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Beautifying the dead
By Kevin Mak
Making up the dead is one of the most important proce-dures in funerals.
Mayme Chan, an embalmer at Universal Funeral Parlour, has been in the profession for 29 years.
And she is proud of her job.
“I’ve helped many to do their make-up,” Ms. Chan said. “It is pleasing to hear some of them praising my efforts on their beloved ones.”
Ms. Chan entered the career when a good friend of her husband, a manager at Universal Funeral Parlour, asked if she was interested.
“I was curious about the job, so I accepted the offer,” said Ms. Chan.
Ms. Chan follows a set of routine at work.
Said she: “Normally, a body is sent to us a few days before the funeral.
“We have to preserve it well and keep it at around 0 degrees Celsius. On the day of the funeral, we do the make-up, just before the relatives and friends pay their last tributes to the dead.”
Ms. Chan and Bowie Ng, a promotion assistant at Po Fook Memorial Hall, explained the preservation process.
“When a body comes, we first clean it.
“This is especially important for those who have been seriously wounded,” said Ms. Chan.
Preservation is done immediately after cleaning. Ms. Chan explained that chemicals are used to replace the blood in the body.
All internal organs are removed and soaked in similar chemicals before being placed back into the body.
Finally, the body is chilled to around 0 degrees Celsius before make-up is put on.
Cosmetics used on the deceased are the same as for the living.
“We use lip gloss, eyeliners, eyebrow pencils and other skin care products for make-up,” said Ms. Chan.
But she emphasized that there are also certain differences.
“Sometimes we use oily products for hardened skin. This makes the skin look better.”
Ms. Chan added that they have to apply cosmetics on the skin very lightly and carefully, taking care not to tear the delicate tissues.
In her years of experience, she has encountered strange requests from clients.
“A former TVB actor who killed himself many years ago lost half of his face.
“The client asked me to rebuild the actor’s face, so as to allow others see him one last time.
“Finally,
I used plaster to build the face,” said Ms. Chan.
There are other, more common requests.
“Some give me photos of the deceased when they were younger,” said Ms. Chan.
“They
insist that I create the youthful appearance of the dead again.
“How can that be possible?”
Ms. Chan commented that some people paid little attention to their elders when they were alive, but cared a lot about how they looked in their funerals.
“It is not the way descendants should behave,” said Ms. Chan, “but after all, it is better than turning a blind eye to the old altogether.
So, I still try my best to fulfill my clients’ wishes.”
Ms. Chan also pays close attention to every detail of common practices and customs.
Before taking corpses to funerals after make-up, for example, she makes sure that their mouths and eyes are shut.
There are other details that she has to pay close attention to, like the amount of clothes put on the corpses.
She said that corpses from different parts of China have to put on different amounts of clothing.
For example, in Guangdong, male corpses have to put on six layers of clothing and females, seven.
As an embalmer, Ms. Chan adheres to certain superstitions.
“Normally I don’t go to my friends’ homes or other celebrations like birthday parties and weddings,” Ms. Chan said.
When asked if she has had any strange encounters at work, Ms. Chan said that she does not believe in ghosts.
“I have been a Catholic since primary school. Faith keeps me at peace.
“Besides, I only beautify bodies. Why can’t we just treat this as a normal job without linking it to ghost stories?” said Ms. Chan.
“Death is nothing but a natural process.”
She said that she has seen dead people of different ages. What is important is the deceased leaves the world in peace, but not in pain.
“If I were to choose again, I would still be want to be a make-up artist for the dead,” she said.
Mayme Chan, an embalmer, takes pride in beautifying the deceased. (Kevin Mak)