I was using this method only, dropping some essential oil in water and then vaporizing it. i love my aroma lamp and i am crazy about essential oils and the fragrance they give to the house :)

Heating the oils does cause them to lose some of the medicinal properties. They will still, however, smell great. Diffusing is much more effective! :)

The wax is often too strong for our taste, even in small amounts. I would really like to try this.

Yes to me this is a little bit of a waste of the E.O. When it gets so hot it will mess with the componants in the oil so your actually not getting the medicinal properties you may think you are. Scentys are much cheaper and oils are much better diffused..

I use unscented soy wax and add the scent as needed. I like to mix essential oils and come up with what I am in the mood for. Once the scent is gone from the wax, you just add more. it also keeps the warmer from becoming empty while on.

I've done this for years. Before the "wax warmers" I just the burners with tea candles to do the same thing. The warmers are much better.

I put 100% oil in mine and it last for over a week is this ok or should I be using water?

I have been doing this for a while. I love the amazing natural scents of oils :)Thanks for sharing!

I make the wax melts and know exactly what is in mine so don't melt anything but my own.

If you'd like the my scents and prices, check here - http://www.colescandles.com

Thanks! Some of my family is highly allergic to most comercial scents but are fine with essential oils. Anyone who suffers from asthma should know that the plug ins can trigger a severe reaction in some people.

I've never tried it without the water. I'm not sure that you have to have water and there are probably a lot of ways this can be done. Ill probably have to experiment. :)

In my guest bathroom I use essential oils with a fragrance ring on the light bulb. I have purchased ceramic rings but don't really like them as they tend to absorb too much of the product and when empty, smell like wet clay. I have a couple of brass rings that I just love for this purpose. The only time they emit fragrance is when the lights are on.

I am very eager to try this method with a warmer and water to diffuse the fragrance. Often times I find that wax or straight oils tend to be overpowering. II entertain a lot and find that I want my home to smell wonderful but do not want the scent to compete with the food. Nothing is worse than sitting down to a meal and having overpowering odors from scented candles or the wrong flowers on the table! I am an event planner and that is the first thing I tell my clients when we talk about flowers for their tables. No lilies, no gardenias, etc.

I would be careful with the oils. Some warmers have been recalled due to fire hazards when using oils rather than the waxes they were designed for.

That's a WalMart warmer. They were recalled in Canada due to fire hazard. BTW, if you're getting your cheap wax at a cheap place, yeah, you're going to get chemicals. Get it from somewhere that uses FOOD grade wax and there's no chemical issue.

where do you get those from

I agree with most of the comments here about this ruining the essential oil. As a Certified Aromatherapist, I can tell you that you lose a lot of the medicinal qualities of the essential oils when used in this method. However, if all you're going for is scent, then it's no big deal. I would recommend using a lesser quality essential oil, one that isn't food grade for example. Some of them can be very expensive, and I personally, wouldn't want to spend money on these oils without being able to utilize the best they have to offer. But that's me. Diffusing is one of my favorite ways to use essential oils. But it should be a diffuser specifically made for diffusing essential oils. They DO have a lot of medicinal qualities like being antimicrobial, antifungal, antibacterial, and do help with concentration and a whole host of other things. They should absolutely be diffused into the air, just in a different way.

I have an oil diffuser that you put a tea light candle underneath. I only put straight oil in it, never added water. You don't need a lot of oil for it to work in your diffuser. A plug in warmer is different though. I am a massage therapist and use it with all of my massages, I also use it around my house. Pre-made candles and wax and full of artificial scents. I prefer 100% essential oil.

Please know that heating anything other than Scentsy wax in a Scentsy warmer will void your warranty.

What kind of a warranty comes with a Scentsy warmer? Aside from them paying you for a burned down house, then I'm not sure why you would need a warranty for something so cheap. lol

Really I miss mine all the time and love them, oils not into.

If you're suffering from a cold, put the water in it and add eucalyptus oil to it and it will help to clear the cold or chest infection. Putting it in a bedroom at night will help so you can lay down and not start coughing, which usually happens as soon as you lay down. Also, put lavender oil in it for a very restful sleep. I use those 2 on a regular basis, especially the lavender.

I agree with Jen regarding heating essential oils. You will benefit from the aroma but will loose some of physical and emotional benefits. I do diffuse in a warmer but also use a cold diffuser (nebulizer) Most of the tarts you will purchase are using fragrance oils made with chemicals so they may make your home smell great but you are inhaling something very unhealthy. I am glad to see more people learning the difference between essential oils and fragrance oils. Essential oils are not inexpensive but go a long way and much healthier for your environment and you.

