Setting the features
Encyclopedia
Setting the features is a mortuary term that refers to the closing of the eyes and the mouth of a deceased person (and in the case of males, the shaving of any stubble) such that the cadaver
Cadaver
A cadaver is a dead human body.Cadaver may also refer to:* Cadaver tomb, tomb featuring an effigy in the form of a decomposing body* Cadaver , a video game* cadaver A command-line WebDAV client for Unix....

 is presentable as being in a state of rest and repose, and thus more suitable for viewing. While it is one of the first stages of embalming
Embalming
Embalming, in most modern cultures, is the art and science of temporarily preserving human remains to forestall decomposition and to make them suitable for public display at a funeral. The three goals of embalming are thus sanitization, presentation and preservation of a corpse to achieve this...

, it also commonly done as a token of respect even when the deceased is not viewed or is directly cremated
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....

. Generally only when the deceased (or their family) have specifically requested the body be untouched are the features left unset. Some embalmers, particularly older practitioners and those trained in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, will set features after the arterial injection phase of embalming is complete.
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