The 19 Best Essential Oil Diffusers to Make Your Home More Aromatherapeutic
There are plenty of ways to scent your home, but some methods are easier — and safer — than others. If you’ve spent any time on the internet lately, you know that essential oil diffusers are the newest trend, and for a good reason: They disperse natural oils into the air — lavender, eucalyptus, whatever you like — which can help to freshen up a room and reduce feelings of anxiety.
To the latter point, according to scientific studies, some essential oils may have the ability to interact with the brain and the nervous system to impact mood and health, which is hugely important for times when we’re spending the majority of our time indoors. One of the easiest (and most pleasant) ways to achieve these benefits is through aromatherapy, where these concentrated oils are breathed in, allowing them to stimulate the olfactory system in the brain. What’s more, even if you don’t see any magical healing effects from your diffuser, it’s still going to make your home smell sublime.
These amazing diffusers require only some water and a few drops of your favorite blend to turn your home or office into a stress-relieving oasis — just make sure you pick up some quality essential oils while you’re at it. According to New York City-based acupuncturist, Mila Mintsis, you can tell a brand sells high-quality essential oils if it specifically says it’s considered safe for internal consumption. “It will usually say on the bottle or company’s website, and in this case, you know for a fact that the company guarantees purity and high quality of its oils,” she previously told Allure.
Although you won’t be putting the essential oils directly on your skin when you’re using them in a diffuser, it’s still important to handle them correctly when pouring them into your chosen device. “Phototoxic reactions can be pretty nasty, regardless of whether you have sensitive skin,” Robert Tisserand, an essential oil educator, previously told Allure. Among the most phototoxic essential oils that you should be very careful to keep off of skin are bergamot, lemon, and lime. Cinnamon, clove, lemongrass, cassia, black pepper, and wintergreen all have the potential to irritate skin as well.
Now that you’re all caught up, it’s time to pick your perfect essential oil diffuser. Below are our current favorites — we know you’ll find your favorite here, too.
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Campo Ultrasonic Essential Oil Diffuser
Campo promises that its Ultrasonic Essential Oil Diffuser maintains your chosen essential oil’s properties by relying on ultrasonic vibrations — not heating or burning — to infuse the atmosphere. This sleek, looks-lovely-anywhere ceramic model also touts great safety features like auto-shutoff and LED light, making it as great for a kid’s room as it is for your own. Although they’re not included with diffuser itself, you may want to pick up some of Campo’s own awesome single-note or blended oils.
Vitruvi is one of the most trusted brands in the diffuser department, and it recently upped its amazing offerings with the Move Diffuser, a cordless, sleek, cylindrical model that to can take with you anywhere in the house. Once you add about 20 drops of your favorite essential oil, it runs up to eight hours (four if you choose a consistent stream) before needing to be charged, and it comes in seven stylish colors — we’re partial to Willow, the golden green pictured here.
If it weren’t for the occasional — or continuous — mist of essential oil, you might think the Saje Natural Wellness Aroma (Be) Free Matte White diffuser was a stunning contemporary art piece from a museum gift shop. All the more reason to make a space for it in your home. And because it’s cordless, you can bring its aesthetic and aromatherapeutic benefits anywhere you go.
Essential oil diffusers come in all shapes and sizes. As beautiful as many of them are, if you prefer a more discreet approach to scenting your space, the Greenair Greenspace Essential Oil Diffuser is your perfect match. Made for plugging into any outlet, this mini diffuser lets you add your chosen essential oil to the absorbent pad. A gentle heat then helps disperse the aroma into the room.
We’ve loved Aromatherapy Associates’ fragrant body-care products for as long as we can remember, but one of the brand’s best products is intended more for your mood than your skin. The Atomiser is a simple yet stunning ceramic diffuser that skips the water and lets you use less of your favorite essential oil — and lets you switch up the one you’re using extra easily — by using an air-compression technology that fills your space for up to three hours.
Is the LittleHippo Wispi technically intended for children? Absolutely. Is it so cute that you’re going to want to prominently display it in decidedly non-child areas of your home? Absolutely. In addition to an oil try compartment that makes it easy to switch out the essential oil of your choice, it also serves as a muticolor nightlight and — better yet — a humidifier with three mist levels, automatic detection of the room’s humidity, and up to 12 hours of use.
