Unique Original Articles » Beginning Aromatherapy: Diffusing Essential Oils

Essential oils are a curiosity to many folks -- they smell nice, but they're just not sure what to do with them, never mind how to get the most from aromatherapy's science-proven benefits. So where to start?! Inhale! Breathe them in! The simplest means is through diffusion: evaporating the oils into your home, office, or other living space. By using a diffuser to accelerate the evaporation of oils in the air around you, one can both enjoy the wonderful aromas of pure essential oils, and go so far as to use them for their therapeutic, medicinal effects.

Diffusion of an essential oil means to distribute the oil in the air around you. Essential oils easily evaporate -- more easily than water -- so this is a pretty straightforward thing to do. At the same time, there are ways to get even more essential oil in the air, at a higher concentration than, say, if you just let a bottle sit open on a table. This is where an aromatherapy diffuser comes it. The diffuser evaporates the essential oil faster, using one of many possible methods (more on that in a moment). And why would you want to evaporate the oil faster? If you just left a bottle sitting open, you and your family would occasionally smell the aroma coming from the bottle; if you'd like your whole room or house to be filled with that aroma, you'd use a diffuser.

The least expensive diffusers work very well for bringing aroma into the air. They often use heat to evaporate essential oil -- others use a small fan -- and both these types often have a small replaceable pad onto which a few drops of essential oil are placed. These diffusers have the advantage of low cost and ease-of-use, though they generally are only for small spaces, like a single bedroom or small office. More advanced diffusers, called ultrasonic diffuser, are like small ultrasonic humidification units, built to diffuse essential oil along with a mist of air. They are well-liked, particularly in dry environments -- the ultrasonic diffusers are also made to fill a somewhat larger space with aroma.

Another very inexpensive diffuser is called a "reed" diffuser. It draws up essential oils in some sort of base formula and evaporates it from the tips of the reeds. These are generally avoided in aromatherapy, because the base mixture often contains synthetic chemicals that are not excellent to breathe in. One can do away with the base chemical altogether, putting the reeds only in pure essential oil if you so desire. Also available are tea lights, which use a candle to warm a small bowl of water from which the essential oils evaporate from the surface of. These are lovely to use, though they do require close attention such that the burning of the candle is safe, and that the water does not evaporate before the oil.

The high end of aromatherapy diffusers are called cold-air nebulizing diffusers. The use nothing but a pressurized stream of air to make a fine mist of essential oil, which then evaporates directly into the air. The best of these units have a variable output control so they can be properly adjusted to the size of the room and/or the desired concentration of aroma in the air. The nebulizing diffuser has the capability of both simply diffusing oils for their aromatic effects, and to go so far as to deliver true therapy in aroma medicine. The classic aroma medicine texts show images of people placed in oxygen-style tents inhaling significant quantities of essential oil vapor to cure them of very serious infectious diseases. This effect can be created in small rooms, though it is important to have the guidance of a natural health professional before including this modality in a treatment program for yourself or a loved one. At the same time, these techniques are very worthwhile investigating, and the curing of infectious illness is considered one of the most promising medical application of essential oil therapy.

The choice of oils you can use in a diffuser is even more diverse than the kinds of diffusers available. It is really best to start with your desired reason for diffusing oils, then select your oils following this guideline. For general use, Citrus oils are very lovely, and combine very well to make your own unique scents. Try Lemon, Lime, Bergamot, Orange and Grapefruit together for example. Or the "evergreen" oils all blend together well: Fir, Spruce, Pine and Juniper create a very welcoming and warm atmosphere. Floral oils can be easily blended too, as can the woods and the herbs. Once you venture outside of blending oils from the same family, you'll want to pay a little closer attention to the ratios of each oil you use, as it's easy to make odd smelling recipes if you just start putting in "a little of this and a little of that"! On can always use a single oil at any time, particularly if you really enjoy one, but in the long run, blends can often be more interesting to the advanced aromatherapy user.

Finally, if you're wanting to diffuse with specific therapeutic purposes in mind, you might want find some recipes from Aromatherapists created with your needs in mind. Lavender diffused during the course of the night (in very small amounts) can significantly improve sleep -- this would be considered a therapeutic application. To improve mental clarity, Rosemary has shown positive results in many studies, and is a lovely stimulating aroma. To support the immune system, some therapists recommend a blend of Rosemary, Thyme Linalool, Hyssop and Melissa. You can pick and choose among the immune supportive oils that sound best for your needs -- and the essential oils from herbs also seem to easily blend well together to create a fun and healing combination.

And there we have it: an easy way to get started with aromatherapy. Diffusing essential oils can be done purely for the pleasure of the aromas, or for profound health effects when using therapeutic grade medicinal oils. There is a diffuser available for everyones needs and pocketbook; and your homemade blends, or pre-mixed formulas can be enjoyed by everyone using these wonderful tools.
More natural health information is available regarding Ananda Aromatherapy's essential oils and on the organic medicinal herb blog.
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