The cosmetologist who works in your favorite salon has the same essential training and exacting skills of the profession as that of the mortuary cosmetologist; however, the latter beautifies the deceased within the facility of a mortuary funeral home. In the Western world, the custom of displaying our deceased loved one in a viewing before the formal funeral services has existed since our ancient history. It is an extension of our culture, in that it displays to onlookers the importance of the beliefs and life lived by the decedent.
Throughout history, preparation of the dead has varied across eons and cultures, but most included washing the body, clothing it, and adorning it with valued ornaments, religious jewelry, icons, or mementos. Most of these practices continue today, with cultural adjustments made for either ancient beliefs or modernized ones.
Mortuary cosmetology as a career choice is comparatively new to your men and women in today’s society. The cosmetic preparation of the deceased began with the morticians, embalmers, and funeral directors, traditionally. As part of their licensing requirements, these funeral service professionals must be certified and able to perform all necessary needs, which include makeup application and creating hair styling correctly.
Need for Specialization
Mortuary cosmetology as a specialty began as recently as the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1996, Handbook of Desairology for Cosmetologists Servicing Funeral Homes by Noella C. Charest-Papagno (J J Publishing, 1996), in which she coined her own term “desairology” by combining deceased and hair. Many mortuaries prefer it to mortuary cosmetology today. More cosmetology schools are offering classes on mortuary cosmetology as time marches on which were virtually unheard of decades ago. Mankind and social opinion have together decided that a person deserves to appear as attractive and pleasantly groomed in death’s final viewing as they would have been during their healthful life. Hence the standard same-shade makeup and plain combed hair of the traditional funeral home preparers gave way to talented and well-trained mortuary cosmetologists who perform that last tribute to your loved one carefully and professionally. The mortuary cosmetologist usually works for a particular chain of funeral homes, enabling the mortuary to abide by the cosmetology certification requirements of the industry.
Education and Certification
All 50 states require a separate certification for the administering of cosmetology and hairstyling services to the deceased person. This can be a certification held by the funeral director or mortuary facility employing the mortuary cosmetologist, or the cosmetologist is certified in addition to the standard licensing certifications of a salon cosmetologist. This means all cosmetologists are trained and educated in the life sciences, chemistry, physiology, and customary salon training, plus the mortuary cosmetologist must have additional training described below.
Mortuary schools require a class on restorative art that includes basic hair styling and makeup techniques. Restorative art also covers more difficult body preparation work for bodies that have suffered a trauma, such as makeup to camouflage any visible bruises and scrapes or special cosmetic techniques to rebuild a shattered nose. The mortuary also needs a minimum of psychological training in order to work with grieving family members in the mortuary work.
Love the Service and Dedication
The salary range for a mortuary cosmetologist ranges from below $25,000 to over $50,000 annually. Entry level can be achieved during training by working as a receptionist or secretary within the funeral organization, as the novice learns the funeral industry and becomes a good fit for the service and dedication required.
Greer Family Mortuary 