Essential oils and diffusers: choosing, diluting and diffusing

Essential oils are a small, simple way to make a room, a bath or a quiet evening feel different. We start most people with LightWater, a small-batch maker right here in Halifax, then help them pick a diffuser and learn how to dilute safely.

This guide covers our favourite blends, the single oils people ask for most, how to dilute essential oils with a carrier oil, which diffuser suits which room, and a few safety habits for homes with kids and pets. Essential oils are natural, but they're strong, so a little know-how goes a long way. You can browse everything in our aromatherapy and oils collection.

What are essential oils?

Essential oils are the aromatic compounds extracted from plant parts: flowers, leaves, needles, bark, resin, roots and citrus peel. Most are steam-distilled, while citrus oils are extracted by cold-pressing the peel, a simpler process. A good bottle lists the common name, the Latin name (true lavender is Lavandula angustifolia), the plant part and the country of origin, so you know exactly what you're getting.

They're very concentrated. It takes a lot of plant material to fill a small bottle, which is why a drop or two goes a long way and why essential oils are diluted before they touch skin. They're also different from fragrance oils, which are blended to smell a certain way and turn up in many perfumes, lotions, creams and candles. When we say essential oil, we mean the plant itself. Check the ingredients: "fragrance" or "parfum" on a label usually means a fragrance blend rather than essential oils.

LightWater: essential oils made in Halifax

LightWater makes small-batch essential oil blends, candles and body care here in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with simple ingredient lists and thoughtful scents. It's the line we feature first in the aromatherapy section at both stores, and the one we reach for when someone wants a ready-made blend instead of building their own.

Each scent comes in several formats: a 10 mL essential oil blend for your diffuser, a ready-diluted wellness roller, an everyday mist and, for some scents, a candle or massage oil. The names match across formats, so you can find a blend you love and then choose how you'd like to use it. Most LightWater scents are in stock online as well as in store.

LightWater essential oil blends

The 10 mL blends come with a dropper for your diffuser, a bath, or a body oil you mix yourself. Several use certified organic oils, like the black spruce, pine and laurel leaf in Winter Woods. These are the ones people ask us about most.

Wellness rollers: already diluted

The wellness rollers are the same blends, ready-diluted at 7% in fractionated coconut oil, in a 10 mL bottle with a leakproof rollerball, ready to be applied straight to skin. Roll a little onto your wrists, the back of your neck or behind your ears, then breathe in. For Resilience, roll some into your palms, rub them together, cup your hands over your nose and take a slow breath in.

Warm, spicy blends like Folklore have cassia in them, so try a little on your inner wrist first. The rollers fit in a pocket or bag, and they make easy stocking stuffers.

Everyday mists

The everyday mists are essential oils in distilled spring water and alcohol-free witch hazel, in a 120 mL bottle with a fine spray top. Shake, then spritz the air, your sheets and pillow before bed, or yourself when you need a refresh in the afternoon or a pause on a stressful day. Keep one in your desk drawer or gym bag, and keep the spray away from your eyes.

A massage oil for self care

Ebb+Flow Massage Oil blends apricot, safflower, pomegranate and jojoba oils with copaiba, bergamot, palmarosa, clary sage, magnolia, geranium and lavender. It comes in a 120 mL bottle with a pump top, ready to use with no mixing.

LightWaterEbb+Flow Massage OilApricot, pomegranate and jojoba oils with a floral, citrusy blend. 120 mL pump bottle.Shop →

LightWater candles

LightWater candles are the only candles at Luminate scented purely with essential oils, with no fragrance oils at all. Each is a 198 g jar of coconut soy wax in one of the blend scents: Winter Woods, Folklore, Resilience or Relax. Trim the wick to 1/4" before every burn and let the first burn melt the wax to the edge of the jar. Our guide to Nova Scotia candles has the rest of the local candle shelf.

Find a scent you love first, then choose how you'd like to use it: diffuser, roller or mist.

Which essential oils should you start with?

Lavender, peppermint, eucalyptus, lemon and an evergreen like black spruce cover most of what people want from a first collection: something soft, something fresh, something bright and something woodsy. Add tea tree for the cleaning cupboard and you have a very useful little shelf.

Divine Essence bottles certified organic essential oils in Quebec, each one labelled with its Latin name, plant part and country of origin. Its True Lavender is distilled from Provence lavender, and its black spruce is the tree of the Canadian boreal forest. NOW essential oils come in 30 mL bottles, a handy size for the oils you diffuse every day.

How do you dilute essential oils?

Mix them into a carrier oil before they go on your skin. A carrier oil is a plain plant oil, like fractionated coconut, jojoba or sweet almond, that spreads the essential oil out. For most everyday body oils, the usual recommended dilution is 1 to 2%: about 2 to 4 drops of essential oil in 10 mL (two teaspoons) of carrier oil.

Drop sizes vary from bottle to bottle, so treat these as a rough guide. 30 mL is about two tablespoons. You can also stir a drop or two into an unscented lotion, cream or other products you already use, like body oils.

To mix a 2% massage oil:

1. Start with the carrier. Pour 30 mL of carrier oil into a clean glass bottle.
2. Add 12 drops in total. For example, 6 drops of lavender, 4 of cedarwood and 2 of orange.
3. Swirl and label. Cap it, swirl gently, and write the oils and the date on the bottle.
4. Patch test. Dab a little on your inner forearm and wait a day before using it more widely.
5. Store it well. Keep it capped, away from heat and sunlight.

