Essential oils contain the essence of a plant, the power of the sun and the soil distilled into something you can use in every aspect of your life. One of the best ways to experience everything essential oils can offer is by using a diffuser! Diffusers help break essential oils into small particles that can disperse through the air and fill an entire space with powerful, breathable essential oil benefits.

What are the different types of diffusers for essential oils?

If you’ve ever searched for a diffuser online, you’re probably already aware of how many options there are. What are the different types of diffusers for essential oils? Does the type of essential oil diffuser matter? Don’t worry: We’ll talk about the different types of diffusers, how they work, and what benefits each type offers. Read on for a quick and easy breakdown of what you should be looking for when you’re ready to buy.

 

Ultrasonic diffuser 

The most common type of diffuser is the electric ultrasonic diffuser. If you’ve encountered a diffuser at a friend’s house or at your office, it’s probably ultrasonic. These types of diffusers use a small, high-speed vibrating metal plate that breaks up the essential oils into tiny droplets that mix with water and are then dispersed through the air as a vapor. Since ultrasonic diffusers carry the essential oil droplets in water, the strong smell of essential oils is slightly diluted, making for a more subtle aroma that some people prefer when creating a more atmospheric, sensory essential oil environment. Young Living carries a wide variety of ultrasonic diffusers, including:

Many of our diffusers also offer features like color-changing lights, diffusion timers, and sound settings to cultivate the atmosphere you want to create and to help set the right mood wherever you diffuse. Many of them also have their own high, low, and intermittent modes to allow you to customize your experience.

The diffuser features, coverage area, and amount of water and essential oil needed for your diffuser vary depending on the specific one you have.

Atomizing diffuser

Young Living’s Urbane Atomizing Diffuser functions as an aroma diffuser, air purifier, and atomizer in one simple-to-use product. Using cold air diffusion technology that does not require water or heat, this diffuser transforms essential oils into vapor of microparticles and releases powerful plant constituents found in essential oils into the air. To make things even better, this diffuser comes with controls that allow you to customize your oil experience.

 

 

Non-electric diffuser 

Not every diffuser requires electricity. Some come in the form of jewelry or pendants, while others use fabric pads to distribute essential oils.

  • Diffuser jewelry:If you want to create an essential oil scent barrier between you and the world, diffuser jewelry is just the thing for you! Whether you’re out and about in a scent-heavy environment or you simply prefer to navigate the world with the familiar scent of an old essential oil friend, diffuser jewelry can help. This type of jewelry often includes clay beads that absorb essential oils to gradually and subtly diffuse their scent.
  • Clay ornament diffuser: Clay ornaments can be hung in your kitchen, bathroom, a rearview mirror, or anywhere you want to customize your sensory experience.
  • Cotton pad diffuser: Some diffusers utilize reusable cotton pads to offer passive diffusion on the go. This diffuser clips onto your vehicle’s air vent and lets the vent do the work to disperse the oil’s aroma into the air.

Does the type of essential oil diffuser matter? 

The best diffuser for you is really all about what you think your routine might be missing. Take some time to think through what you actually want from essential oils. Are you looking for intensive aromatherapy? Or are essential oils a source of personal comfort that you need to keep close? Finding what you really need from essential oils will guide you in the right direction in terms of diffusers.

Where will you put your diffuser? 

When choosing a diffuser, it is important to think about where you plan to put it. Will it be in a small space, on your work desk, in your car, or in a large room?

If you’re looking to infuse a medium-sized room with essential oils, most of our ultrasonic diffusers, such as the Ember, Aria, Haven, or Desert Mist are more equipped for the task.

If you live in an area with pollution, smoke, or heavy agricultural smells, you should try a portable diffuser like Urbane Atomizing Diffuser. This diffuser is like a scent windshield, keeping offensive smells outside your car where they belong. Even getting stuck in traffic can be a breeze when you’re safe inside your essential oil scent bubble!

What features would you like your diffuser to have? 

The added features of a diffuser allow you to customize your space and your experience, adding lights, sounds, and control to your essential oil experience.

When you think of diffusing Lemon essential oil, what color comes to mind? For us, we think of bright yellow or orange, uplifting citrusy colors that remind of bright days in the sun. Lavender is more, well, lavender, a calm color in rainy skies at sunset. But that’s just us. With customizable lights, many of our diffusers help you to expand your sensory experience beyond just scent into sight. Try our Lantern Diffuser or Haven Ceramic Diffuser to add an extra dimension.

When you’re creating the right meditative essential oil environment, what should it sound like? What sound pairs with the scent of Frankincense? Our Aria Ultrasonic Diffuser has multiple sound options that help you to expand your experience further. If you don’t really feel a perfect match with the pre-loaded sounds, connect your phone to the built-in speakers and bring your own sounds. If you’re diffusing around your kiddos as part of their bedtime routine, our Feather the Owl Diffuser has white-noise features so you can set the stage for winding down.

Diffuser alternatives 

If you don’t own a diffuser yet but would like to start getting the aromatherapy benefits of essential oils, try some of these methods:

  • Tissue diffuser: Place your desired essential oil onto a tissue or cotton ball and breathe in its aroma.
  • Scent tent: Put a drop of oil into the palm of your hand (dilute with a carrier oil if the oil packaging specifies that dilution is needed). Cup your hands around your nose and breathe deeply.
  • Smell straight from the bottle: Remove the lid from the essential oil bottle and deeply breathe in the essential oil aroma. For a less intense experience, smell from the lid instead of the bottle.

If you could pick any feature for you diffuser to have, what would it be?

Tell us in the comments below!

 

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