women have had varying roles in the death care industry in the United States since its mid-nineteenth century inception.

Post-mortem privacy is a person's ability to control the dissemination of personal information after death. An individual's reputation and dignity after death is also subject to post-mortem privacy protections. In the US, no federal laws specifically extend post-mortem privacy protection. At the state level, privacy laws pertaining to the deceased vary significantly, but in general do not extend any clear rights of privacy beyond property rights. The relative lack of acknowledgment of post-mortem privacy rights has sparked controversy, as rapid technological advancements have resulted in increased amounts of personal information stored and shared online.

References

  1. "Mortuary Cosmetologist Career" . Retrieved 2016-07-31.

See also