Aroma lamp: choosing the right one and using it correctly

Do you want to fall asleep on the ocean shore today, find yourself in an alpine meadow tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow feel like you’re walking among resinous pine trees warmed by the sun? Nothing could be simpler. You don't even need to leave your home to do this! Buy an aroma lamp, and your ocean breeze, fresh mountain wind and heady woody spirit - as well as hundreds of other favorite smells - will always be with you.

What are aroma lamps for and what are they?

Even 10 years ago, which seemed like an incredible curiosity, today aroma lamps have firmly taken their place in our homes and apartments. And there are many reasons for this.

1. They successfully replace air fresheners. Moreover, if the latter regularly contain polymers, artificial fragrances and other unpleasant “chemicals” (it is not for nothing that Rospotrebnadzor classifies air fresheners as low-hazard, but still not harmless substances), then good quality oil does not suffer from this drawback.
2. They don't limit your imagination. The same aerosol can produces a single aroma, while oils can be combined in different proportions, creating the atmosphere of your home with your own hands.
3. Many oils have antibacterial and antiviral effects, which makes them an excellent preventative against colds, especially during epidemics.
4. The dancing flame of a candle creates a special coziness, cleanses the air of unpleasant odors, and in combination with your favorite aromas helps you relax, get rid of negative emotions and tune in to a positive mood. Experts in subtle matters, by the way, assure that the combination of flame and essential oils leads to harmony in the energy of the room.
5. A stylish, tasteful aroma lamp can become an effective decorative element. Fortunately, their choice today is almost unlimited - with a little effort, you are sure to find exactly the one that fits perfectly into the interior of your home.

In short, you have at least 5 reasons to get a new cute and useful accessory for your home. But before you go to the store, it’s a good idea to clearly imagine what exactly you want to find there. There are different types of aroma lamps:

• According to the heating method, they are divided into classical, electric and catalytic (flameless) combustion lamps;
• by material - glass, ceramic, stone, metal and combined (for example, combining glass and stone or metal);
• in size - any, from very miniature to quite bulky and heavy.

In this case, all models operate on the same principle: an aromatic composition, mixed based on water or alcohol and essential oils, is poured into a container specially designed for this and heated until the fragrant cocktail begins to evaporate and fills the air with pleasant aromas. The whole difference is what kind of mixture to use and how to heat it.

On average, an aroma lamp can refresh and disinfect the air in a room up to 20 m in size².

The subtleties of choice

If the appearance of a future home improvement is entirely determined by the individual preferences of its owners, then other characteristics - material, principle of operation, safety - require additional study. After all, you will be using this thing for many years, so you need to approach the selection process thoroughly.

Depending on the material

A good aroma lamp will have at least two advantages: relatively light weight so that it can be easily moved from place to place, and an easy-to-clean water bowl. The best choice in this regard would be glass, as well as any ceramics from primitive clay to porcelain or its heavier and more expensive cousin, slip. The range of prices for such lamps is wide, but rarely reaches sky-high heights, so you can easily find a model that suits your wallet and taste.

In second place are aroma lamps made of metal. They are reliable, durable, easily fit into interiors made in a wide variety of styles, and are quite affordable, although they are inferior in this regard to their cheaper ceramic counterparts. True, there is a risk that an unscrupulous manufacturer skimped on the material and used a metal that can react with the active substances of the oil, but it is easy to avoid this danger: just buy a metal lamp with a glass bowl.

Stone aroma lamps are less common than those made of ceramics and metal, but not because they are inferior in quality. Quite the contrary! Natural stone does not form harmful compounds with oils, heats up well, is easy to keep clean... Perhaps the only pronounced disadvantage of such lamps is their high cost - primarily due to the not-cheapest production method (most of the work is done manually). But how luxurious such a trinket will look on a table or shelf in your room! How mysteriously will the candle flame, hidden behind the through stone carving, begin to flicker!..

According to the principle of work

If you are a convinced connoisseur of the classics, and the contemplation of an evenly burning flame has a calming effect on you, the choice is undoubtedly worth choosing the classic version of the aroma lamp. The water in it is heated with the help of special tablet candles, the reserves of which must be regularly replenished, but otherwise the lamp does not cause problems for the owner. Unless it requires increased caution in operation, especially if you have small children and curious pets in your apartment - whatever one may say, every time you use it, you will be dealing with open fire.

