What Happens If You're Buried Without Being Embalmed

We all know what happens to the body after death, right? Cells rupture, skin gets discolored, fluids leak out, the flesh disintegrates, and you're left with teeth, bones, hair, and the clothes you were buried in. There are lots of factors that impact the rate of decay, like temperature, moisture, depth of burial, the presence of insects, the cause of death, even the type of clothing worn by the body. Plus, being buried in a metal casket vs. a wooden one delays decomposition by up to 15 years. That is, metal coffins delay decomposition if the body is embalmed. 

But metal coffin or not, embalming slows down the process of biological decay. These days, it's typically done by replacing bodily fluids with chemical preservatives, but humans have known about it for quite some time — just look at the mummies of ancient Egypt. The Egyptians were embalming masters, and their efforts have granted us well-preserved remains dating back to when they first started embalming the dead around 2,600 B.C.E. Modern embalming follows a procedure stemming from the same, ancient method of draining the body of fluids. Add some chemical substances like Formalin to the mix, used to fill bodily cavities, and you've got a whole industry of modern corpse preservation that's persisted since the early 1700s.

So if embalming slows down decay, what happens to a non-embalmed, buried body? The same thing that happens to an embalmed body, but a bit faster. That's because modern embalming exists primarily to preserve a body long enough for an open-casket wake. After that, embalming doesn't really matter.

Apologies if things get grisly from here. But, at risk of sounding melodramatic: Death will take us all. It's at least beneficial to know about burial options like embalming. And make no mistake, that's what modern embalming is: It's one burial option out of many that family members and loved ones of a deceased will have to address when the time comes. 

Sites like Everplans outline how businesslike such decisions are. If a body is buried, there needs to be a burial plot and a headstone, and if a body is entombed there needs to be a mausoleum. Either way, there also needs to be a coffin of some type. Of course, burial is just one option. There are cremation and even human composting centers that bury a body directly in soil. But before a body reaches its final resting stop loved ones might want to host a wake, which ropes a whole other set of complications into the mix. Cultural and religious concerns need to be taken into account, which impacts the decision to embalm or not.

Willowbrook Cemetery has a detailed outline of embalming-related considerations that also need to be taken into account. Not embalming is cheaper, and better for the environment. But ultimately, the decision might come down to how busy a funeral home is, and how quickly after death a wake is. Decomposition starts immediately after death, and the clock is ticking. Some funeral homes won't offer open-casket wakes if a body isn't embalmed. 

There are bound to be some people who are going to ask the obvious question regarding embalming: What's the point? Yes, it allows for open-casket wakes. But beyond that, it certainly doesn't matter to the deceased whether or not loved ones chose to embalm. And it does make sense to think that embalming is ultimately a way for family members to feel like they're holding on to a loved one as long as possible. That's of course fine, but as sites like Poppy's Funerals plainly say: Embalming isn't necessary. The physical realities of the procedure, including the injection of dyed chemical liquids and stitching up the eyes, are blatantly macabre and might be off-putting enough to steer loved ones away from the practice.

In fact, trends are generally steering away from embalming — and burials, in general. In 2022, The New York Times reported that patterns have been "trending away from embalming for decades" and "the world of embalming ... is increasingly losing its sway over the American way of death." 

The National Funeral Director's Association says that the split between cremation and burial in the United States is expected to hit 61.9% vs. 33.2% in 2024; yes, only one-third of people will bury their loved ones. The number of cremations are up 25% from 1999, and by 2045 are expected to reach 82.1%. While it's possible to have an open-casket wake and then a cremation, changes in cultural habits have, and will, continue to impact how many individuals get embalmed.