Have you ever wondered about the vast array of diffusers that are available on the market?

What are the different types of essential oil diffusers, and how do you know which one to use for which purpose? Is one type better than the others?

I’ve been using the Young Living diffusers for over 20 years, and I absolutely love them, as well as having a good understanding of the technology behind them. However, I also took the opportunity to contact Young Living for their perspective, because I wanted to understand what distinguishes their diffusers from other brands.

Enjoy the read, and I’m sure you will learn some fascinating facts along the way!

What makes Young Living diffusers special? 

In 1998 when I first joined Young Living, oil burners were all the rage. They used a little candle underneath a ceramic pot. You’d pop your essential oil into the ceramic pot, and light the candle. The heat from the candle would evaporate your essential oil, and bring a beautiful aroma into your home or treatment room.

The issue with oil burners is that the essential oil diffuses into the atmosphere due to heating…and when we are working with a Young Living oil that is so carefully produced in order to preserve all those fragile heat-sensitive constituents that make up the essential oil’s “fingerprint”, heating is the last thing we want to do to our oil.

Gary Young, the Founder of Young Living, recognised this issue, so he brought into our range a “nebulising style” diffuser (also known as an “atomising diffuser”). It had a simple metal base with a hole in it that you popped your essential oils into, and it had a moulded glass funnel where the vaporised oil would mist from (see pic below).

It used a simple aquarium pump to generate air that would mist through the essential oil. This air would blow the essential oil particles up through a maze-like chamber which breaks the particles up even more, until they exit the diffuser as a very fine mist.

The beauty of this style of diffuser is that it can disperse essential oils into the atmosphere without using heat, so that the precious qualities of the oil remain intact.

I loved my original atomising diffuser. I loved that it used only essential oils and no water. This makes for a much more potent aromatic experience, and a much larger coverage area.

In fact, I often diffused my oils in my third floor unit in Caloundra, and guests would enter the building (7 flights down) and smell my essential oils! How amazing is that!

But of course, using only neat essential oils (20 drops at a time) did mean that I went through my essential oils a lot faster than with the modern ultrasonic-style diffusers.

Why choose an Atomising Diffuser?

If you are wanting to diffuse in your bathroom after washing the walls with a mix of Thieves oil and Thieves Household Cleaner (in order to keep mould and mildew spores at bay), then using an atomising diffuser is the way to go. It’s also the very best way to purify the air, in order to kill airborne mould and bacteria.

And that makes sense. Mould grows in moist environments, so diffusing essential oils with water is ideal in most situations and most homes…but not if you have a mould problem.

So that’s the up-side of having an atomising diffuser. However, there are some downsides as well. Firstly, the glass funnel (head) on this above model can break…and fortunately Young Living sells replacement glass funnels, however that’s one of the risks when you have a piece of moulded glass as part of your diffuser – breakages can happen.

Secondly, these diffusers can clog more easily, so they are best used with the lighter essential oils – ones that are less resinous or thick, and ideally not mixed with a carrier oil.

And the atomising diffusers are also just a tiny bit noisy, meaning that you can hear a little spurting sound as the air runs through the essential oil, in order to break it up and mist it into the atmosphere.

Nowadays, Young Living has a couple of types of atomising diffuser. There is the AromaLux diffuser (pictured below), which does not have glass in it, so it’s a more durable type than the original glass and metal one that I started with. And there is the style I started with, which is sold through Young Living AU/NZ as a “Diffuser Complete” (available in bronze and green).

Why choose an Ultrasonic Diffuser?

Although the atomising diffusers have their advantages, they’ve fast become overtaken with a new technology in diffusers, which is the ultrasonic diffuser. In fact, virtually all diffusers sold nowadays are based on ultrasonic technology.

Ultrasonic diffusers have a small ceramic plate that sits at the base of a water reservoir and vibrates at 1.7 million times a second!!! This very fast vibration turns the liquid essential oil (and water) into mist, without using heat. And water is an advantage in many dry climates, acting as a natural humidifier.

So yes, the Ultrasonic diffusers do require water to be added. It’s interesting that tap or mineral water is recommended for the Aria and Rainstone Diffusers. Tap and mineral water contain mineral molecules that can conduct electricity, which enables these diffusers to work properly. In fact, the water sensor can only function properly with water that contains minerals. Purified and distilled water do not contain enough mineral molecules for proper function.

One of the main advantages of this style of diffuser is that they are virtually silent…certainly quieter than the atomising type. And you don’t need to use as much essential oil in order to get a beautiful aroma misting through your home. So it’s a gentler style of diffuser for children, animals and the elderly….and it still satisfies oil addicts like me, because instead of just adding 5 to 10 drops to my diffuser, I can add 20 to 25 drops for a more intense aromatic experience.

And they are less expensive to manufacture than the atomising style diffuser, so they tend to have a lower price tag, depending of course on the materials used.

Young Living’s range of Ultrasonic Diffusers

Young Living loves to surprise us with new styles of ultrasonic diffusers, to suit every decor and every personality. So you have many different looks and styles to choose from….including limited offer ones that are produced for special occasions, such as Valentine’s Day.

Their everyday range includes the Lantern, Aria, Desert Mist, DewDrop, Rainstone, Feather the Owl, Lucia and Lustre Artisan….and  sometimes they will offer colour variations on these favourites, such as “Snowy the Owl” or a Charcoal Lantern diffuser (instead of white), or a White Aria Diffuser (instead of a natural bamboo base). And Young Living also offer USB style diffusers which make a great travel option, such as the Orb diffuser.

My personal favourite ultrasonic diffuser is the Lantern Diffuser. Its metal and glass construction lends for a very elegant and smart design, and I love that it has 11 different light settings that I can choose from, so that the colour can match whatever colours are around it. It even has a natural flickering candle light option, which is beautiful both day and night.

Having said that, many of Young Living’s ultrasonic diffusers have this wide range of light options, so firstly find the one that looks right for you, then check out its features. Most of the diffusers have the option to run for 6 to 10 hours, and even longer on intermittent mode, eg. 1 minute on and 1 minute off. And some of the diffusers such as Feather the Owl, Snowy the Owl and the Aria diffuser also come with sound options.

But Young Living is not the only company to recognise the need for a diverse range of diffusers. With the advent of the ultrasonic diffusers, we see a huge influx of designs and styles available in many shops.

What makes the Young Living diffusers special?

1. The plastics used in Young Living’s diffusers are BPA free. In fact, Young Living have conducted tests on the plastics used for their diffusers to ensure all plastics are stable and do NOT break down when in contact with essential oils. This is important, because you don’t want your beautiful diffuser to turn into a toxic generator (emitting harmful chemicals).

2. Young Living also offers a one year warranty from the date of purchase to cover any manufacturer defects in the diffuser. If the care, cleaning and usage directions in the manual are followed, product defects are extremely rare, and the actual life span of the diffuser is typically well beyond the warranty time frame, providing proper care is taken.

Discover your favourite diffuser – here’s how to order

If you have a wholesale account with Young Living, order through the shopping cart on your virtual office, or via phone or live chat with your local Young Living office.

If it’s been more than 12 months since you’ve ordered, or you’ve never set up an account, reach out to the person who introduced you to Young Living. You will need their member number when you place your first order.