How to use a herbal inhaler

Roll a short stripe on each temple, just behind the ears, on the back of the neck, and across the wrists. These are warm spots where you will both feel the oil and smell it.

For a stuffy head, add a little across the upper chest. For an aching muscle — shoulders, calves, the base of the skull — roll it on and rub it in gently.

Bring your wrists to your nose and breathe in slowly for two or three seconds. The cooling molecules — menthol, camphor, eucalyptus — create the sensation of an open, clear airway. You are smelling the oil on your skin, not inhaling it into the lungs.

Unlike a stick you uncap and cap, a roller keeps releasing from warm skin for hours. Apply once, put the bottle away, and the aroma keeps working through a flight, a desk afternoon or a long drive.

The effect fades after a few hours. Reapply to the same spots, or rotate to a new one. A single 8ml bottle lasts many weeks of daily use.

A nasal inhaler stick (like a Vicks VapoInhaler or BoomBoom) is a wick in a tube you sniff directly. The hit is instant and ends when you cap it. A roller stays with you and accompanies muscles too. Many people keep both for different moments.

Cosmetic aromatherapy, not medicine — not intended to diagnose, treat or cure anything. Avoid the eye area and broken skin, patch-test on the inner arm the first time, and ask a doctor before use in pregnancy, on young children, or if you have asthma or a skin condition.

See the four shnort scents or read the essential oil inhaler guide.