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

Posted On June 4, 2021

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

Inhaling essential oils generally requires a diffuser. There are many diffusers, but they all fall into one of 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 diffusers.

Evaporative diffusers

Evaporative diffusers work by drawing air at room temperature 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 impaired.

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

• They do not need electricity. Which means evaporative diffusers tend to be more portable. You will also have more flexibility on where you can place the diffusers.

• They are easy to use. All you need to do is put a few drops of oil in or on the diffuser (depending on your design) and you’re done.

Main limitations of evaporative diffusers:

• They generally have a small area of ​​diffusion. For example, you will practically have to inhale into your nose to smell something. Similarly, standard clay diffusers only diffuse within their immediate vicinity, say about three to six feet.

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

• The diffusion rate is different for different oils. Since oils diffuse only with non-pressurized air at room temperature, each oil will diffuse at its own natural rate. This means that if you diffuse an oil mixture, the scent you inhale may be inconsistent. The scent of lighter oils will be stronger at first 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 will also need to keep the diffusion area within your immediate vicinity.

• When you need to run and want a diffuser that you can throw 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. You also need a base 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 spread quickly. Heat speeds up the vaporization process and helps the scent spread through the room more quickly.

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

Main limitations of heat diffusers:

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

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

Heat diffusers are best used:

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

Ultrasonic diffusers

Ultrasonic diffusers use high electronic frequencies to vibrate water that contains one or more essential oils. The vibrations then send a fine mist of water and 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 don’t require a lot of oil. You only need to add a few drops to the water at a time.

• It is easy to clean and change oil. Just pour in the old oil and water mixture, add new oil and water, and you’re done.

• They have a medium to large area of ​​diffusion. Most ultrasonic diffusers can quickly and effectively diffuse into 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 run on electricity. So they are less portable and you have less flexibility 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 you have belongings in the room (like books) that deteriorate more quickly in humid conditions.

Ultrasonic diffusers are best used:

• At home, when portability isn’t that important.

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

Cold air diffusers / nebulizers

Cold air diffusers (also known as nebulizers) use pressurized air at room temperature to atomize essential oils into micro molecules. Then the micro molecules are released into the air.

Main advantages of nebulizers:

• They produce the smallest oil molecules compared to other diffusers. Small molecules enhance your inhalation and absorption of the aroma and benefits of 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 inhale is just the goodness of the essential oil (and the air).

Main limitations of nebulizers:

• They run on electricity. So they are less portable and you have less flexibility where you can put them.

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

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

Nebulizers are best used:

• At home, when portability isn’t that important.

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

What is the best way to diffuse essential oils?

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

• It produces the smallest oil molecules so that your body can easily inhale and absorb them.
• Diffuse only essential oils and nothing else. No water, carrier oil or wax,
• It does not change the chemical composition of essential oils at all, and
• It has a spreading area large enough to cover a medium-sized living room or bedroom.

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

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