Catalytic lamps, reminiscent of a bottle of fine perfume, act somewhat differently. They are a vessel with an aromatic liquid containing a certain amount of alcohol, a burner and a wick, due to the smoldering of which the evaporation of aromatic substances occurs. Be careful, it’s easy to burn your fingers on the burner of a catalytic Aram lamp, even after the flame itself has already been extinguished!

Electric aroma lamps will definitely appeal to lovers of technical innovations and those for whom thoughts of a fire prevent them from peacefully enjoying their favorite scents. Due to the absence of fire, it is extremely difficult to get burned on such a lamp, and the constant temperature of the bowl, which is provided by electric heating, causes the oil to evaporate less intensely.

It follows that you will have to buy new bottles with fragrant contents less often. In addition, many users claim that aromas “sound” cleaner when the subtle smell of a burning wick is not mixed in with them.

Electric aroma lamps can be powered by an outlet, batteries, or even... from a laptop. In the latter case, the miniature device is connected to the USB port of the computer, like a regular flash drive, and while working you are enveloped in a cloud of pleasant aroma.

To size

Do you think that everything really depends on the wishes of the future owners? Not really. Be sure to ensure that:

• the volume of the water bowl was at least 30, and preferably 50 ml - this way its contents will be heated evenly;
• the bowl itself was located at a height of 7 to 10 cm from the bottom of the aroma lamp - otherwise it would either overheat from the proximity of the flame, or, conversely, would not reach the desired temperature. The exception is tall open structures in which ordinary decorative candles can be used.

How to use an Arama lamp?

It all depends on which model you chose.

classical

1. Ventilate the room well.
2. Pour a few tablespoons of clean water into the bowl.
3. Add your chosen essential oil. At first, 3-5 drops will be enough, although over time, through experience, you will be able to establish the optimal amount of fragrant additives for yourself.
4. Light a candle and place it under the bottom of the bowl.
5. Let the lamp burn for 15–20 minutes and turn it off. You shouldn’t stretch out the first sessions to an hour or more, as the “old-timers” of aromatherapy do, otherwise you risk getting a migraine.
6. Allow the bowl to cool so as not to burn your fingers, and wash it by carefully pouring the remaining scented water into the sink.

Do not allow the liquid to boil completely. The author of these lines, for example, once left a candle in the lamp longer than expected and ended up with a glass bowl disfigured by stubborn oily stains. And she got off easy, since an empty container could crack in no time from contact with a flame.

Important! Do not leave a burning candle unattended and do not keep flammable objects near it. Even miniature “tablets” in secure foil cups can cause a fire.

Catalytic

1. Ventilate the room.
2. Fill the aroma lamp vessel with a fragrant mixture specially designed for this purpose.
3. Insert the wick and let it soak thoroughly with the liquid. This usually takes 20 minutes, but to be sure, it’s better to wait half an hour.
4. Place a burner on the neck of the vessel and light the wick.
5. After 1,5–2 minutes, blow out the flame. The lamp will continue to work, turning the liquid filling it into fragrant vapors.
6. After another 15–20 minutes, turn off the burner by covering it with the cap.

Do not fill the lamp more than ¾ full, do not let the liquid evaporate to the limit, and do not use foreign mixtures. Only those intended for aroma lamps, and flameless combustion!

Electrical

Thanks to the efforts of manufacturers competing with each other, electric aroma lamps often have several built-in functions, so take the time to study the instructions included with your purchase. It will allow you to avoid mistakes when working with a delicate device and not be disappointed with the result.

Is it permissible to replace essential oil with perfume on occasion? If we are talking about a catalytic lamp, definitely not. But for its classic and electric products, exceptions are possible - for example, you can add a few drops of handmade perfume, created on the basis of the same natural oils, to a bowl of water. As for synthetic perfumes, their use in aroma lamps is not only undesirable, but even contraindicated.

How to wash properly

...And is it worth doing this, because everything that you don’t scrape off from its walls today will simply evaporate the next time you use the bowl? Alas, it will not evaporate, but rather burn, and in an unpredictable way it will mix with a new portion of oils, ruining your aromatherapy session, so you should wash the lamp very carefully. And at the same time follow a few mandatory rules:

• do not start cleaning until the bowl has cooled down, so that a sudden change in temperature does not lead to the appearance of cracks on its surface;
• use a soft sponge and regular dishwashing liquid, and only in rare cases when the walls are too dirty - baking soda;
• If you can’t get rid of the smell of oils, rinse a clean bowl with a glass of water with a spoonful of vinegar diluted in it.

