To have an Essential oil Diffuser is all the rage nowadays. When choosing your essential oil diffuser, there are 3 main factors to consider. First, what are you trying to accomplish? Is the diffuser primarily just to make your home smell nice, or are you using it for health benefits? Second, how strongly do you want your diffuser’s scent and health benefits to be? Based on the type of diffuser you choose, as well as the type of oils, some will be stronger than others. Lastly, how much are you looking to spend on your diffuser and your oils? There are many different diffusers and essential oils out there, many with a wide range of prices.
I will discuss these three deciding factors when choosing your diffuser and oils, so you can make the best decision for your home and family. Essential oil diffusers absolutely help to disperse a pleasant scent through your home. They do however have many other benefits for our daily health! Diffusers help recharge and freshen our air with ions and natural plant particles, giving us a healthy home for healthy bodies.
How They Work
Before diving into the different types of diffusers, let’s learn a little bit about how they work! There are two main components of essential oil diffusers that bring health benefits and pleasant smells. First, of course, is the essential oils! There is a slew of different essential oils, each with its own specific health benefits. See the chart below for help choosing your oils.
The second component of essential oil diffusers is well, the diffuser! Most diffusers are ultrasonic. What this means is that they use the wind to diffuse the water and oil into a fine mist. This fine mist and the movement of water is releasing negative ions into the air. This is similar to the process of air-purifying plants and the effects of smudging.
A Bit of Science
Negative ions may sound like a bad thing, they are in fact just the opposite. Our bodies are constantly absorbing negative and positive ions from the air. When our bodies absorb too many positive ions from things like electronics, stuffy office buildings, and industrialized areas, we often feel bogged down, tired, anxious, and frustrated. Essential oil diffusers, house plants, water fountains, smudging, opening a window, and spending time outdoors all increase our intake of negative ions. Negative ions help boost our moods, and concentration, and help us relax.
House Smells or Health Benefits?
So, this isn’t really an either-or question, unless you have an essential oil diffuser that is heated. Most essential oil diffusers will provide you with both a nice scent, as well as health benefits (with the exception of heated diffusers). When you are choosing your essential oil diffuser, they will get more pricey based on the benefits they provide to you. For example, heated diffusers are often the cheapest because they only provide you with a nice scent. As you heat the oils their healing properties are greatly diminished, which is why the heated diffuses are not so good for health benefits.
Both the ultrasonic and nebulizer diffusers are good for both house smells and health benefits. The main difference is that nebulizers have a more concentrated output. Therefore nebulizer diffusers will produce a stronger scent, and consequently more health benefits. For this reason, nebulizers are the most expensive kind of diffuser. You are essentially getting what you pay for when you choose your diffuser.
Nebulizer Diffusers
The stronger the effects of the essential oil diffuser, the more costly they become. Among the stronger essential oil diffusers are Nebulizers. This type of diffuser is more potent in terms of diffusing scents. They also release a more pure form of the essential oil, as they do need to be diluted with water, unlike ultrasonic diffusers. What this diffuser does is spread a fine mist of the oil into the air with an atomizer. This is essentially the same as how perfume bottles work. You can find a great nebulizer diffuser here!
Ultrasonic Diffusers
I mentioned earlier that the most common essential oil diffusers are ultrasonic. These diffusers mist oil and water into the air. They are effective at producing a pleasant smell and health benefits throughout your home. These diffusers are usually quiet and low-cost. They can be run throughout the night or through the day without any issues, and they do not use any heat. You can find a great ultrasonic diffuser here!
So far we have discussed two types of diffusers that do not need heat. There are oil diffusers that do require heat, however, these are not recommended to be used to gain health benefits. This is because when heating essential oils, the chemical compounds in the oils are altered. This reduces the health benefits produced from the oils. If you are going to use an oil diffuser that uses heat, keep in mind it is primarily for diffusing a scent.
Choosing Your Essential Oils
When you are considering what essential oils to pick from, you want to consider what your end goal is. Essential oil diffusers are used to reduce stress, create calm spaces, ease anxiety, keep bugs away, lift moods, reduce cold/flu symptoms, ease headaches, and soothe muscle soreness. Some people also use essential oils and aromatherapy to improve their bodily functions. Some oils are good for improving respiratory health, your immune system, circulatory functions, digestive issues, the nervous system, and the lymphatic system.
I have created a chart categorizing essential oils, based on what they are good for. I noticed several trends while creating this chart. Citrus oils tend to generally be good for uplifting the mood, and boosting concentration and are great for the digestive system. Also, wood-based scents like sandalwood, frankincense, and myrrh are all great for relaxation. Additionally, almost all herb-based scents are helpful for boosting the immune system. If you are new to using essential oils, you can experiment by buying a variety of cases like this (which is how I started).
Resources
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