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Making your own e-liquid flavour

As the popularity of e-cigarettes has increased many e-cigarette shops have started to create their own brand of e-liquids with unique flavours. The popularisation of the e-cig and e-liquid culture has allowed shops to stand out from other shops.

If you have become interested in creating your own flavoured e-liquid that has not yet been made, it is important to understand the basis of what goes into making e-liquid to ensure you can safely enjoy creating unique vaping flavours.

What you would need

Equipment for making e-liquids

Gloves – Nicotine can be absorbed through the skin and can be harmful, so wearing gloves are important during the mixing of your e-liquid.

Bottles – For a cost effective experiment, plastic drip tip bottles are recommended, as they are easy to clean and use again. You will also need bottles to help measure the quantities.

Containers – If you intend on making large quantities, you will need graduated beakers or cylinders similar to what you would own in kitchens. You should reduce cross contamination if you are limited on syringes.

Syringes – An essential item, syringes help to transfer liquids to small open containers, as well as to get the right measurement of ingredients.

Ingredients in e-liquids

PG/VG – Propylene Glycol and Vegetable Glycerin are the crucial e-liquid ingredients.

Flavours – To put your own unique spin on e-liquid, flavouring concentration can be bought online to help you create your e-liquid.

Diluted nicotine – It is imperative that you use diluted nicotine as undiluted nicotine is extremely poisonous and unsafe to use.  Usually 200mg/ml diluted nicotine is used by industries as it makes the maths to get a strength per volume easier.

e-liquid

What is the difference between PG and VG?

When making your own e-liquid it is important to understand what the difference between propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerine (VG) bases are, as these are the two main ingredients added to e-liquids.

Propylene Glycol (PG)

PG has a thinner consistency and is easier to handle when refilling your cartomiser, atomizer or clearomizer as well as easy to clean. It is tasteless, odourless and provides a vaping experience similar to smoking, as it induces the “throat hit” and doesn’t cause alteration of the taste of flavours.

Vegetable Glycerine (VG)

VG is the less popular out of the two. Its higher viscosity is a perfect base for vapers who love making high density and thicker clouds. Naturally VG gives e-liquids a sweeter flavouring as it sweet tasting on its own.

Deciding on the ratio of PG/VG to use

When buying an e-liquid you will typically see a ratio 50/50 or 60/40 of propylene glycol to vegetable glycerine, by mixing the two you are achieving a balance in terms of intensity of flavouring, vapour density and throat hit.

When deciding on what ratio of PG/VG to use in your e-liquid, there isn’t a definite answer as it completely depends on your ideal form of vaping.

Smoothness – High levels of VG fluid tends to provide a vaper with a smoother feeling in the throat with a substantial thicker feel, although the flavour will be slightly muted in VG fluids, using more power to create more vapour can counteract the dulling of flavouring.

Cloudchasing – The most popular amongst vapers, to achieve clouds higher VG is the best as it involves exhaling dense vapour clouds.

Stealth – If cloudchasing isn’t your vaping style, using a higher ratio of PG is the way forward as less vapour is produced when it’s exhaled making it perfect for vapers who prefer to be low key.

Throat Hit – To achieve the throat hit sensation you require a higher ratio of PG. PG, along with the nicotine, helps provide ex-smokers with the “kick” at the back of throat similar to the kick that traditional cigarettes provide.

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Nicotine

Unless you are planning to create nicotine free e-liquid, diluted nicotine is another main ingredient when making e-liquids. When including nicotine it is important to understand the mathematics behind using liquid nicotine.

Nicotine has a flavour of its own so including it in e-liquid will alter the taste of your e-liquid. It is also imperative to use diluted nicotine when making your own e-liquid as undiluted nicotine is extremely poisonous. PG and VG are used to dilute the concentration of liquid nicotine. Nicotine is measured through mg per millilitre, but most e-liquid manufacturers will usually stick to levels between 6mg and 24mg.

Flavours

Everyone’s tastes are unique when it comes to deciding on flavours of e-liquids, whilst one person might find a flavour too weak at 10% or too overpowering at 15%.

Deciding what percentage of flavouring you plan to use in your e-liquids, is found through trial and error throughout experimenting. There have also been a variety of different recommendations when it comes to the percentage of flavouring.

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