Playful yet understated in its design, the BluZen Butterfly Oil Diffuser creates a multisensory relaxing experience. In addition to its ultrasonic approach to releasing the aromatherapy of essential oils, it also gives off a warm, soothing light and even surrounds you with just a hint of mind-easing white noise. Choose from four different timing settings to get your ideal amount of misting.
Serene House’s Astro Diffuser offers three different timer settings, so go ahead and set this baby to run for 120 minutes if you tend to be restless at bedtime. The diffuser runs through seven shades of soothing LED light that gently glow through its frosted glass cover for an added chillout effect, and reviewers report that it produces a satisfyingly strong amount of steam for its small stature.
With over 2,500 reviews, the InnoGear diffuser is the No. 1 best-selling option in Amazon’s home fragrance accessories category. It has a gorgeous wood-grain exterior with seven light colors to choose from, or you can cycle through them all. It’s not just about appearances, though. It has four different time-output settings (one hour, three hours, six hours, and steady), a 200-milliliter tank, and a whisper-quiet function.
The Breathe Essential Oil Diffuser gives you a whopping 16 different LED light options to choose from — plus, the ability to adjust the level of brightness so you can tailor it to your mood. Additionally, it can run for up to 18 hours, allowing you to scent your room with whatever essential oil you love for almost a full day.
Seeking more of a natural look in a diffuser? Smiley Daisy’s Essential Oil Diffuser is an organic wood grain delight with a unique seed-pod design. It still offers color-changing LED light, but in a gentler, subtle strip through the center. Best of all, user reviews say the Hibiscus puts out one of the strongest streams of mist of any diffuser on the market.
Another best-seller in its category, Urpower’s Essential Oil Diffuser has a 130-milliliter tank that’s recommended for up to 215 square feet. It makes virtually zero noise while operating, and it’s available in either black or brown wood grain. Unlike others, the color-changing light comes from inside and shines out the top for a look that reviewers call “very sleek and modern.”
The most frequent complaint about essential oil diffusers is how small they are; most can only run for a few hours and fill a 200-square foot space with scent. Asakuki’s Premium Essential Oil Diffuser changes all that with a 700-milliliter tank that holds over twice as much water as most other models, making it capable of filling a living room or a yoga studio — or simply replacing your winter humidifier.
It’s hard to decide whether we like the Objecto W2 Aroma Diffuser as a diffuser or an objet d’art. And thankfully, we don’t have to. This high-performing diffuser releases a steady (and silent!) stream of vapor powerful enough to fill any room with subtle scent, but the wooden slatted casing is so eye-catching that you’ll want to give it the place of honor on your shelf.
The Homedics Connect Ultrasonic Aroma Diffuser isn’t your average diffuser. That’s because this compact, travel-friendly device shoots up to six hours of dry air-alleviating hydration and the built-in light changes colors. It even comes with three samples of essential oil blends to kick off your journey.
Swiss-engineered and designed, this ultrasonic diffuser is called Jasmine, and despite its unsuspecting size (five by three inches), it’s suitable for rooms up to 540 square feet. Its long-running time of 24 hours and low maintenance makes it ideal for both home and office, not to mention it has multiple mist-interval settings and a safety shut-off feature.
For a dramatic-yet-soothing light show and three hours of continuous mist, there’s this Spa Room Pure Mist aromatherapy diffuser. Its translucent light panel covers most of the machine and cycles through a rainbow of colors. It also has an automatic shut-off function, just in case the glow puts you to sleep.
Because it’s reliable, diffuses for up to seven hours, and has an extremely impressive output, reviewers have given the Gurunanda Honeycomb Diffuser a near five-star rating. It also has a built-in, color-changing light, unique honeycomb design, and comes with two preselected essential oils to get you started. If you want to try a different scent than the two that come with your diffuser, Gurunanda has quite the expansive selection.
Due to its silent ultrasonic diffusion method and its white ceramic exterior, the Airome Ultrasonic Harmony Diffuser is both quieter and more attractive than most other models. According to reviewers, it’s surprisingly small (holding about one cup of water), yet “puts out a nice amount of oil” and “lasts most of the day.”