What is the best carrier oil for diluting essential oils?

The one that suits your skin and what you're making. Fractionated coconut oil is light, odourless and stays liquid, which is why it's the classic for rollers. Jojoba is a very stable liquid wax that keeps well and suits face oils and hair. Sweet almond oil is light with almost no scent, a good all-round massage oil. Apricot kernel and grapeseed are light, easy options too.

Do all essential oils need to be diluted?

For skin contact, yes, as a rule. A diffuser or a mist doesn't need a carrier, because the oil is dispersed in the air and inhaled, or already mixed into water and witch hazel. A few oils, tea tree being the classic, are sometimes dabbed on a small spot by the drop, so follow the label for each one. Keep all essential oils away from your eyes.

Which type of essential oil diffuser is best?

It depends on the room and how strong you like the scent. Ultrasonic diffusers turn water and a few drops of oil into a cool mist, and they're the most popular choice for bedrooms and living rooms. Nebulizers use no water or heat and send out pure oil, so the aroma is stronger and fills a bigger space. Passive diffusers, like diffuser stones, need no power at all.

Our diffusers come from The Aroma Counter. The Ouda has a 300 mL tank that runs for up to 10 hours and covers up to 530 square feet, a good pick for an open-plan space. The ceramic Tulum holds 100 mL, runs for up to six hours and covers up to 300 square feet. The Ona nebulizer covers up to 1,000 square feet from a blown-glass chamber on a wooden base. The Pebble set is three bamboo-and-plaster stones, each covering about 160 square feet.

Browse every model in our diffusers and nebulizers collection.

How do you use an essential oil diffuser?

Fill the tank with water, add a few drops of oil, and run it in short sessions. These habits keep the scent pleasant and the diffuser working well.

1. Fill to the line. Use cool or room-temperature water and don't overfill the tank.
2. Start with 3 to 5 drops. That's plenty for a 100 mL tank. Add more for a bigger tank or room only if you want it stronger.
3. Run it for 30 to 60 minutes. Then give the room a break. Short, frequent sessions work better than running it all day. Most ultrasonic diffusers have a timer and shut off when the water runs low.
4. Rinse between scents. Citrus and spicy oils linger, so empty, rinse and dry the tank when you switch blends.
5. Clean it weekly. Wipe the tank and give it a rinse with a little white vinegar and water to clear any residue.

Is it safe to breathe essential oils in a diffuser?

For most homes, diffusing a few drops in a room with a little fresh air, for short sessions, is an everyday pleasure. You don't need hours of exposure to enjoy a scent. If anyone in the house finds it too strong, open a window and switch it off, and give pets and little ones a room they can leave. If scent sensitivity is a concern in your home, a passive diffuser stone in a closet or drawer is a gentler option.

Essential oil safety at home

Patch test new blends. Dab a little of the diluted oil on your inner forearm and wait a day. Go gently with warm and minty oils. Certain essential oils, like cinnamon, clove, cassia and peppermint, are strong, so keep them at the low end of the dilution chart. Mind the sun with citrus. Some cold-pressed citrus oils, like bergamot and lime, can make skin more sensitive when it's exposed to sunlight, so save them for the diffuser or wash-off products on a sunny day.

Use each product as sold. Remember that rollers, mists and massage oils are already diluted, so use them straight from the bottle, and read the directions so you use each product safely. Keep scent levels gentle in small rooms and bedrooms.

Store them well. Heat, light and air wear essential oils down, so it's important to keep the caps tight and the bottles in a cool, dark cupboard. Citrus oils fade fastest, and woods and resins keep longest.

What essential oils should you not mix together?

For diffusing, mixing is mostly a question of scent. Oils from the same family, like citrus with citrus or woods with resins, always get along, and some pairings just work: lavender and cedarwood, lemon and peppermint, orange, clove and cinnamon, black spruce and bergamot. Start with two or three oils, and use fewer drops of the strong ones, like peppermint and cinnamon.

Questions we get a lot

Is there a Canadian essential oil company?

Yes. LightWater makes its blends, rollers, mists and candles in small batches here in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Divine Essence bottles certified organic essential oils in Quebec. Both are on our aromatherapy shelf at either store.

What is the best brand of essential oils in Canada?

The one that tells you exactly what's in the bottle: the Latin name, the plant part and where it was grown. We start people with LightWater for ready-made blends, Divine Essence for organic single oils, and NOW for everyday oils in larger bottles.

What scents feel calming?

Lavender is the classic, and many people find cedarwood, ylang ylang and sandalwood soothing too. LightWater Relax brings lavender, cedarwood and ylang ylang together, and the mist works well on a pillow at night.

Can I add essential oils to a bath?

Yes, but mix them first. Oil and water don't blend, so stir a few drops into a spoonful of carrier oil or unscented body wash before you add it to the bath.

Do essential oils go off?

They slowly lose their scent once opened. Keep them capped, upright and somewhere cool and dark, and use citrus oils first, since they fade fastest.

Essential oils, carrier oils and diffusers are in the aromatherapy section at both stores: 486 Starboard Drive in Bedford and 590 Portland Street in Dartmouth, open seven days. In HRM, order by 11 am with Luminate Express for same-day delivery, or choose pickup. Anywhere else in Canada, orders over $80 ship free.

Sources: Mountain Rose Herbs, essential oil dilution guide. This article is general information, not medical advice.