It’s no secret that pure peppermint essential oil smells good. The invigorating and refreshing fragrance has been the hallmark of this wondrous and versatile plant. Cultivated for nearly 5,000 years for its medicinal uses, peppermint oil has a proven track record as an effective ingredient in folk medicine and home remedies. Aside from peppermint essential oil’s well documented antibacterial and antifungal properties, its use as an uplifting aroma experience through an essential oil diffuser can have tremendous effects on mood and mental well-being.

Which Diffuser Is Right For You?

There are a variety of oil diffusers available on the market to meet a wide range of aroma needs. Commonly, diffusers can be broken into a couple of categories. The most basic and easiest to use are diffusers that use a tea light candle to heat a dish of neat—or undiluted—oil. Often referred to as essential oil burners, these diffuser options offer simplicity and ease of use paired with a low price. Homes with pets or children however are not always a good match for open flame and some users are understandably uncomfortable leaving a lit candle burning all day. Additionally, though inexpensive individually, the cost of replacement candles can add up.

The safer and more reliable style of essential oil diffuser plugs into the wall. Though electric options all work on the same principle, the exact aroma delivery method varies. Some work just like the candle-powered option, though instead of an open flame they rely on a hot coil to heat up the pool of essential oil. This variety is easy to use, safe, and hassle free.

For a more personal and more complete aroma experience, there are also atomizer and nebulizer options available on the market for use as essential oil diffusers. These systems turn your peppermint oil into small droplets to increase their evaporation into the air. Atomizer and nebulizer systems come in a variety of sizes ranging from a personal size all the way up to whole room sized models. Often the most expensive options for aroma, these systems deliver a powerful fragrance experience. When combined with the invigorating fragrance of pure peppermint essential oil, these advanced systems can deliver a powerfully mood elevating experience.

Adding a few drops of peppermint oil to a standard home humidifier will also work as an inexpensive option but be warned: the silicone and plastic components of household humidifiers will breakdown and degrade over time with continuous exposure to potent essential oils.

Using pure peppermint essential oil in a diffuser—whichever style suits you—is an effective way to increase focus, elevate mood, and fight depression-like symptoms. Essential oil diffusers are a great way to reap the time honored mood balancing and refreshing characteristics of pure and natural peppermint essential oil. Together with a cup of steaming tea, the revitalizing aroma of richly energizing peppermint filling a room can change a sluggish afternoon into a second wind.