How to Diffuse Essential Oils and Improve Your Health While You Breathe

Inhalation is a very popular approach to reap the benefits of essential oils. After all, we all need to breathe. 12 to 16 times a minute, in fact. We can also breathe something that improves health while performing an action that is absolutely necessary to live.

Inhalation of essential oils generally requires a diffuser. There are plenty of diffusers out there, but they all fall into one of just four categories. Each category diffuses oils in a different way, and there are pros and cons to each.

Let’s explore the four categories of streaming.

Evaporative diffusers

Evaporative diffusers work by drawing room temperature air through a pad or filter that contains the oil. The air then vaporizes and diffuses the oil molecules.

Examples of diffusers that fall into this category are:

• inhalers
• clay diffusers
• fuzzy necklaces
• reed diffusers
• And in a pinch, you can also use tissue paper or a towel as an evaporative diffuser.

Main advantages of evaporative diffusers:

• They do not require heat to diffuse the oil. This is good because it means that the chemical composition and therapeutic properties of essential oils will not be damaged.

• They do not require water or a carrier oil to act as a base. So what you breathe in will be purely the goodness of the essential oil (and the air) and nothing else.

• They do not need electricity. Which means that evaporative diffusers are usually more portable. You’ll also have more flexibility in where you can place the diffusers.

• They are easy to use. You just have to put a few drops of oil in or on the diffuser (depending on its design) and voila.

Main limitations of evaporative diffusers:

• They usually have a small diffusion area. For example, you will practically have to hold an inhalation in your nose to smell something. Similarly, standard clay diffusers only diffuse in their immediate vicinity, say around three to six feet.

• It is more difficult to change the oils. Because essential oils are “absorbed” into evaporative diffusers, it is more difficult to change oils.

• The rate of diffusion is different for different oils. Since oils diffuse only with unpressurized air at room temperature, each oil will diffuse at its own natural rate. This means that if you diffuse a mixture of oils, the scent you inhale could be inconsistent. The scent of lighter oils will be stronger initially and will fade more quickly than the scent of heavier oils.

Evaporative diffusers are best used:

• In your office, where you probably won’t be able to use diffusers that require fire or electricity, and you’ll also need to keep the diffusion area within your immediate vicinity.

• When you need to run and want a diffuser that you can keep in your bag and use whenever and wherever you want.

heat diffusers

Heat diffusers use, well, heat, to vaporize and diffuse essential oils. Heat is supplied by fire or electricity, depending on the type of heat diffuser. A base is also needed to mix the oil. The base can be wax, water, or a carrier oil, depending on the diffuser.

Diffusers in this category include:

• aromatherapy candles
• tea light burners
• vaporizers.

Main advantages of heat diffusers:

• They transmit quickly. The heat speeds up the vaporization process and helps the aroma spread more quickly throughout the room.

• They improve mood by creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere. This is specific to heat diffusers that use candles. The warm light of the candles helps to create a cozy and relaxing atmosphere.

Main limitations of heat spreaders:

• They require heat. Heat degenerates the chemical composition of many essential oils and can reduce their therapeutic value.

• They could be a fire hazard. Naked flames can be a fire hazard, especially if you have small, active children or pets around.

Heat spreaders are best used:

• When you want to create a warm and cozy atmosphere, say for a dinner with friends or for a romantic date.

ultrasonic diffusers

Ultrasonic diffusers use high electronic frequencies to vibrate water containing one or more essential oils. The vibrations then send a fine mist of water and an oil mixture into the air.

Main advantages of ultrasonic diffusers:

• They do not require heat to diffuse the oil. Therefore, the therapeutic properties of essential oils are not destroyed.

• They do not require a lot of oil. You only need to add a few drops to the water each time.

• It is easy to clean and change oils. Simply pour out the old oil and water mix, add new oil and water, and you’re good to go.

• They have a medium to large diffusion area. Most ultrasonic diffusers can diffuse quickly and effectively in medium-sized living rooms or bedrooms.

• There is a wide range of options on the market. This is a popular way to diffuse essential oils. Therefore, there are more ultrasonic diffusers on the market than most other types of diffusers.

Main limitations of ultrasonic diffusers:

• They work with electricity. Therefore, they are less portable and you have less flexibility in where you can put them.

• They require more water as a base. In ultrasonic diffusers, the ratio of essential oil to water is very low. Therefore, what you inhale is actually more water than essential oil.

• They increase humidity. This can be an advantage if you live in a drier climate. But it could be a problem if the area you live in is already humid, or if you have possessions in the room (such as books) that deteriorate more quickly in humid conditions.

Ultrasonic diffusers are best used:

• At home, when portability is not so important.

• In drier climates or in rooms where increased humidity is not a problem.

Cold air diffusers/foggers

Cold air diffusers (also known as nebulizers) use pressurized air at room temperature to atomize essential oils into micromolecules. The micromolecules are then emitted into the air.

Main advantages of nebulizers:

• They produce the smallest oil molecules compared to other diffusers. Small molecules enhance inhalation and absorption of the aroma and benefits of the essential oil.

• They do not require heat to diffuse the oil. Therefore, the therapeutic properties of the oils are not destroyed.

• They do not require wax, water or carrier oils as a base. So what you breathe in is just the goodness of the essential oil (and the air).

Main limitations of nebulizers:

• They work with electricity. Therefore, they are less portable and you have less flexibility in where you can put them.

• They require more effort to clean. The cleaning process is not complicated. But it takes a bit longer to clean than, say, an ultrasonic diffuser.

• They’re more expensive. Nebulizers are more expensive than the other types of diffusers.

Nebulizers are best used:

• At home, when portability is not so important.

• When you want to maximize the therapeutic benefits of essential oils.

What is the best way to diffuse essential oils?

If we are talking about the diffusion of oils for therapeutic purposes, the best way is that:

• Produces the smallest oil molecules, so they can be easily inhaled and absorbed by your body,
• Diffuse only the essential oils and nothing else. No water, carrier oil or wax,
• Does not change the chemical composition of essential oils at all, and
• It has a diffusion area large enough to cover the average sized living room or bedroom.

The nebulizer is the only way that meets all these conditions. So if you are serious about diffusing essential oils for health purposes, this should be the way to go.

But if you’re not ready to splurge on a nebulizer just yet, or want a diffuser you can take on the go, consider trying the other diffusers.