You have a lot of great choices when selecting which diffuser to purchase. In fact, you might want to get more than one. Some can even plug into your car so that you can take your favorite essential oil blends on the road. There are four distinct types, each suited to different uses. Let’s break it down:
- Nebulizer: The nebulizer is a device that delivers the most intense aromatherapy experience. The user attaches the bottle to the device, and the device uses a fan to draw the oil up a tube, where it’s turned into a very fine mist shooting directly into the air. Models can come with colored lights, timers, and controls that allow the user to adjust the spray. The drawbacks are the expense of the unit itself, and that you will run through a lot of essential oil.
- Ultrasonic: The ultrasonic diffuser is also called the humidifying diffuser. It uses water and ultrasonic vibrations to combine the oil and water into a fine mist without the addition of a heat source, which can fractionate the oils, removing much of their therapeutic properties.
- Evaporative: The user applies essential oils to a pad, and a fan blows across the pad to evaporate the oils. While this works with plain scent oils, it does not allow for even dispersal of essential oils, but it can make a room or even a car smell nice.
- Heat: It’s straightforward; a variable heat setting is used to evaporate the oils as noted above, and this causes some of the more volatile elements to burn off quickly, leaving heavier elements behind.
While price should certainly inform your choice, you should also consider the method of dispersal and the therapeutic effects of the oil. A quality aromatherapy electric diffuser is an investment in your health and wellbeing, so treat it as an important decision.
