How long should diffuse essential oils? | Well+Good (2024)

As someone who turns on multiple diffusersat once to create a hazy co*cktail of soothing scent, the idea that one could diffusetoo muchis a bit confounding to me. After all, essential oils have been billed as wizards of the wellness world, working their magic everywhere from your complexion to your kitchen sink.

So whenJean Liao, certified aromatherapy practitionerat Way of Willmentioned to me (in passing nonetheless!) that you shouldn't leave your diffuser on for more than an hour, I was shook. Sure, "too much of a good thing" and all, but it turns out, that when essential oils aren'thandled properly,they could potentially pose a health risk.

For starters, you should very rarely apply the oils directly to your skin because when the highly concentrated plant extracts come into contact with the dermis, they can cause irritation. And when you leave your diffuser blasting all day and all night, you could cause an over-exposure."The common misconception is that essential oils are natural so we can use as much as we want," Liao says. "However, we see many examples of people using it improperly which causes skin burns, irritation, or sensitization."

"We see many examples of people using it improperly which causes skin burns, irritation, or sensitization," saysJean Liao.

In fact you shouldn't really be blasting it for hours straight at all. His recommendation is to turn your diffuser on between one and three times a day for up to 30 minutes at the maximum. According to him, overexposure and the act of inhaling essential oils can lead to headaches. Andone study out of Taiwan found that while exposure to essential oils for between 15 minutes to an hour, led to relaxation in the 100 spa workers observed, exposure that lasted upwards of an hour, resulted in an uptick in blood pressure and heart rate.