- Hi, my name is Monica Torres, I'm a mortician,
and this is how I work it.
I'm gonna take you through 24 hours
of my beauty and wellness routine.
I've been a mortician for over 13 years
and cared for thousands of loved ones.
I take bodies that are unviewable
and work my dark art into a viewable option
for families to have at a funeral.
It's my goal to combine science and beauty,
to create a positive, last memory for that family.
It's about 6:30 in the morning here,
and I'm just getting my day going.
I spend each morning like this, [kissing sound]
and, what can I say?
I'm a dog lover.
I'm not your average mortician.
I'm also a licensed embalmer, cremationist, desairologist,
and post-mortem reconstruction specialist.
Being an embalmer is definitely physically demanding.
It's mentally demanding, it's emotionally demanding,
but, for sure, you gotta be in shape.
So, I stretch, I do yoga, you know,
going over my positive affirmations.
I make coffee every morning,
I have my Death Wish Coffee, which I absolutely love,
because it's super strong.
I preplan all my meals
and package all my meals
usually the day before or that morning,
depending on what I'm gonna be doing.
From there, head into the bathroom,
and start my daily routine.
I use Retin-A or tretinoin on my skin
to make sure that I'm able to battle these, you know,
maybe breakouts or whatnot.
I love a Murad face wash,
and I will use that,
it really gets in there.
On top of the Murad face wash,
I will use a Dermalogica micro scrub,
and it really does seem to get in there
and remove any of those oils.
If I'm wearing makeup,
I will bust open my makeup kit.
I am a MAC girl.
I'm a MAC PRO.
I was a makeup artist before I was a mortician.
I like to take care of the outside too.
And I feel like when I look good,
I can present that to families,
and then they can feel confident
that I'm gonna make their loved one look good.
I love this Too Faced bronzer.
And, even though it is kinda thick,
it smells really good, which I love.
I'm in my forties now,
so that means that I do have to use hair color,
and I absolutely love Redken hair color.
I'd use a lot of emollients.
I love Biolage and I use that rehydrating mask.
It's like the staple in my shower.
I've had this haircut for a few years now
and living here in Arizona,
it's been the best thing that I've ever done.
It's so cool in the summer.
And I love it because I can flip my hair over
if I have to meet with a family
and make it look professional,
or if I'm going to a concert on Friday or Saturday night,
I can flip it the other way
and just look really rocking.
As far as self-care is concerned,
it's really important to me that I go see my chiropractor
at least twice a week,
especially because I'm traveling so much.
I try to do regular massages, heat therapy at home.
I use a heating pad pretty regularly during the week.
At least three or four times a week,
I'll have a heating pad on my neck or my back.
Going into doing maintenance on my own Botox
and, you know, my own liquid facelift
and Juvederm, and all that.
That's really important to me.
It also keeps me in tune with what is on trend
and in style within the beauty industry.
And, that way, I can take that back to the funeral home
and apply those same techniques
to the deceased loved ones in my care.
Since I do specialize in embalming,
I'm in scrubs most of the time.
I usually have a bun in my hair
and I have my scrubs
and that's what I'm rocking at work.
I use a lab coat sometimes.
If I'm working at home,
and I'm online and doing online consulting or coaching call,
then it's a little more relaxed.
I'll typically wear my scrubs,
and I do all of my online coaching in my home office.
Hello, welcome to my prep room.
Through my coaching company, we offer opportunities.
We have a scholarship for young women
and transgender individuals,
and we offer opportunities for females
that are in the funeral industry.
Whether they're a manager,
whether they're a student, it doesn't matter.
As long as they have a focus
on preparing the body for families,
I offer them these opportunities for scholarships.
There's always a stereotype
that embalmers are not personable
or that we don't like to have fun or hang out.
We are ordinary people with extraordinary gifts.
I like to call it a dark art.
I'm a follower of other dark artists
who may be creating art on canvas or sculptures.
And the only difference between them and I
is that I do it on the human body.
Mentally, this type of work is not for the weak.
So, I definitely try to play some relaxing music,
and listen to positive affirmations about life and living.
I definitely deal with people that are distraught.
They're grieving heavily.
There's a lot of fear involved
and, let's be honest, like, death is scary.
It's scary for all of us.
And that's important to me to know how to conquer fear,
to have the tools I need to conquer those fears
that I face every single day.
My work schedule is really demanding.
Funeral directors and embalmers,
we're on call 365 days a year, much like doctors.
I take call in the middle of the night regularly.
My phone is never off.
I do embalm on the graveyard shift quite a bit.
I'm here at the funeral home
because this was when I began my day.
Usually when everyone else is going home,
I'm beginning of my day.
It's gonna be a long night,
so I don't put a lot of makeup on.
I dress for comfort.
I have my compression socks on
and I'm getting ready to get my embalming kit
and get in the prep room
to take care of these recently deceased loved ones.
I might be embalming till two or three in the morning.
Those nights can be pretty rough because, you know,
I'm on the road driving from funeral home to funeral home,
to funeral home.
But, I don't know what it is, I like it.
I like the serene quietness of the prep room
when it's just me and that person's loved one.
It's about eight o'clock at night
and I got a death call.
And so I am headed out to go embalm.
I'm on my way to my next funeral home.
It's 10:30 at night, very difficult case,
but I feel satisfied with the results.
