I have been given this product as part of a product review through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. Although the product was a gift, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company.
I don’t have a sense of smell. I think I told you that before. So trying to make sure my house smells nice is a bit of a challenge.
I like to use wax warmers and have the scent wafting through the house but I’ve been reading quite a bit about the chemicals in the waxes and wicks. I switched over to soy-based waxes and began looking into beeswax as well. The only issue with these is that they offer a pleasant scent but nothing actually beneficial to our bodies.
I’ve heard a lot about oil diffusers and their non-toxic benefits and began reading up on them a few months ago. About that time the opportunity came up, through Chronic Illness Bloggers, to try an essential oil diffuser and I jumped at the chance.
Being a newbie to the essential oil scene, I didn’t know there were multiple types of diffusers out there: nebulizing, ultrasonic, evaporative and heat. While I’m not well-versed in all the benefits and differences, I’ll share what I’ve learned so far.
- Nebulizing diffusers are the best for therapeutic results with the essential oils. It actually releases undiluted particles of the oils into the air without diluting the oil with water or damaging the chemical makeup with heat.
- Ultrasonic diffusers can double as a humidifier since you add water to the oil; however this dilutes the beneficial properties of the oil. Also, you can’t use citrus oils in these kinds of diffusers because they can corrode the unit.
- Evaporative diffusers work well to send a pleasing aroma into your home, but based on how they work, they can’t disperse the entire blend of oils at one time. Lighter components are dispersed before the heavier components which work against their combined benefits.
- Heat diffusers are the least expensive and you can get them just about anywhere. However, heating the oils can damage their chemical properties and lose their healing benefits.
The diffuser Organic Aromas sent me is a nebulizer. It’s very pretty and all their diffusers have a handmade wood base and custom, blown glass diffuser. There is LED mood lights that offer a soft glow and make the diffuser even prettier to look at while it’s running. Most reviews of other nebulizing diffusers mentioned the noise being their biggest downfall. The motor in this diffuser is extremely quiet – I can’t even hear it when it’s on.
The first night we tried it I used lavender essential oil I already had on hand. Lavender is supposed to reduce stress and stabilize blood sugar, which are things I need. My daughter had been using lavender oil in my grandson’s bath to help him relax before bed and help with eczema. We had tried our own makeshift evaporating diffuser by saturating a cotton ball with the oil and setting it in the grates of a little fan in our living room. I know, go ahead and laugh – it did make the house smell nice (so I was told ;)) but simply evaporating the oil doesn’t give the complete benefit. You can read more about the benefits of lavender oil here: 7 Lavender Oil Benefits for Healing by Dr. Axe.
The diffuser is small so I wasn’t sure how great the scent output would be. Our house is only 950 square feet, but my daughter and husband could smell the oil within minutes. There is a control knob on the diffuser to adjust the output and we kept it on the lowest setting. The scent was a bit strong at first, but then evened out as it filled the open area of our kitchen, dining room and living room. I was pretty pleased with the area it covered. It cycles on for two minutes and then off for one – the mood lights remain on the entire time. It also has a 2 hour automatic shut-off so you don’t have to worry if you go to bed and forget to turn it off.
The next night we tried the Signature Blend oil that was sent to me with the diffuser. It’s a mix of five different oils. My daughter and husband both said the scent was a mix of citrus and pine – they both agreed it was very nice. It’s a great one to add to my growing collection.
I’m going to enjoy using the diffuser and finding blends of oils that we enjoy but also benefit our bodies!
To see just how nebulizing diffusers work, and check out their assortment of hand crafted diffusers, you can check out their website here: Organic Aromas