@midniGhtshaDow -I'm an essential oil distributor and real essential oil is very expensive. Much more then the wax like scentsy. Frangrance oil as sherryg stated above are cheaper but have not medicinal properties and are a lot of time made from harmful chemicals. I would only use oils in a diffuser.

I was looking around to see if I could use essential oils in a warmer and freaked out a little bit when I saw the name on one of the bottles. My name is Deliverance and I do not come across it very often! :D

That seems like a really good idea! I have been thinking about picking up an oil warmer, when it goes on sale, but I think that once I do pick one up, I will have to get those oils, I have heard that they can be really good for you.

Such a great idea! I have fragrance oils I don't know what to do with and this is perfect!

Just a head's-up: Scentsy wax is simply food-grade paraffin wax with essential oils and non-toxic synthetic fragrance. It contains no harmful VOCs, no phthalates, no benzene, no soot, no lead, no carcinogenic toxins, and it is formaldehyde-free (most scented candles contain formaldehyde). It's a VERY high-quality wax.

Scensty is in compliance with the IFRA (International Fragrance Association) which conducts and collects empirical scientific studies to determine which ingredients are safe and at what levels, for each product function. They also develop every fragrance and product to be in compliance strict environmental and health & safety regulations.

Also, if you warm anything in a Scentsy warmer other than Scentsy wax bars, you will void the lifetime guarantee on that warmer in case anything goes wrong with it.

I use a candle warmer, and carrier oil with the essential oils....don't have to watch it, and it's lovely!

I use coconut oil in mine with a few drops of essential oils.

I use coconut oil in mine with a few drops of essential oil. It smells great and when using peppermint it really did help with my headache. I know that when warmed eo can lose their medical benefits, but peppermint seems to still work great.

I made my own wax melts. Soy wax melted and put in essential oils then use one of the plastic containers the bought wax melts come in as a mold. Just make sure to let it sit in ice water to get cold before pouring the hot wax in. I leave it in the ice water until the wax cools.

If you just want a pleasant scent, fragrance oils are inexpensive and do the trick. If you're concerned about the pollutants generated by fragrance oils and the fumes from the tea light used to heat the oil, you can purchase a votive-size oil candle and use an eco-friendly lamp oil. Also, there's no mess with a refillable oil candle and they are reusable. Soy tea lights are also a solution but they can get super messy.

I need to get an oil warmer for my house. I love the smells of the different oils that you can buy. I finally talked my wife into letting me get one, but I don't really want to use it until the winter time.

Jason|http://www.audgesmagicmoments.com/default.asp?dept_id=27050&PageNumber=1&sort=

So, instead of using the wax cubes, which contain who knows what kind of chemicals and only masks odors, you can use essential oils and diffuse them into the air with your wax warmer.

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Heating the oils destroys them and their healing properties, and in some cases(when heated enough) can even make a smoke that is harmful. That's why cool mist diffusers like the high quality ultrasonic aromatherapy diffuser I have from Young Living is so essential to using essential oils. It has the same whole-house effect, but disperses the oils into the air combined with tiny water particles so they're easily inhaled, easily absorbed into the skin, and leave the healing properties of the oils intact.

In an electric warmer this is fine and does NOT damage the medicinal value of the essential oils, though I would recommend using an infused low heat oil such as grapeseed. The hottest I have been able to reach is 140 F with any so far and you reach 110-140 F when distilling essential oils initially. A tea light infuser is a different story, those can easily boil water which does pretty much destroy most (still not all) of the benefits of essential oils. Also the infused oils will burn/smoke in a tea light warmer if you use low heat carriers such as grapeseed or virgin olive, basic olive or palm would work but you would still hurt the essentials. Resins won't work on electric as you do need the higher heat for them simmer water then drop in resin pieces seems the best so far for max benefit.

So that's how those things work. My wife has been asking for one, and I wanted to get one, but I wanted it to be something simple looking. They were all a little too complicated for me to understand. Now I can go back and find an oil warmer that I think she'll really like. Thiago | http://www.audgesmagicmoments.com/

Essential oils make more sense as air fresheners than commercial products...

