How to Make a Water Bead Diffuser

I like to have air fresheners in my house, but I can’t always find a fragrance that I like. Or, often times the smell is too strong so I set out the make my own air freshener with a few of the essential oils that I have on hand. I found several diffusers on Amazon, but I wanted to make one that was very simple and didn’t need to be plugged in. If you are not familiar with what a diffuser is, basically it is something that you use to disperse essential oils into the air. I found these water beads on Amazon, they were fairly inexpensive and a small amount makes a ton of water beads! I tried to find them locally at craft stores, Target and Walmart but no one seemed to carry them. Once I hydrated them, I simply added a few drops of my favorite essential oils and placed them all over the house.

Water Bead Diffuser Instructions:

Measure out your water beads. I used 1 tbsp and filled a jar with water, leaving about 2 inches at the top.

I let the beads sit for about 6 hours and was shocked at how big the water beads grew! I thought that maybe it would fill the jar halfway, but the beads filled the entire jar.

Just so that you can see the comparison, here is a water bead before hydration and after:

Next, I filled a small jar with some of the beads and added some essential oils. I’ve found that 10+ drops work the best, anything less than that doesn’t seem to make a strong enough scent.

I like the smell of citrus in the house, so I like to mix Orange and Lemon oils. I have also made a water bead diffuser for my son’s room and use the  Peaceful Sleep essential oils from NOW Foods. This is a blend of Orange, Tangerine, Lavender, Chamomile, Ylang Ylang, and Sandalwood oils. It has a nice citrus, floral smell and works well to settle down my son and prepare him for a good night’s rest. The mixture of oils and water beads is in a small jar on a shelf in his room. I keep the lid on during the day, then when it’s time to go to sleep at night I give the jar a good shake and take the lid off.

If you’re not sure which oils will blend well, here are a few to get you started:

Soothe Headaches:  3 drops of each – Lavender, Chamomile, and Peppermint

Uplifting: 2 drops of Lemon and Clove, and 3 drops of Orange

Focus: 2 drops each of Peppermint and Tangerine, and 3 drops of Eucalyptus

Calming: 4 drops of each Marjoram, Cypress, and Lavender

Relaxing: 10 drops of Lavender, and 6 drops of Chamomile

Purifying: 1 drop of each Tea Tree and Grapefruit, and 10 drops of Lemon

Energizing: 2 drops each of Peppermint and Rosemary, and 4 drops of Cinnamon

Is there a blend that you love? Comment below so we can try it!