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Embalming is a common practice in quite a few cultures and societies. It’s considered customary in the U.S. and Canada. While there are religious and preferential reasons for embalming, it’s also used for medical purposes. And depending on the intention and the methods used, how long embalming lasts can vary.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- What is Embalming?
- History of Embalming
- How Long Does Embalming Last
- How Long After Death Do You Have to Embalm a Body?
- How Long Can a Body Be Refrigerated?
- What Happens if a Body Isn't Embalmed?
If you’re wondering, “What is embalming?” or “Why is it done?” we’ll cover that below. We’ll also tackle the central question of how long embalming is supposed to last.
What is Embalming?
Embalming is a process of treating a deceased body with chemicals to slow down decomposition prior to burial or cremation. Blood is removed from the body, and embalming fluids are pumped in through the arterial network. The same chemicals are used to temporarily preserve organs left in the body, as well.
This temporary preservation practice is usually implemented prior to an open-casket burial, a viewing cremation, for transportation purposes, or for scientific study.
Embalming before a burial
Embalming a body prior to burial preserves the body and delays natural decomposition. Depending on the strength, concentration, and methods used, the embalmed state may last anywhere from a few days to a week or more. That’s not a huge length of time.
However, a few days is typically enough time for a family to make arrangements and prepare for a viewing, if applicable. If a body is going to be viewed, funeral and embalming professionals will spend more time making the person look lifelike and peaceful.
They achieve this using a reference photo provided by the family, as well as makeup and potentially prosthetics. For example, caps are placed under a person’s eyelids, and a mouthpiece is placed in the mouth. If a person suffered from injuries or an accident, more work must be done to reconstruct their appearance. You can learn more about the entire embalming process, here.
The purpose of open-casket funerals or viewings is to put the deceased person’s loved ones at peace. Many people find a viewing helpful in this respect, especially if the person died suddenly or tragically.
Even though embalming is meant to preserve the body, embalming chemicals and processes aren’t permanent, and the body still decays after burial. Even the mummification practices used by ancient Egyptians couldn’t completely stave off the natural processes of decomposition.
Embalming before cremation
Unlike embalming before a traditional funeral and burial, the embalming process before cremation may be less intense. This is one of the factors to consider if you’re deciding between cremation and burial. Still, it’s not uncommon to have a viewing before cremation.
In this case, the process is very similar to what we described above. The funeral and embalming professionals do their part to make your loved one look lifelike and at peace.
Direct cremation, on the other hand, doesn’t include a viewing or necessitate embalming beforehand. For example, some religions and cultures don’t believe in viewings. Instead, cremation occurs almost immediately after death.
If you’re planning to have your loved one (or yourself) cremated within a short period of time, there really isn’t a need for embalming to occur.
History of Embalming
The history of embalming goes all the way back to Ancient Egypt when the Pharaos of old and wealthy individuals were preserved prior to burial. The embalming process was expensive and carried out by priests who specialized in the process of ushering people into the Egyptian afterlife.
Other countries and dynasties of old also used an embalming technique to preserve their dead. Unfortunately, many of the techniques and specifications used have been lost to time. Preserved bodies have been found in Peru, the Aztec region of modern-day Mexico, the Mayan region of modern-day Mexico, in Tibet, and in Nigeria.
The most stunning example of early embalming methods comes from the Han Dynasty in China. in 1968, workers found the tomb of Xin Zhui, a Chinese noblewoman who lived around 206 BCE. Inside, they found her body encased in an unknown fluid and preserved so well that some of her skin, muscles, fingerprints, eyelashes, and hair were still intact.
Fast forward to the Middle Ages through the Renaissance (500 CE to 1500 CE) and embalming was in widespread use in Europe, as well. It was during this time that physicians embalmed bodies for scientific purposes such as the study of disease, dissection, and lessons in anatomy.
Modern-day embalming in America began out of necessity during the Civil War. When soldiers died on a battlefield far away from home, questions arose regarding the need to transport them to their families for burial. In order to transport bodies, delay decomposition during the hot summer months, and prevent the spread of disease, embalming was introduced.
Ever since the 1860s in America, embalming has become a staple in funeral practices. Today it is used when bodies need to be transported from state to state, to delay the decomposition process long enough to hold an open-casket funeral or viewing cremation, or to provide grieving families with more time to plan a closed-casket funeral.
How Long Does Embalming Last
If you’re considering having a loved one embalmed, there are some things to know about the process before burial or cremation.
Embalming prior to a traditional funeral and burial can be slightly more involved than embalming prior to cremation, especially if you’re planning to have a viewing or an open-casket funeral. Of course, there are also closed-casket funerals.
You can weigh your options and decide whether a closed or open-casket funeral works best in your situation.
Before burial or cremation
Embalming gives families a little bit of wiggle room in terms of how much time they have to plan for a funeral. If an open-casket funeral or viewing cremation is desired, then embalming gives you approximately a week to plan and hold the service.
