Mortician Lauren Taylor, from Florida, has explained what happens if you die with acrylic nails on after a curious social media user asked whether she’d spend eternity in them
A mortician has revealed what happens if you die with a new set of acrylic nails on – and whether you’ll wear them for eternity in the grave. Responding to a TikTok user’s question, mortician Lauren Taylor, from Florida, explained exactly what happens if someone comes into her funeral parlour with acrylics on.
The curious user asked: “If I died with acrylics on my nails, would I get buried with those nails? Would I go to the grave with the same set of nails on?” Putting it simply, Lauren confirmed you will more than likely be buried with the exact same set of acrylics on, saying: “We do it all the time.”
She added: “Now, do they still look good? That is the real question. When someone walks up to a casket, what do they look at first? The face and the hands.
“We pay extra attention to those nails. Let me tell you, mortuary school, they do not prepare you for how often you’re going to be painting people’s fingernails and toes.
“I have gone through more nail polish as a funeral director than I have as a teen girl in the early 2000s.”
She went onto explain how nailbeds can stay purple even after embalming due to an imbalance in fluid distribution.
To rectify this, polish can be used to cover up the purple tones, evening out the discolouration.
She added: “If your acrylics are intact and slaying from beyond the grave, they stay on.
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“But if they’re cracked or busted from something like a car accident, I will take them off, buff the nail, maybe paint it the colour your family selects or I love a good press-on nail.”
Going an extra step, she says she would even welcome your own nail technician into the parlour to freshen up your nails, providing they’re happy to do so.
Commenting on her post, one user said: “We went to a visitation last year and the woman had the prettiest, brightest coral-y pink nails (I assumed they were acrylic). I loved it.
“It was the first thing I noticed and I thought they looked so nice. To this day, her nails are what I think of when I think of her visitation.”
Another user added: “I got to do my mamaw’s nails in the nursing home for her after she passed.
“I’ll never forget applying her favourite polish to her beautiful long nails as a final gesture for her. Then I put one of my favourite sterling silver rings on her finger. It will be with her forever. So glad the funeral home let us do that for her!”
A third user said: “I wanted my grandmother in the lipstick she always wore. Her nails was done perfectly to match. I know I appreciated that little touch.”
