Aromatherapy vaporisers are a quick and easy way to make your environment smell beautiful. In simple terms, they gently heat essential oils, turning them from a liquid into a vapour which then wafts through the air, filling your room with its beautiful smell.
Home comforts
Vaporisers may be used anywhere in the home or office. They can help to lift your spirits and relax you after a hard day's work. Their effects are subtle, and are better suited to raising your mood a little than to healing or focusing your concentration during meditation. You can buy vaporisers on any high street, or find more elaborate designs at new age shops or festivals.
How Vaporisers Work
Our ability to smell is caused by tiny molecules wafting in the air. When we breathe in these molecules, they are recognised by receptors in the nose. The information is then carried by nerves to the brain, including the areas responsible for emotions, behaviour and memory. The smell molecules also dissolve into our blood stream, allowing their active properties to start working.
Evaporation
Vaporisers heat essential oil, speeding the rate at which it evaporates. This means that the scent molecules pass into the air more rapidly, enabling you to breathe in more 'scent' in a shorter period of time.
Convection Currents
As the vaporiser warms the essential oil, it also heats the air around it. As hot air rises, this causes the air in the room to circulate, spreading the tiny molecules around more quickly
Candle Vaporisers
Candle vaporisers consist of a small bowl of oil and water suspended over a candle. The heat from the candle causes the oil to vaporise and evaporate into the air.
- Fill the vaporiser bowl with water, and add in three to five drops of essential oil. As the candle heats the bowl, the oil evaporates more quickly.
- Use a scented candle to blend your favourite aroma with the oil vapours.
Electronic vaporisers
In electronic vaporisers, electricity heats the oil. One kind of electronic vaporisers consists of a ceramic dish that plugs into the mains. Pour water and a few drops of oil onto the dish, and as it heats up, the oil will evaporate.
Another type is a small ceramic loop that fits over the bulb in a table lamp or light fitting. The bulb's heat evaporates the oil
Homemade heaters
If you don't want to buy a vaporiser, a good way to make your own is to simply put a small saucer or ceramic bottle on top of your radiator. You can also put a few drops onto a wet hankie, and drape this over a radiator or heater.