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If you’re thinking about using an oil diffuser, it’s a good idea to do some research before making your purchase. After all, there are so many different types of oil diffusers, and the ideal model for you is going to depend on your own personal needs.

In this quick guide, we’re going to give you some key pointers and considerations to make before buying an essential oil diffuser, whether you’re looking to buy one for aromatherapeutic purposes, to scent your home, or to improve your home’s air quality. Let’s take a look!

What is an essential oil diffuser?

An essential oil diffuser is a device used to diffuse popular essential oils, such as lavender, ylang ylang, and clary sage. You can use an essential oil diffuser to diffuse as many oils as you like, and you can even create custom blends to suit you and your home’s needs.

Why use an essential oil diffuser?

Using an essential oil diffuser is one of the best ways to practice aromatherapy at home, without having to pay hundreds of pounds to see a licensed aromatherapist. With an at-home essential oil diffuser, you can reap the benefits of diffusing oils in your own space. With a spectrum of health and wellbeing benefits associated with essential oils, here are just a few ways you can benefit from owning your own:

• Reduce stress and anxiety
• Enjoy cleaner air in your home
• Kill virus-causing germs and bacteria in the air
• Remove household odours, such as cooking smells
• Improve sleep quality
• Wound healing
• Decongest blocked noses and sinuses
• Improve concentration and brain function
• Improve memory

Can I use essential oils without a diffuser?

While there’s nothing stopping you from using essential oils without a diffuser, it’s not the most effective method if you’re looking to access the full range of aromatherapy benefits that essential oils offer. Using essential oils without a diffuser means applying them topically to the skin: while this can still allow you to explore aromatherapeutic practices and access some of the available benefits, you’re not going to be able to fully enjoy certain key advantages, such as improved concentration, or killing airborne bacteria.

For this, you’ll need to invest in an ultrasonic diffuser, which will allow you to inhale the essential oils safely, and in the comfort of your own home.

What to consider before buying an essential oil diffuser

So, what are the key considerations to take into account before heading off and buying an oil diffuser? Here’s what we’d recommend:

Think about location

Before buying a diffuser, it’s important to consider where it’s going to be placed within your home. This will give you some idea of how small or large to go: oil diffusers come in lots of different shapes and sizes, with lots of different diffusion settings to pick from. If you’re going to be placing your diffuser in a large area, a larger water capacity is going to be necessary. For bedroom use, you can opt for a smaller model.

Style

The great thing about essential oil diffusers is that you can pick one with a style that aligns with your home decor: when it comes to style, colour, and size, the world really is your oyster! You don’t need to worry about hiding a bulky diffuser because it doesn’t match your home colour scheme: just pick one that corresponds to the decoration in your home.

Ultrasonic vs. nebuliser

There are two different types of essential oil diffusers that you can buy to use at home. One is an ultrasonic diffuser, and the other is a nebuliser. It’s up to you which to choose, but here’s a quick overview of what each version offers:

Ultrasonic diffuser:

• Easy to use
• Can also be used as a humidifier
• More economic - essential oils are mixed with water and diffused
• Affordable
• Easy to strengthen or weaken essential oil blends by adding more water

Nebuliser:

• Diffuses 100% pure essential oils, no water added
• Uses an air jet function to diffuse essential oils
• More expensive
• Less economic - you’ll go through essential oils faster
• Unique function, cannot be used as a humidifier

Overall, when it comes to practicality and economic viability, we’d recommend an ultrasonic diffuser, especially if you’re new to essential oils - it’s cheaper, simple to use, and more economic.

Plus, what’s great about an ultrasonic diffuser is its adaptability; if you use too many essential oils, or your blend is too strong, it’s easy to simply dilute the mixture with water. Easy!