Easiest way to use my Essential Oils — Trevallan Lifestyle Centre (2024)

Do you ever feel like you are so bombard with information that you can’t make a decision?

Happens all the time to me. I usually end up walking away never to make a decision.

Something that I find many people struggle with is “What’s the easiest, best and most economical way to use my essential oils?”

There are many ways to use essential oils - massage (with a carrier oil), baths, inhalation, compress but by far the easiest way is diffusion.

There are three main ways you can diffuse your essential oils - Candle Oil Burners, Aromamatic Electric Oil Vaporizer and Ultrasonic Diffusers. I think the names explain their effectiveness - Burners, vaporisers and diffusers…

Candle oil burners usually use a tealight candle to heat a dish with water and essential oil.

While the candle oil burners are the cheapest option, I find they can be dangerous as hot wax, flames and oils aren’t a good combination especially with children.

Also the heat from the candle and boiling water actually damages your essential oils and asthe essential oil compounds are released at different stages you don’t receive the oil intheir natural balance (you don't get the right scent).

There are also now electric versions of this style. You add oil and water to a vessel and turn the power on. There is a heating element that heats the water and the essential oils are released in the steam from the boiling water. Again the boiling water and heat can actually damage your essential oils and the essential oil compounds are released at different stages, you don’t receive the oil intheir natural balance (you don't get the right scent). While this method is safer than the candle burner, I find it to be expensive (uses a lot of essential oils) and no where near as effective as other devices.

The Aromamatic Electric Oil Vaporizer provides a safe and clean way to enjoy the scents of essential oils. The Aromamatic vaporizer operates at a constant minimal temperature, allowing gentle vaporization and eliminating the need to add water.

At the top of the vaporizer is a bowl, this is the only part to emit heat, the body remains cool to touch and is safe to handle even when electrical power is turned on. No water is needed and the Aromamatic vaporizercan be left on even when there is no oil in the bowl. I find it is quite safe to use with three little people. While the bowl does emit heat it is not enough to burn wandering fingers.

The Aromatherapy Electric Oil Vaporizer, uses heat to vaporise essential oils much more subtly than candle burners but it still needs to use a lot of essential oils to be effective and just like with the candle burners the can actually damages your essential oils andthe essential oil compounds are released at different stages, you don’t receive the oil intheir natural balance (you don't get the right scent).

Ultrasonic Diffuser

Ibelieve the Ultrasonic Diffuser is by far the best and most economical with three drops of essential oil lasting up to 8hrs. They disperse essential oils in their purest form and they can also act as an Air Purifier, Ioniser, Aroma Diffuser and Night Lamp.

Ultrasonic diffusers are filled with water & essential oils are then added to the water where they remain on the water’s surface (we recommend about 3-5 drops of essential oil).

Ultrasonic diffusers work by using ultrasonic vibrations! These ultrasonic vibrations are actually sound waves which vibrate at an ultrasonic frequency, which is a frequency the human ear cannot typically detect. These ultrasonic sound waves agitate the water causing the separation of the water particles. When the water particles are separated, they become negatively charged particles which are lighter than the air. This is the visible “mist” that you see when you use a diffuser. There is no heating element at all, just the ultrasonic wave technology, this enables the essential oils to be dispersed in their truest form for scent and therapeutic value. The essential oil particles are broken down into micro-molecules diffused into the air as negative ions. Negatively charged ions will attach themselves to harmful positively charged particles in the air & help to purify your home. Positive ions are always present because of electronics, plastic and other polluting chemicals in our environment.

All of our diffusers are ultrasonic.

Our diffusers feature two running modes, four hours continuous running time or 8 hours at 30seconds on/30seconds off. Most units have a light that runs independently of the mist. Choose your mist and light mode to customise your aromatherapy experience.

Our Ultrasonic Diffusers come with an automatic safety feature that ensures that the diffuser switches off once the water has depleted, so you can go about your day without the worry of a dangerous electrical situation.

Common Questions I get asked about our Diffusers?

Why can’t I smell the essential oils in the diffuser?

We all have this really cool ability that is called Smell Adaptation, Nose Blindness, Olfactory fatigue or Olfactory adaptation. Fancy words fo something that is a temporary, naturally occurring adaptation of your body that leads to an inability to detect or distinguish common scents in your surroundings. It can take you anywhere between 5 - 30mins to become ‘used’ to a scent. Sometimes when we diffuse the same scent over and over again and we stay inside right next to the diffuser we become blind to the scent. Also in large spaces the scent may not be as strong but it’s always lingering. Best way to overcome this is go outside for a while and then come back inside. Sometimes here at Trevallan certain blends can be smelt as you walk up the pathway into the shop but can’t be smelt inside. Some essential oils have longer lasting scents and some essential oils can be light and just tickle the nose.

Why do your diffusers only run for 4/8hours?

You shouldn’t diffuse essential oils continually. Robert Tisserand (founder of the Tisserand Institute, the leading organisation of research and education in the art and practice of aromatherapy) mentions that “Intermittent diffusion is much more effective, as well as being safer, than continuous diffusion. Intermittent means 30-60 minutes on, then 30-60 minutes off. This is because our body, especially our nervous system, habituates after this length of time. With continuous diffusion, while benefits do not increase, there is evidence that the body becomes stressed in various ways.” He does go on to mention though that small amounts of essential oil in the diffuser (scent is barely noticeable) is fine for any length of time. Lets be honest though, we are diffusing the essential oils so we SMELL them, so this is why we recommend diffusers that don’t run for large lengths of time.

Can I use Fragrant Oils in your diffusers?

No. Fragrance oils are different from essential oils and in my opinion should never be used in a diffuser. Fragrance oils are synthetic, which means they contain chemicals that aren’t naturally occurring. They are made in a laboratory with different chemicals to represent a scent. They are usually also mixed with a base oil such as vegetable oil. Now personally the last thing I want to be doing is inhaling vegetable oil and a chemical co*cktail but each to their own!

You also can’t use essential oils that are mixed with a base. This could be a pre made massage oils, room sprays or even a pure essential oil that say 3% or something like that. For example you can sometimes buy expensive oils that may say this on it’s label Jasmine 3% Essential Oil. This means in a 10ml bottle there is 0.3ml Pure Jasmin Essential Oil and 9.7ml grapeseed carrier oil.

If I really want to ‘smell’ my oils shouldn’t I use a Nebulising Diffuser?

This is a personal decision. I think the Nebuliser is a fancy way to waste your essential oils. A nebulizing diffuser works like a perfume atomizer. A small air pump blows air across a small tube creating a powerful vacuum that pulls the essential oil from the bottom of the tube to the top in a fine spray, so the mist is entirely composed of the essential oil. To me it sounds like someone spraying their most expensive perfume around a room every few minutes. It’s a personal decision.