Morticians keep eyes closed using small plastic devices called eye caps, often combined with adhesive creams and careful timing around the body’s natural stiffening process. It’s a straightforward but deliberate procedure, and understanding why it’s necessary starts with what happens to the body immediately after death.
Why Eyes Open After Death
At the moment of death, every muscle in the body enters a state of total relaxation. This includes the small muscles that control the eyelids. Without active muscle tone holding them in position, the eyelids can drift open partially or fully. The jaw often drops open for the same reason.
This window of complete relaxation is temporary. Within about 20 minutes, rigor mortis begins setting in, starting with the eyelids and jaw. As cells lose their energy supply, muscle fibers lock into a rigid position. If the eyes happen to be open when this stiffening takes hold, they become fixed that way and are much harder to close later. That’s why timing matters: the sooner a mortician or caregiver can gently close the eyelids after death, the easier the process is.
Eye Caps: The Primary Tool
The most common method is a device called an eye cap. These are small, oval-shaped pieces of thin plastic or vinyl, roughly the size and shape of a contact lens but rigid. Their surface is covered in tiny, needle-pointed perforations and raised spurs that act like miniature anchors. When placed over the eyeball and beneath the eyelid, these spurs grip the underside of the eyelid tissue with just enough friction to hold it securely in place.
Eye caps are flesh-colored and extremely thin, designed to conform to different eye shapes without creating a visible bulge. Some versions actually bond to the surface of the eye on contact with moisture, adding another layer of hold. Vinyl variants tend to have a grippier texture and rely more on surface friction than moisture bonding. Both types are chemically resistant, so they remain stable throughout the embalming process even when exposed to strong disinfectants.
The caps serve a dual purpose. Beyond keeping the eyelids closed, they help prevent fluid from leaking through the eyes during or after embalming. When paired with absorbent or gelling agents, they create a moisture barrier that maintains the cosmetic appearance for viewing.
Restoring Natural Fullness
After death, the eyes can lose volume and appear sunken as tissues dehydrate. This creates a hollow, unnatural look even if the lids are closed. Morticians address this by building up volume beneath the eye cap.
If the eye appears too flat, a small amount of cotton or cavity filler is placed behind the cap to restore a natural contour. This is especially important in cases where the person donated their corneas or had their eyes removed for medical reasons. In those situations, a larger eye cap backed with cavity filler fills the void completely, and the mortician carefully shapes both sides to look symmetrical. The goal is to recreate the gentle, slightly rounded appearance of a closed eye at rest.
Adhesive Creams and Sealants
Eye caps alone don’t always produce a seamless look. The line where the upper and lower eyelids meet can separate slightly or appear uneven, so morticians use a specialized adhesive called stay cream. This is a firm, light-colored blend of tissue-softening oils in an adhesive base. A thin line of it applied along the eyelid margins seals the lids together smoothly, prevents them from separating, and keeps the delicate skin from drying out and pulling back.
Stay cream is also used on the lips and nostrils for the same reasons. It’s gentle enough for fragile tissue but adhesive enough to hold through a multi-day viewing.
When Rigor Mortis Complicates Things
The simplest scenario is when a mortician can work with the body before rigor mortis sets in. A gentle push on the lids is often all it takes to close them during that initial period of muscle relaxation. In home death situations, family members or hospice workers are sometimes advised to close the eyes right away, placing small bags of rice or seeds over the lids to hold them down until stiffening locks them in the closed position.
If rigor mortis has already set the eyes in an open position, the process becomes more involved. The mortician may need to carefully massage and manipulate the eyelid tissue to break the rigidity before placing the eye caps. Rigor mortis is temporary, typically resolving on its own within 24 to 72 hours as muscle proteins break down further, but morticians rarely wait that long. Embalming chemicals also help relax stiffened tissue, making it possible to reposition features during the preparation process.
Putting It All Together
In practice, these techniques layer on top of each other. A typical preparation involves placing cotton or filler behind the eye cap if volume is needed, positioning the cap over the eye so the spurs engage the inner eyelid surface, then applying stay cream along the lash line to seal and smooth the closure. The mortician checks both sides for symmetry, adjusting the cap size or filler amount until the appearance looks balanced and restful. The entire process for both eyes takes only a few minutes in straightforward cases, though restorative work on sunken or damaged eyes can require more time and skill.
Every step is designed to achieve the same thing: a natural, peaceful closed-eye appearance that holds reliably from preparation through the final viewing.