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This is so great! I just bought a ton of new essential oils and my scentsy has been gathering dust for the past year. Thanks for the awesome idea!
Army Wife to Suburban LIfe

Thanks for sharing secret of your mother in law, this will be really helpful for me. I bought aroma diffuser and aroma-touch essential oil from http://aromatherapydirect.com.au few days ago. I will definitely go through with this secret soon.

I've tried this a few times with essential oils marked "100% pure therapeutic grade" that are not the 2 big MLM companies and are much cheaper. I don't know if they are as pure as those, but for the price I can afford to put them in my warmer. I prefer it way over the candle waxes because I am allergic to some fragrances but don't know which ones. Makes my house smell great! I also like citrus ones, and a blend of cinnamon and clove

The idea looks great, I have also tried rosemary essential oil, as it has a strong, clear, penetrating, camphoraceous and herbaceous aroma. It is said to be analgesic, antidepressant, antirheumatic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, astringent, cicatrisant, digestive, diuretic, hypertensive and rubefacient.

So now I'm confused, after reading each and every comment, which vary in preferences, is it or is it not good to use a scentsy warmer for EO, I don't care about the warranty. I just don't want to spend money on a "diffuser" If I don't have to. I've looked and they're a bit pricey. It kinda sounds like a sales pitch to sell them.

I had a friend and roommate in college who always used candle warmers in our apartment. She also loved having essential oils to use. I don't think she ever tried anything like this though. I'll definitely have to talk to her about this to see if she has tried it. If not, I'm sure she would love this. It's exactly the kind of thing she would love doing.
http://www.dsgalleryofgifts.com/listing.asp?dept_id=27050&nopopup=1

My essential oil says not to let it come in contact with your skin. I don't know why you suggested swishing it around with your finger.

I would suggest people doing their research before they heat essential oils and possible have a fire hazard in their home from using a product such as any wax warmer for something other than it's intended purpose! I have warmers, and I have diffusers! Love them all, and use them only in accordance with their manufacturer's specifications! I have done extensive research on essential oils, and on Scentsy! Both are wonderful things! Use your common sense before someone in your family ends up with lung issues from using a warmer in the wrong manner! When you heat things such as Gain laundry crystals and other items other than wax bars that are not intended to be heated, you run the risk of severe respiratory injury!!!! Wake up and be smart about it. It isn't that difficult!

This is actually potentially dangerous and also ruins the makeup of the oils. Essential oils should NEVER BE diluted or mixed with water. They should only be mixed or diluted with a carrier oil (a mild, unscented oil ... Google carrier oils to find lists of all different kinds that you probably have around the house). Oil and water do not mix, it is a potentially dangerous combination. Just like if you get essential oils on your face/eyes and it is irritating or stinging, you should NOT flush the area with water... you should wipe it away with a cotton ball/pad soaked in carrier oil. Please, for your readers safety, do not encourage this practice of diluting essential oils with water. ESPECIALLY of there is heat involved. You wouldn't add water to a pan of hot cooking grease on the stove, right? It's the same idea. Please correct it for your readers safety!

it actually IS that difficult to get valid, credible info on these items and issues! There is heavy, manipulative marketing! People are often comparing apples to oranges, etc. Where can we get TRUE facts on these products?

Where are you finding oils that cheap? My cheapest bottle was lemon essential oil, and that ran me $10. I do agree that the oils last much longer than the cubes though. Also, I think the price it worth it based simply on the variety of different things you can use them for.

I use oil instead of wax cubes in my tea light candle warmer it works great and ive had no problems just make sure you do keep a eye out and never leave any type of candle unattended

Amazing blog you have here, i'm sure this can attract lots of readers over the net for the cool write up. Keep it up.

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So I wonder if you could use a wax cake and after it loses its scent, add eo to that. That way you are using the correct product in your warmer.

Though this is an older post I wanted to comment anyway...just in case there are newbies looking up this information. You should NEVER warm eo's (or any other kind of oil)in water. Heating oil and water together is and always has been a fire hazard. Just splash some water into hot grease and you will see why!! Anyway, essential oils should be mixed with a carrier oil (such as olive, grape seed, almond oil, etc.) or into an unscented natural wax like soy or bees wax before being heated. When mixed with one of those it is perfectly safe to use in scentsy, wal-mart or any other brand wax burner and the scent will last longer too. Oils and waxes do not evaporate as quickly as water so when the scent starts to fade you can simply add a few drops of essential oil to the pot to rejuvenate the smell.

Thank you so much Love your blog.. hidden jewel inside candle

Thanks so much for this :) My house smells wonderful now xx