A few words about diffusers

Do you know what to look for if you want your house be infused with the nice therapeutic aromas of pure essential oils?
For that purpose as you may know you have to use a so-called nebuliser or diffuser of essential oils. There are many models available on the market. Not all are efficient, easy to use or even safe.

-The most common diffuser is the cheap one you buy at the corner store. It is made up of a ceramic base upon which you place a tea light candle. The top part of the device holds some water along with the essential oils. The water and oil are heated by the candle and evaporate gently. This device is good to use only if you are close enough to check regularly that no curtain or inflammable material is in the way. The wind can do that and so can kids!

-The other type is a fan powered diffuser. It is provided with a set of blotting papers to which you add the essential oils. A fan placed on top of the paper ensures that the oils are vaporized. This model is not really practical due to the regular changing of the papers-after a while they smell rancid-and the evaporation of the oils seems to be exponential first to leave you after one hour with very little scent.

-Another model is similar to the previous one, it is also electrical (generally sold with a transformer) and composed with a small bottle, instead of the blotting paper, and a fan which ventilates air around a blotting paper cork which has the lower end dipped into the bottle. This is a better version of the fan and paper, by the fact that you have a longer diffusion of the oils, without the first overload. Somehow it lacks some power, mainly if the room is large.

-The ceramic electric saucer is an electric model which is easy and safe to use. It consists in a small ceramic bowl heated by a resistance controlled by a thermostat. You may add water and oils to the bowl which together slowly evaporate in the room. Nice to create a soothing atmosphere indeed but useless for a strong therapeutic action. You may say that the oils are efficient even if their atmospheric concentration is very small. You maybe right. It depends on what effect you are looking for. If your aim is to get the therapeutic molecules deep into your congested lungs you’d better opt for something stronger, like what follows.

-The other types- and to me the best- are the glass nebulisers. They consist of a air pump base, similar to those you see in fish tanks (but nicer looking) and a glass top in which you add the essential oils. The air pulsed through a fine coiled tube into the oils allows them to be vaporized in a very efficient manner. You can actually see the fine steam coming out of the jar. Some models allow you to control the flow.

I recommend this type for respiratory conditions, when a quick and powerful action is needed. Just place the device next to you or under your nose for at least ten to fifteen minutes, but make sure you have true essential oils otherwise you may feel worse! This model works well to diffuse the oils during day and night as long as you plug it into a timer. That way you will not use too much oil at a time, and like I said previously, you can often adjust the flow.

To add a little comment, you may have noticed that some diffusers use heat while others use pulsed air to spread the essential oils in the air. Some manufacturers make the comments that their diffusers do not use heat, because heat damages the quality of the oils. Sorry but how do you get essential oils if it is not by distillation (and heat)? Heat is probably damaging on a long term, but surely not for once or twice and you do not wish to pour your 15 ml bottle into the ceramic bowl and re-heat it every day.

When purchasing a diffuser you have to make sure:

1- It will not set a fire (forget the candle unless you can stay close to it)
2- It is powerful enough to ensure the proper diffusion into the room or if any therapeutic action is needed
3- It is sold with an adapter to the standard of your country. Check the voltage and the shape of the power plug pins.
4- It is silent- Some (the air pump and fan models) are very noisy- You cannot sleep with them on!

I have included a list of reliable suppliers with excellent customer service in my top sites link on the right. You will find there what you need in the aromatherapy field.

Good shopping!

Until next time...Please do not hesitate to add your comments or questions, even a few words will do.

Always choose the best oils.Quality first!

How do you know the essential oil you buy is a good quality one?
Well..It is not an easy answer, because most people on the net and elsewhere claim they have the best essential oils. Some even pretend that they have organic oils but you cannot see any certificate of any kind. On the other hand, a certificate does not mean you get the best quality.
I bought some organic vegetable oils with the label, certificate and so on, but what I did receive was somewhat deceptive. For instance, I received organic shea butter but the product was totally white and odourless. When you know about the refinining and bleaching processes there is very few 'natural stuff' left in the product once it has been processed.
The boiling required also destroys natural vitamins occuring in the original product and changes the essential fatty acids into trans molecules renowed for their harmful properties.
Well, essential oils do not fall into that category, because they follow a distillation process, which involves heat, and they contain hydrocarbon molecules -not fatty acids-but still finding good quality essential oils is tricky.
One tip is asking for GC-MS analysis.
After asking many companies for GC-MS analysis , I realised not all of them are willing to do so. Why? It is simply because they do not test themselves the product. It is done by bigger companies -their suppliers- which provide them with the GC-MS analysis.
Sending this to you would reveal the origin of their supplier (thus concurrent).
For obvious reasons, some companies will not provide GC-MS to the public, but if you are a practitioner, then you have the right to ask for it.

To explain that point I will develop the idea:

Some chemotypes can have huge variations in chemical composition. You do not want to breathe a lavender high in camphor on a long period of time when you know that camphor is a neurotoxic- which means it causes some damage to the nerves.
On the other hand breathing the vapours of a true lavender would be harmless.
That example shows you that being curious about the composition of the little bottle is not a matter of curiosity only, but cautiousness.
If you are a practitioner like me, use camphor products with caution, do not swallow them and do not inhale them for long periods of time.
Essential oils containing camphor are: Spike lavender, lavender intermedia, Spanish rosemary, cinnamonum camphora (bark)-the leaves of the cinnamonum camphora contain essentially a terpene alcohol called linalool which is very safe.
the list can go on.

If you have bought a bottle of essential oil or if you are browsing in a shop make sure at least that you see on the label :

• The latin name of the plant with chemotype when applicable.
• The part of the plant from which the oil have been extracted -flowers(fl.), Bark (b), leaves (l), resin (r), roots
• The country of origin of the plant
• The batch number (B)or (BN)
• The country license or registration number
• The mention: pure essential oil
• The volume or weight of the essential oil.

Other informations like flashpoint temperature, density, optical rotation...Are a must. They will tell you how picky the supplier is...Which is always a good sign!

Hope this has been helpful to you.

If you do not agree or you have any comments, please do so, I will be glad to hear from you.