Reed Diffuser Made with Natural Essential Oils at Home

Making your space smell effortlessly pleasant using non-toxic ingredients is a good thing. In a quest to come home to an apartment that always smells like a magical forest, I've experimented with making homemade candles, using steam essential oil diffusers, and I just made a homemade reed diffuser.

Candles are great, but have to be replaced often and are a potential fire hazard, my steam diffuser is wonderful but currently broken, and both of these options require you to be present to turn them on/off. Reed diffusers do their thing 24/7.

You can make a reed diffuser by creating a mix of essential oils and a carrier oil in a jar or vessel, then adding rattan sticks. The oils then travel up rattan reeds over time, dispersing the scent. They work all day, require no electricity, and are not a fire hazard like candles. It's best to make them yourself because the liquid in commercial reed diffusers often contains lots of artificial ingredients.

However, the scent created by reed diffusers is much more delicate than candles or steam diffusers. Reeds are great for people who prefer a lighter scent, or want to create a baseline scent in their space to complement with candles or other scents during the day. They work great in smaller spaces where you'll be close to the reed diffuser, like a bathroom, or at your desk.

DIY Reed Diffuser

¼-1/3 cup sweet almond oil, depending on the size of your vessel
20-25 drops essential oil*
1 teaspoon 91% rubbing alcohol
Vase or glass with a small opening
5-6 rattan reeds (here are a few options)

*Some essential oils are not as strong as others, so don't be disappointed if your reed diffuser isn't making your entire living room smell like sunshine and roses. You can adjust the ratio of essential oil to carrier oil until you find the right mixture. Alternatively, try a stronger scent next time if you're not happy with the one you chose.

Add the sweet almond oil and essential oils to your jar or vase. I used ¼ cup sweet almond oil and started with 15 drops of cedarwood oil. It wasn't enough, so I ended up adding more until the mixture was fragrant. Lavender essential oil would be great for next time.

Add the 91% alcohol. This helps thin the mixture so it travels up the reeds smoothly.

Add the reeds. The smaller the opening on the top of your vessel the longer your reed diffuser will last.

Now you have a reed diffuser! Place it in a spot away from children and pets, and flip the reeds each day for the first 2 days to get the oils moving. Then, flip them every few days or so after that. Eventually the reeds will become too saturated and stop dispersing the scent, and the oils will evaporate, so you can replace as needed.