Essential oils are best dispersed into the air through diffusers. If selecting an essential oil for a diffuser involves a lot of work, selecting an appropriate diffuser for your essential oil blend is a bigger job. This is because only good and apt diffusers can do the diffusing job well. You need to use a particular diffuser for an enclosed space and a different nebulizing diffuser for a large space. Choice of diffusers also depend on the hours you want the diffuser to function, the Notes of the essential oil blends used and the nature of the space in which the diffuser is used (car, home or patio). This article will explain in detail the things to note while choosing essential oil diffusers.
Why essential oil diffusers? Aromatherapy enhances health in a lot of ways and diffusing oils into the space you live is one way to using aromatherapy for your utmost benefit. Diffusing essential oils do not just create a scented atmosphere, but also pave way for a healthier you, through its healing properties. As the sense of smell inhaled is directly connected to the limbic system of the brain, aromatherapy makes physical, emotional and psychological improvements and changes possible. Diffusing essential oils also aid with respiration and breathing and cleanses your environment off impurities, germs and viral/bacterial contagions (like H1N1 flu or other flu symptoms).
The trick to getting to all these benefits is to use an appropriate diffuser for the purpose. But it is not that easy and the below points will explain to you why it is so:
1. First steps: Where do you want to use your diffusers? In your car or your toilet or living area or patio? You need to decide that first. Based on the space of the room and the purpose of the diffuser and diffusing oil, you can choose your diffusers. Some essential oils work well only with certain types of diffusers. Some others have very low diffusing ratios and can work even for 6 to 7 hours. Before choosing your diffuser, decide on the following: the space in which your diffuser is to be used, diffusing blend (its notes, evaporation quotient etc), the numbers of hours you want your diffuser to work (or scent to be prevalent).
There are several types of diffusers present in the market. Below are some of the most popular of them:
2. Jar, Reed, Smelly Jelly diffusers: Least expensive but most efficient. They work great with small enclosed spaces, but the scent throw is not far or expansive like in other diffusers. With Jar diffusers, we need to change the reeds too often. Smelly Jelly diffusers work only in stable environments and hence are not suitable for use in car.
3. Candle diffusers, aroma lamps: Ideal for small spaces. But these diffusers need watching as candle flames are involved. These work by diffusing essential oils by the heat of a tea light or similar heating device. If you use a heating device, you need to add water so that you can get the steam of oils used. Diffusers of the light bulb kind of rings also fall under this category. Used for tiny spaces, they must be refilled constantly.
4. Electric and fan-based diffusers: These are some of the expensive diffusers in the market. A car diffuser of this kind involves adding a few drops of the essential oils to a tissue and plugging into the car dash cigarette lighter. The diffuser heats up the scented cloth and diffuses aromas into the car space. Peppermint, Grapefruit, Lemon and Ginger work well as car diffusers. In case of fan-based diffuser, you can plug into your room and use it for 3 hours.
5. Nebulizing diffusers: These are diffusers for large spaces. Most of them are hand-blown, glass nebulizers that are attached to a motor and work by dispersing aromatic molecules into air. Since they don’t use heat to disperse oils, the oils remain unchanged and retain their therapeutic value. But these are also the most expensive of all the diffusers in the market.