Diffusing Essential Oils seems to have become the popular activity all of a sudden in the US. I remember when my wife and I moved our family to the US back in 2006, we looked for oils commonly found in South Africa to no avail. We were used to seeing some of the common Essential Oils scattered in retail stores and they were something regularly used in our house. We used to use trips back to see family or visitors as a resource to stock up!
All this has changed very drastically in the US recently, and now every friend or work colleague is hosting these Essential Oil parties to peddle a companies products because they stand to win or obtain some commission if you purchase or even better, sign up as a member! It is great to see the "Great Awakening" by American's to the phenomenal value of Essential Oils, it has only been around for 1,000's of years!
Essential Oils are absorbed into your bloodstream and therefor impact your bodily functions through 3 methods;
- Oral consumption
- Topical application
- Inhalation through Diffusing
Aroma has written before about the benefits of Essential Oils from a health perspective seen here at our previous post. In addition to the beautiful scents that the Essential Oils deliver, there is some very valuable health benefits derived from the plants as we obtain the oils from them.
Inhalation of Diffused Essential Oils is considered to be the most effective method to receive Essential Oils for Health benefits. The method to obtain the airborne Essential oils is called Diffusion.
" So, a diffuser is simply any device that imparts a scent into the air by evaporation."
The process of diffusion is typically accomplished in four different ways:
Heat - By applying heat, either through burning a candle, or by using an electrically heated vaporizer, the increased temperature will cause the essential oil to evaporate into the air.
Ventilation/Fan - By utilizing a small fan to create airflow, evaporation is achieved when air passes over a wick or absorbent pad which holds the essential oil.
Humidification/Vaporization/Ultrasonic - By using water and essential oil mixed together, a mist can be formed which will fill the air. This mist is produced either by a fan, heat or ultrasonic waves of energy.
Nebulization/Atomization - Is a process which forces the breakdown of essential oils into very tiny particles. It requires a high velocity, pressurized air stream and a specially designed jet nozzle. The rate of evaporation is highly accelerated and occurs almost instantly.
A common misunderstanding is that all diffusers are doing and achieving the same thing, but this is definitely not a true statement. The diffusion method you choose, will determine to a large degree, the amount of aroma and therapeutic benefit you receive from an essential oil. Using heat to evaporate an Essential Oil, will gently produce a scent and fill the room nicely, however heat has two drawbacks. First, it tends to alter the chemical composition of the essential oil which can destroy its purity and therapeutic value. Second, while heat does produce a nice aroma, it may not be therapeutically useful.
Aroma produces our Fixed Diffuser series with atomization ( Nano-Room temperature atomization technology) as it is absolutely the BEST way to provide both aroma and therapeutic healing value through Essential Oils. It does not alter the chemical composition of the oils while breaking down pure essential oil molecules into a particle size small enough for the lungs and body to absorb them rapidly. Breaking down the oil in its natural state maintains purity and provides the most effective bioavailable therapy to the cells of the human body. Atomization is the only method of diffusion that creates particles small enough to reach the deep part of the lungs. How small, 3 microns!
According to EGAN’s Fundamentals of Respiratory Care, Particles between 5 and 20 microns will only reach the upper airway: nose, larynx, trachea. Particles between 2 and 5 microns will reach the lower airways while Particles between 1 and 3 microns will reach the alveolar region which is the deep part of the lung, encouraging absorption into the body!
“If all you want to do is provide a pleasant scent to your environment, any diffuser will work fine. But if you want to use essential oils for their maximum healing qualities and pure therapeutic benefit, only a atomizing diffuser will do the job correctly and effectively."
Jennifer Stephens LRRT
In addition to the health benefits, due to the small size of the atomized Essential Oil particles, they can travel very well through air vents for greater distances as they are not weighted down by water molecules.