A few months ago, Patricia Musevi, a homeowner, noticed that her hotel room had a unique scent. She wanted her home to smell as inviting as the hotel room. Making inquiries about the fragrances, she learned about the reed lavender diffuser.
In many homes, lavender scents nowadays waft through the living room, while frankincense and sandalwood perfume the bedrooms. Homeowners have ditched the scented candles or sprays and now use essential oil diffusers.
As the home fragrances market in Kenya grows, the scents are increasingly being delivered by higher-tech devices.
“The scent matches nicely with the decor in my home. It also comes with a remote control to adjust the settings of the diffuser. But the best feature was it made each room in my home smell identical to the hotel,” Ms Musevi says.
Home decor retailers are now stocking from low-cost home fragrances to a higher end: compact yet high-powered diffusers that infuse scents of calming aromas throughout a room for hours or days at a time.
Diffusers are now becoming the ultimate interior dressing, giving the spaces calming aromas and a promise of a fresh breeze.
Richard Gikonyo, who sells varieties of diffusers and is also the founder of Rickys Home Interiors in Nairobi says a diffuser is used to fill the air in a room with tiny, breathable particles of beneficial essential oils, giving the room a calmer, more pleasant-smelling ambience.
“Not only a relaxing ritual and gratifying way to scent your home, but the use of diffusers can also deliver aromatherapeutic benefits to the body and mind. Whether you want a specific oil or blend to uplift and invigorate, or one to set a calming ambiance, you can tailor the use of an aromatherapy diffuser to set the scene for your mood,” he says.
There are four main types of diffusers including; ultrasonic, evaporative, heat, and nebulizing, with each having its unique method for getting essential oils into the air.
Some diffusers use electricity, or heat and those that do not require any form of power to function.
“Currently in the market, there are reed diffusers and essential oil diffusers. Both of them can be used in homes and even offices. They can be used in living rooms, bedrooms, washrooms, and kitchens,” says Mr Gikonyo.
“The basic rule of thumb is that they work by evaporating the essential oils hence emitting the fragrance into the air. You simply add an essential oil of your preference to water and pop. There you have your aroma.”
The essential oil comes in different scents such as coconut, lavender, peach, and strawberry among others.
“While ultrasonic diffusers rely on water to evaporate essential oils, nebulising diffusers rely on an air-jet pump to blow the air across the top of the tube,” he says.
A reed diffuser lasts for two to three months. It gives the option of regulating the concentration of aroma by changing the number of reeds. Jane Muthomi, another home fragrances stockist currently has rose, cologne, violet, jasmine and green tea.
“Each set contains 12 pieces of 3ml essential oils selling for Sh700,” she says.
So far the business she says is doing well as a lot of people are buying the products due to increased awareness.
Faith Nekesa has been selling the diffusers since 2017. She says people are gradually becoming more aware of the diffusers.
“Gone are the days when home aroma simply implies splashing artificial fragrance around the home to mask scents. Today, the home aroma is as much a piece of home style as any piece of furniture,” says Ms Nekesa.
She knew about the diffusers six years ago online.
She clears her stock in less than a week.
“This is because diffusers can cover up to approximately 4000 square feet. They come in different sizes as well as weights varying from 130ml to 3.5 litres in size and between 500g to 2kg in weight. The scent can last for 24 hours,” she says.
Mr Gikonyo says they import them from China and sell them from Sh700 to Sh4,000.
Reasons for using a diffuser for home
Ms Nekesa says essential diffusers not only perfume the home but also ease stress and anxiety. Their sense of smell is known to activate the emotional centres of the brain, therefore, improving the general mood.
To buy an ideal diffuser for your home, Ms Nekesa says one has to put into consideration many factors including;
Timer: A timer will allow you to set the rate at which you are diffusing the oil in the air. Having a timer is an essential feature for an essential oil diffuser since it will help you customize the intensity of oils in the air.
Portable: A portable-sized diffuser will help you easily relocate the diffuser from one place to another allowing you to reap the benefits of aromatherapy at home or the office or wherever you go.
Auto Switch Off: A good diffuser should have an automatic switch-off feature. This will help save electricity even if you forget to turn off the diffuser. It will also make sure that essential oil is not wasted.
Functionality and form: Always choose a diffuser that does not only provide form but also function. While there are a lot of diffusers that look cool and stylish, they might also offer lesser functionality.
Mr Gikonyo adds that one should also avoid heat. “If you want to utilize the full potential of essential oils you should avoid diffusing essential oils by using heat. Using heat can disrupt the chemical composition of essential oils hence compromising on its effectiveness.”
The size of the diffuser as per room dimensions he says also matters a lot. “Choose your diffuser depending on the size of the room. Some diffusers can cover more area than others so a diffuser suited for a small office cubicle might not be suited for home use.”
When it comes to care, taking care of the diffusers is not a hard task. “Establishing a good cleaning routine is the best way to take care of your diffuser,” says Mr Gikonyo. He says this guarantees longevity and the best possible scent experience.
In addition, it is prudent to adhere to the manufacturer’s care instructions for your specific model.
Mr Gikonyo says there are more pros than cons when it comes to diffusers.
“The disadvantages vary from individual to individual in that, they can be a trigger to irritations for individuals who are prone to allergies.”
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