If you plan on having a closed-casket funeral, then embalming and refrigeration will give you several weeks to plan and hold the funeral. Combined, the funeral director might let you delay up to four weeks to hold the funeral, depending on state laws where you live.
After burial
After a body is buried and embalmed, preservation of the body may last for a few days to a week. Depending on the humidity, climate, and soil contents, however, the decomposition process may be more rapid.
Even the most heavy-duty caskets do not protect against decomposition and the elements. The body will continue to decay over time. “Preventing” this process can only be accomplished by opting for cremation instead.
Furthermore, it’s considered more eco-conscious to allow the decomposition process to occur naturally (preferably, without the use of embalming chemicals). You can read more about green burial options here.
It’s an unfortunate truth that embalming chemicals like formaldehyde are carcinogenic or cancer-causing.
Though morticians and other professionals are the ones coming in direct contact with embalming fluid on a regular basis, bodies that have been embalmed can also seep this fluid into the surrounding soil after they’re buried. Formaldehyde can remain in the surrounding atmosphere for almost a year.
This information isn’t intended to persuade you to change your funeral plans. After all, it’s important to respect tradition and cultural practices, and embalming may very well be important to you and your family.
But be aware that there are plenty of alternatives worth looking into that may be safer for the environment and funeral professionals. You can learn more about the best burial alternatives here.
How Long After Death Do You Have to Embalm a Body?
You may be wondering how long you can delay a funeral prior to embalming or without embalming. There are many personal, logistical, or even legal reasons that a funeral may need to be delayed. However, none of them eliminate the need to preserve the body for reasons related to both safety and dignity.
Depending on the state where you reside, the embalming process should start no later than 24-48 hours after the person's time of death if you wish to also hold an open casket burial or a viewing.
If the person is an organ donor, medical professionals will quickly get to work on evaluating and harvesting their viable organs before the body is taken to the funeral home for embalming.
If a person died under suspicious or unknown circ*mstances, an autopsy will begin. Once the cause of death is determined, the body will be transported to the funeral home. If the body is still within the initial 24 to 48-hour period, embalming will take place. If not, an open-casket funeral may not be possible.
No matter what the next step is after a person dies in terms of funeral plans, the body must be refrigerated or embalmed. Refrigeration and embalming are essential to keeping medical professionals and others in this field safe, as well as limiting the spread of any infections or diseases.
How Long Can a Body Be Refrigerated?
What happens if a death occurs unexpectedly, you need to plan the funeral, and friends and family are traveling from around the world? What if you need to delay the funeral and hold it in a few weeks instead of a few days?
In this case, the funeral director might suggest refrigeration rather than embalming. When a body is refrigerated, it is stored at the morgue or funeral home in temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Bodies can be stored this way for a maximum of three to four weeks depending on the funeral home, state laws, and morgue where your loved one's body is held.
It's important to note, as well, that though refrigeration slows down the decomposition process, it doesn't stop it altogether. Though storing the body in refrigeration will give you significantly more time to plan, if you go beyond two or three days, an open-casket funeral will not be possible. Many funeral homes will not allow an open-casket viewing without embalming, either.
What Happens if a Body Isn't Embalmed?
Bodies that are not embalmed and are not refrigerated begin decomposing almost immediately. Decomposition occurs much more quickly in humid or warm environments than in dry or cold ones.
The first thing that begins to occur to a body is a phenomenon called rigor mortis, where the body becomes stiff and inflexible. This process is combatted by embalming professionals by massaging the body, applying a cream to keep the skin soft and pliable, as well as removing fluids.
Other signs of decomposition that occur rapidly include blood pooling, skin decay, bloating, and the body turning blue.
If a body is refrigerated, it will slow this process down, but nothing can stop it altogether. It is for these reasons that most funeral homes will not allow an open-casket funeral without embalming, even if the funeral is held immediately after death.
Embalming Is a Temporary Part of Death
Embalming is only meant to preserve the body for funeral proceedings and viewings; it isn’t permanent. It can be beneficial to researchers and medical professionals, too, but not without some consequences.
In the grand scheme, the choice to embalm your loved one plays little to no role in how you choose to remember them. Seeing them looking at peace one last time may be very therapeutic for you and your family, or it might not be.
This can be achieved, too, by sharing your thoughts and feelings after losing a loved one. Let yourself grieve, and understand that this process looks different for everyone. What’s more, death may affect you differently each time you’re faced with it.
For tackling other questions surrounding funerals, death, and life, be sure to check out the rest of Cake’s resources. You can also set up a free end-of-life planning profile for yourself or a loved one.
Sources:
- Bonn-Muller, Eti. "China's Sleeping Beauty." Archaeology,Archaeological Institute of America, 10 April 2009. Archive.archaeology.org
- "Encyclopedia Smithsonian: Egyptian Mummies." Ancient Egypt, Smithsonian, n.d. Si.edu
