Essential oils have become essential to a growing number of people, acting as they do to enhance environment and to promote a soothing atmosphere. Essential oils are disseminated in one of three ways: internally, topically, or aromatically. Of these, aromatic uses are the most familiar. Diffusion is the process of dispersion essential oil aromas into a room, and diffusers can deliver into the air any of the three hundred or more scents or scent blends available, making them the number one choice of discerning aromatherapy proponents everywhere.
Over the years – centuries, really – people have been highly inventive in creating multiple delivery systems for diffusing nature’s carefully extracted aromas within man’s carefully constructed structures. Each type of diffuser, from the most simple to the most complex, has its own advantages and disadvantages, to be considered in light of one’s unique situation.
If you want merely the mildest of aromas within a room, simply place three or four drops of essential oil on a tissue. Place the tissue near at hand, and as movement and air currents occur within the room, you will notice the aroma. You can use this method anywhere, although it will not yield a strong scent.
Add 5-10 drops of essential oil to two cups of boiling water. The steam will heat the oil and it will evaporate into the room, resulting in the desired aroma. This is a quick way to obtain the desired results, but not a particularly long-lasting way.
Fan diffusers operate by blowing air across a pad or tray containing essential oil or oil blends captured in a base matrix. Depending on the size of the pads and the concentration of the oil, these fan units can diffuse from small rooms to very large ones, and pads can be replaced as needed.
There are so many types of diffusers! Small terra cotta pots can be filled with essential oil; when corked, the oils permeate the clay and diffuse into the air. Candle diffusers, lamp rings, nebulizers, and electric heat diffusers all work. Reed diffusers offer a clean, simple, and safe delivery when quality products are used. The reeds need to be of optimum length and thickness in order to allow the oil into ‘wick up’ into them and disperse into the room. The diffuser oil must be a quality oil, properly mixed, able to wick up into the reeds without clumping.