Essential oil diffusers
Essential oil diffusers are one of the most popular tools for delivering aromatherapy and scenting rooms. Emitting just water and essential oils of your choice, they use all-natural ingredients, unlike synthetic air fresheners. You can select whatever scents you like and even blend multiple oils to create your own fragrances.
Before you get started, perhaps you’re wondering how to use essential oil diffusers. Luckily, they’re simple to use. We’ll go over the basics of essential oil diffuser use below, as well as discussing their benefits and how to choose both diffusers and essential oils.
Essential oil diffuser benefits
In case you’re not yet certain whether to buy one, we’ll start by discussing some of the benefits of using an essential oil diffuser.
Influences mood
You might think of aromatherapy as relaxing, and some essential oils — such as lavender oil — certainly do promote relaxing, but there’s far more to it than that. You can use essential oils to encourage a range of moods or headspaces. For instance, peppermint oil is great for focus, alertness and concentration, while frankincense essential oil can lift spirits, improve emotional balance and reduce feelings of anxiety.
Maintains air quality
Many other methods of scenting your home diminish air quality, while essential oil diffusers simply emit a mist of water and essential oils, keeping the air in your home clean. We love scented candles, but the act of burning a candle releases small quantities of toxins and soot into the air, which isn’t good for overall air quality. Similarly, synthetic air freshener sprays and plug-ins contain a range of harsh chemicals that can linger in the air.
Gently humidifies rooms
Essential oil diffusers work by releasing essential oil-infused water into the air, which increases humidity. While this might not be ideal in extremely humid weather, it’s great for times when the air is dry, as this can exacerbate respiratory issues.
Choosing essential oil diffusers
If you don’t already own an essential oil diffuser, it’s time to buy one that’s right for you. All essential oil diffusers work in a similar way — by releasing water and essential oils into the air from an internal tank — but there are certain extra features to consider. Some diffusers have an integrated light, which can be used to create a relaxed atmosphere by turning your other lights down low. The Comfort Zone Ultrasonic Aroma Essential Oil Diffuser can light up in a range of colors, which is perfect for setting the mood. You can also find some smart essential oil diffusers that you can control from anywhere using an app. Not only is the SpaRoom Hugo Smart Essential Oil Diffuser app-enabled, but it also looks great with a faux wood finish.
Choosing essential oils
Once you have an essential oil diffuser, you’ll need to choose your essential oils. You can simply choose the scents that you like best and not worry too much about the mood that each scent sets. Alternatively, you can use the principles of aromatherapy to tailor the perfect essential oils to the mood you want to achieve. For example, if you’re looking to uplift and energize your mood, you might choose lemon essential oil.
Blending essential oils
If you really want to up your essential oil game, you can create blends of several oils, which gives you a more nuanced scent. When blending essential oils, you’ll have top notes, middle notes and base notes.
The top notes are the first scent you’ll smell in the blend and should be the lightest of the three. Good top notes include bergamot and other citrus essential oils, as well as herbal essential oils, like rosemary and sage.
The middle notes are the second part of the fragrance that you’ll smell and should be fairly mellow. All kinds of florals work here, as well as spices, like cinnamon or vanilla essential oil.
The base notes are the final scents you’ll notice in an essential oil blend. They should be warm and earthy and mix well with the middle notes. Some great base notes include cedarwood, patchouli, amber and vetiver essential oils.
How to use essential oil diffusers
You now have everything you need to diffuse essential oils, so it’s time to learn how to use an essential oil diffuser. Luckily, it’s extremely simple so you’ll have it up and running in no time.
Find a good diffuser location
First of all, find a spot where you wish to put your essential oil diffuser. It goes without saying that you should place it in the room or area of your house that you want to scent with essential oils. You should position it at least two feet off the ground to better disperse the fragrance, and it will need to be in reach of a power outlet, unless your diffuser is battery operated.
Fill with water
Inside your diffuser is a tank that must be filled with water. Consult the instructions that came with your diffuser to find out how to remove or access the tank. This will vary depending on which model you own, but it should be fairly straightforward. Fill the tank with water, ideally filtered water to avoid a mineral buildup within the diffuser.
Add oils
Now add the essential oil or oils of your choice to the water. You should add somewhere between 3 and 15 drops of essential oils in total per 100ml of water, depending on the oil and how strong you want it to smell. When you’re new to diffusing essential oils, it will take some trial and error before you get the perfect ratio of water to essential oils.
Turn it on
With the tank filled with water and essential oils, all that’s left to do is reassemble the diffuser and turn it on. Some essential oil diffusers offer several settings, so you may wish to adjust these to get the desired effect.
Lauren Corona is a writer for BestReviews. BestReviews is a product review company with a singular mission: to help simplify your purchasing decisions and save you time and money.
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