Do not forget to periodically wipe the lamp itself with a damp soft cloth to prevent dust from accumulating on it.

Recipes for fragrant compositions

Over time, every enthusiastic owner of an aroma lamp becomes bored with using this or that oil with an annoying smell, and he begins to create his own multi-component compositions. One thing is bad: in order to collect a high-quality bouquet from disparate aromas, you need to have either an excellent sense of smell or experience. If you don’t have either of these yet, use ready-made recipes for fragrant mixtures for any occasion.

appointment	Essential oils	Quantity	appointment	Essential oils	Quantity
For a good mood	clove	1 drop	For a sound sleep, option 1	sandal	2 drops
	bergamot	1 drop		neroli	2 drops
	marjoram	1 drop		Р ° Р ° РґР ° РЅ	1 drop
	Pine	1 drop	For a sound sleep, option 2	lavender	4 drops
	lemon	1 drop		camomile	4 drops
For relaxation	fir	5 drops	Tonic mixture	juniper	3 drops
	juniper	4 drops		cedar	2 drops
	mint	3 drops		marjoram	2 drops
For colds	tea tree	7 drops	To create a playful mood	jasmine	4 drops
	eucalyptus	5 drops		rose	4 drops
	lavender	1 drop		sandal	2 drops
To add a romantic touch to the atmosphere	ylang-ylang	1 drop		bergamot	2 drops
	sandal	1 drop	To excite desire in men	ginger	3 drops
	patchouli	1 drop		patchouli	3 drops
	rose	1 drop		bergamot	3 drops
	bergamot	3 drops		cinnamon	2 drops

The benefits and harms of aroma lamps

We talked a lot about the benefits of the fashionable craze for aromatherapy using special lamps at the beginning of this article. They allow you to create a pleasant atmosphere in the room, disinfect the air, relieve stress and have the most beneficial effect on both health and our mood.

However, even relatively harmless essential oils can cause serious problems if used incorrectly:

• first of all, they often cause allergies, so start your sessions with caution;
• fragrant vapors of some oils - sweet dill, rosemary, birch, sage, thyme and others - are strictly not recommended for epileptics and pregnant women to inhale in order to avoid unpleasant consequences for well-being;
• and even the owner of iron health will not avoid complications if he is carried away by aromas beyond measure. For example, recent studies in Taiwan have shown that bergamot oil, which relieves loss of energy, bad mood and insomnia, when inhaled its vapors for more than half an hour causes increased blood pressure, headaches and disturbances in the heart. This also applies to other smells, so know when to stop.

Aroma lamp and aroma diffuser

Classic ceramic and stone bowls that evaporate oils using the light of a candle are known to many. Electrical appliances are less common, but are also in demand. But the aroma diffuser is a mystery to many. What is it and can this mysterious device be attributed to the glorious family of aroma lamps?

Let's start with the fact that there are three types of Arama diffusers.

The first option looks like a bottle with aromatic liquid. Open it, drop a few thin splinters inside and... that's it. Sticks made from rattan or bamboo will be soaked in the odorous mixture and fill the room with the chosen aroma - the thicker you stick them into the bottle, the richer the atmosphere will be. There are virtually no precautions when handling such an aram diffuser; you just have to find a suitable place for it and make sure that curious younger family members do not tip the entire structure over on themselves.

The second option looks like a simple ceramic figurine, onto which you need to spray the selected aroma from time to time. The porous material will delay the evaporation of volatile substances and keep the smell in the room for a long time.

The third version of the arama diffuser is often called an aroma lamp, but not an ordinary one, but an ultrasonic one. Oil evaporation is achieved through the action of ultrasonic waves, which break the liquid into tiny droplets and emit it into the air as clouds of steam. No high temperatures, no fire hazard - some models don't even require adding water, making them convenient for use in cars. True, such devices easily fail, so you will have to handle them very carefully.

An original air freshener, a meditation aid, a means to strengthen the immune system, a personal antidepressant, or just a tribute to a fashion trend... It doesn’t matter what the aroma lamp becomes for you personally, the main thing is that it fully meets your needs. Therefore, approach your choice with the utmost seriousness, having studied in detail the advantages and disadvantages of each model - this way you will definitely choose the best option for yourself and will be satisfied with the purchase.

Well, all that remains is to enjoy using it, turning your apartment either into a blooming garden, or into a forest thicket, or into a pastry shop or bakery with sweet fruit pies - depending on your mood.