That type of schedule can become rigorous.
As a specialist, I do travel a lot as well.
I'm a public speaker
and I travel all over the country
and some parts of the world.
I do host online events at least four or five times a month.
So my schedule is pretty busy.
Most of what I teach is technical-based
and it's art and science.
But, in reality, I teach women how to overcome fear.
The types of services that I offer are highly innovative.
They mirror plastic surgery, Botox injections,
Juvederm injections, real rejuvenation,
and this is something different
that has never been done in my industry before.
Doing makeup on the deceased
is one of the most important aspects of my job
as an embalmer.
I use all kinds of mortuary cosmetics, MAC makeups.
It's like stage makeup,
so it's really suited for what we do.
There is professional mortuary makeup like this one here
that produces a non-thermogenic effect,
and it's non-thermogenic makeup.
It comes in all different colors
and varieties for every skin type out there.
Mortuary makeup is non-thermogenic,
and regular makeup is thermogenic.
So, our bodies create heat
and that's what,
you know, chemists use to create the makeup.
They understand that our bodies create heat
and that's how they're formulating the makeup.
As far as mortuary makeup is concerned,
non-thermogenic makeup is the way that we formulate makeup,
so that it's just completely different.
For many, many years,
and I'm talking, like, probably over 50 or 60 years,
we had a very limited supply and options for makeup.
And they were designed by men and chemists,
and a lot of them smell like paint or like craft products.
And I'm really happy to say that things are really changing.
One of the products that I really like to use
is a mortuary makeup product called LolaSe7en.
And what I love about the makeup is that
it works amazing on embalmed and unembalmed skin,
but it also smells amazing.
The woman who created this makeup is also a funeral director
and entrepreneur.
And it's just proof that our industry is changing
and women, all the women that are coming in our industry,
are helping to change that one step at a time.
I will use any kind of coconut oil for hair.
We use these really heavy massage creams
to keep the face hydrated during the preservation process.
And if you don't remove that cream
before you apply the makeup, it can look a little cakey.
So, I always completely facial.
I do a full facial on each person
before I even start to apply makeup.
As far as trying to make that person look like themselves,
I try to ask the family as many questions as I can,
and I have an intake sheet
where I'm writing down all this information.
And I can really detailed to, like,
what shape of nails did she wear?
If it's a young woman who passes away,
like, I wanna know exactly what brand of eyelashes she used.
I wanna know exactly what brand of eyeliner she used.
I wanna know everything about her skincare
so that I can make her look like herself in death,
the way that she looked in life.
As far as clothing is concerned,
I always ask the family to bring in something
that really represents that person's life.
Like, what did they like?
Did they like to wear pajamas every day?
Bring in jammer jays.
Were they comfortable in a suit?
Then bring in a suit.
One little trick that I do
to make clothing look nice, tailored,
and fitted on the deceased is I tailor them up the back,
so that they don't look bunched up on the front.
And it's also easier to put the clothing on.
When it comes to acne on deceased bodies,
I typically will not really go after the acne.
Like, I would maybe if it was like a living person,
because a lot of times you can create a defect on the skin,
if you're aggressive with the skin.
If a person has blackheads, however, I'm getting that done.
I will definitely give them a facial
and I will definitely get in there
and put a little pressure
and remove those blackheads.
Absolutely.
I feel like it is that person's last big day
and they gotta be looking their best.
As far as teeth are concerned,
as long as the mouth is disinfected,
that's what I'm looking for.
Flossing, I won't floss teeth,
but I'm definitely in there with the toothbrush,
and hose and water.
A lot of times I will, you know,
hose and water that area out.
A lot of that will come up after death.
So, absolutely, I'm going in there with the toothbrush
and typically Listerine.
Sometimes even soap.
Eyebrows are so important.
They're such a huge thing right now.
Some of the people are wearing the bushy eyebrows
and you gotta put the soap,
and make the eyebrows, you know, stand out.
So, so important.
I would say, eyelashes and eyebrows right now,
we can't mess that up.
As a mortician, I have to get that right every single time.
Another thing too,
is that I don't put the eyelashes on top of the eyes
because we're not used to seeing a person
with their eyes closed.
I will actually insert the eyelashes just underneath
and glue those eyelashes just underneath the eyes,
and it looks absolutely way more natural.
That's one of my embalming tips.
Typically, by the time I get home, I am exhausted.
And, really, really needing a glass of wine. [giggles]
I'm gonna go to bed
and sleep for a few hours
and I'll get up and start bookkeeping.
So, done with all the embalmings for tonight.
Gonna get some much needed rest.
I have a boyfriend now,
but, it's definitely been a challenge.
Dating is always uncomfortable, I guess,
like when I first meet someone
and I tell them what I do, I get two reactions.
I either get completely overwhelmed with questions
or I get this look. [giggles lightly]
A lot of times people get freaked out.
They're afraid.
They think that death is contagious. [giggles lightly]
So they think that, like, somehow by dating me,
it's gonna like rub off on them, I don't know.
It's been a challenge for sure.
I wanna encourage any woman
who wants to get into this field, do it.
If you've always had a dream to be a mortician,
if you have a curiosity about science and art
and how we use those two fields
to create this beautiful dark art for families
and help families, now is the time.
[bright music]