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How essential oil diffusers work

Essential oils haven't changed much over the millennia, but the way in which they are diffused has.

The process of dispersing incredibly aromatic oils into the environment has developed over the centuries from simple to sophisticated. You don't need a qualification in chemistry or physics to understand how aromatherapy diffusers work.

You will find it helpful, though, to know the ins and outs of how each different type of essential oil diffuser works. Once you do, you'll be able to choose the right diffuser for the surroundings you want to use it in.

1. Evaporation

Evaporation is when warmth in the atmosphere causes moisture to turn into vapour. It's a mostly invisible process that occurs with everything from puddles after a rainstorm to the waters of the ocean as they're heated by the sun. Basic essential oil diffusers work the same way - by evaporation.

Reed diffusers

A common example of an essential oil diffuser that works by evaporation is a reed diffuser. You've undoubtedly seen them next to cans of air fresheners on a shelf in your local store - lots of thin sticks of porous wood in a small glass container of essential oil. Insert the sticks into the oil, and they'll start to soak it up. Heat in the room causes the oil that has seeped to the top of the sticks to evaporate and perfume the air.

As you might guess, the way a reed diffuser works is not a very controllable operation. The warmer the room, the faster the oil will evaporate. Have your central heating on full blast, and you'll soon discover there'll be nothing left but dry twigs and an empty bottle collecting dust because it no longer smells, and you've forgotten it's even there.

Evaporative diffusers

Although evaporative aromatherapy diffusers work by the same principle of evaporation, they're a little more technologically advanced. Contained in the base of the diffuser is a small battery or electric fan. The fan generates a gentle breeze inside the diffuser which blows through a pad you soak with essential oil. The movement of air through the pad causes the oil to evaporate. The main advantage of an evaporative essential oil diffuser.

2. Heat Dissemination

One of the oldest methods used for dispersing the aroma of essential oils is heat. Yes, the essential oils do still evaporate, but the evaporation is caused by heat generated from a naked flame or heat source other than the environment and air.

Pottery diffusers

The way these essential oil heat diffusers work hasn't changed much since the times of the ancient Egyptians and Greeks. Produced from glazed ceramics, this type of diffuser has a hollow interior where a candle or tealight can be inserted. They have decorative holes in the body to allow air to circulate and a small well-style dimple on the top surface to hold water and oil. When the candle is burning, it warms the oil and releases its scent. The only set-back with this antiquated method of diffusing aromatherapy oil is that you can't regulate the amount of heat reaching the oil - too little and there'll be no lovely aroma, or too much and it will damage the properties of the oil.

Electric aromatherapy diffusers

Modernity began to catch up with essential oil heat diffusers sometime after the convenient invention of electricity. Electrically operated essential oil diffusers contain a heating coil inside a waterproof casing. The casings can be either durable plastic or ceramic, but both will have a depression in which to place your preferred mix of oil and water or carrier oil. One good thing about how electric essential oil diffusers work is that the coil temperature is controlled by a thermostat to prevent overheating. Many models are also fitted with timers that will shut the heating process off automatically after a certain length of time.

3. Nebulisation

Aromatherapy nebulisers

The way an essential oil nebuliser works is similar to how an aerosol works but without the ozone-damaging CFCs used in spray cans. Yes, there is still heat involved in the process, though not in the same way as with heat dissemination diffusers you read about earlier. Aromatherapy nebulisers don't heat the oil; they heat the air in the base of the diffuser with a light or a coil. This causes the air to rise under pressure, gathering the essential oil along the way and turning it into a fine mist which is expelled at high speeds through the diffuser nozzle. As aromatherapy nebulising diffusers work without water or carrier oils, the essential oil emission into the atmosphere is undiluted. Yes, that does mean a more concentrated aroma, but it also means you'll find your stock of essential oil getting depleted fairly quickly if you use it frequently.