A Detailed Look At Essential Oil Diffusers

Anyone who enjoys using essential oils should consider investing in a high-quality diffuser. Along with making the air around you smell great, essential oils can boost your happiness, health, and wellbeing. Diffusing the oils into the air is one of the best ways to harness their power, allowing you to enjoy all of the benefits that they provide.

The Top Five Reasons To Buy A Diffuser For Your Essential Oils

• Clean the air inside your home: Diffusing essential oils can help cleanse the air, killing off potentially harmful pathogens. Essential oils not only help the air smell better but they can even destroy bacteria, viruses, and other airborne microbes. This is a lot different than most air fresheners, which simply mask odors.
• Combat congestion: Runny noses and other types of congestion can make it difficult to breathe. Thanks to the fact that they contain menthol, peppermint and eucalyptus oil can clear out your airways when they are diffused into the air, making it easier to breathe.
• Enjoy improved immunity: Along with keeping airborne pathogens under control, essential oils can also improve your immunity. They can be used as part of a detoxifying cleanse, helping to clear any unwanted toxins from your system.
• Sleep more soundly at night: Many essential oils have calming properties, with some even acting like mild sedatives. Using oils like these in the evening can help you sleep better. See more here on oils to help you sleep.
• Alter your outlook and attitude: When you inhale essential oils, there is a response in your limbic system, which is the area of your brain in charge of managing your emotions. Individual aromas can cause your brain to respond differently on an emotional level, helping you feel more relaxed, peaceful, or stable. Using essential oils like these can go a long way toward combating stress and anxiety.

There are a couple of different styles of diffusers on the market. These include ultrasonic diffusers and nebulizing diffusers. Learning the pros and cons of each will help you decide which one to choose.

Ultrasonic Diffusers

The most common type of diffuser used with essential oils is an ultrasonic diffuser. Diffusers like these are easy to use. You just need to add water to the base and put in several drops of your favorite essential oil. Interestingly, the mist that is generated by these diffusers is the result of vibration rather than heat. Diffusers that generate steam through the use of heat should be avoided when using essential oils since exposure to heat can keep the oils from working as effectively as they should.

Advantages Of Ultrasonic Diffusers

The popularity of ultrasonic diffusers has to do with their low price point and their ease-of-use. They also do a good job of humidifying the air, which is beneficial during the winter when indoor air can get quite dry.

Disadvantages Of Ultrasonic Diffusers

The mist that comes out of an ultrasonic diffuser is made up of a combination of water and oil. This can dilute the strength of the oil, keeping it from smelling as strong as it should. Typically, the aroma in the air is mild, rarely approaching the level of scent provided by candles. Another disadvantage of these diffusers is that they have a relatively short use time. The one that I have can only run for four hours at a time, which makes it difficult to leave running overnight. There are some models available, however, that can run for as long as seven hours.

Nebulizer Diffusers

A while back, I took a class on aromatherapy and was introduced to nebulizing diffusers. I instantly fell in love. The unique design of these globes looks like something out of a scientific laboratory. Even though these diffusers cost a little bit more, they create a stronger smelling aroma in the air.

Like ultrasonic diffusers, these diffusers release a cool mist. The primary difference is that they don’t require any water. Instead, you add several drops of essential oil to the bottom of the globe. Then, compressed air is blown through the oils, atomizing it into a fine mist that makes its way out into the room.

Advantages Of Nebulizer Diffusers

The essential oils that are released by these diffusers are not diluted with water. That means that they smell stronger in the air. They also last a lot longer. The body can almost instantly absorb these particles since the molecules are small enough to breathe.

Since the concentration in the air is much higher, they can be used in larger spaces. Most models also included a timer, allowing you to precisely control when the oil is released. For instance, you can set it to run in 10 minutes cycles, with 10 minutes on and 10 minutes off to limit the amount of essential oil in the air and to keep from using too much oil.

Disadvantages Of Nebulizer Diffusers

Along with being more costly than ultrasonic diffusers, nebulizer diffusers are also quite a bit louder. As long as you keep them on a low setting, however, this typically isn’t a concern. They need to be handled gently to avoid breaking them and you have to clean them regularly.

If you are looking for the perfect essential oil diffuser, you can find nine of our top picks below. The easiest way to tell whether each model is an ultrasonic or nebulizer diffuser is by the price.