Apart from a functioning e-cig, your e-liquid is the other essential component that makes the vaping experience possible. Since its introduction to the global market, a wide variety of flavours have now become available—from traditional tobacco to a whole range of dessert and fruit flavours.

The vaping industry has evolved over the years to cater for every type today of vaper, from the casual to the hardcore DIY mod vaper. Some dedicated individuals even choose to create their own e-liquids. This emerging trend has seen a multitude of DIY recipes appear online.

But should you create your own e-liquid, when there are serious concerns surrounding the safety of this practice. At Superior Vapour we would say no, especially given the dizzying range of e-liquids on the market, made by true artists in their craft.

That being said, we thought we’d put something together to look at this growing trend in order to help you come up with an informed choice.

Pros of Creating Your Own E-liquid

When creating your own e-liquid, you basically need to mix nicotine, flavour concentrates, and a base liquid of PG/VG. Not all three are strict requirements since some vapers prefer nicotine-free or unflavoured e-liquids.

Here are the benefits of creating your own e-liquid:

1. Customisation

One of the top reasons why vapers mix their own e-liquid is to add variety to their experiences. If you have been vaping the same flavour for a while or if you get vaper’s tongue, you now have the option to just make a new e-liquid flavour.

The same goes for nicotine levels. If you want to vape something stronger (or less), you can control the nicotine level that you’re comfortable vaping.

2. Lower cost

Considering the array of products available today, it’s tempting to try multiple bottles of different flavours. Indulgence and your vaping frequency can get expensive. DIY e-liquids are often cheaper, provided that you buy the ingredients in bulk. As with any product, wholesale prices are always lower than retail price.

3. Unlimited e-liquid

On top of the cheaper price point, you will also end up with a lot more e-liquid if you make your own. When you DIY your e-liquid, all you have to do is whip out your tools and ingredients, and you’ll have a fresh batch in your hands.

The Risks of Creating Your Own E-liquid

DIY e-liquids are only recommended for advanced users. This alone is enough of a reason not to do it in my opinion. It’s is not a task for those who do not understand the intricacies of each ingredient, the right percentage, the safety procedures, and how each content would react to each other. There are plenty of risks at stake if you do this the wrong way.

1. Your safety

This is the number one risk that you have to contend with when DIY-ing your e-liquid, for a number of reasons:

• Nicotine content – High dosage of nicotine is volatile at best and dangerous at worst. Never make the mistake of using pure nicotine. On top of that, there are adverse health effects that you’ll experience (e.g. burning) just by touching or accidentally spilling nicotine on your skin.

• Controlled environment – E-liquids are manufactured following an exact formula that often take years to create, as well as strict compliance with government laws. The wrong measurement, even in small amounts, can result in dangerous chemical compounds. E-liquids are also developed in labs where the environment is controlled and there are safety protocols in place.

• Lack of experience – Whether this is your first or tenth time to create DIY e-liquids, there will always be risks when doing it at home. Some experts will say at least six months of experience is needed to start DIY-ing your liquids; however, the fact of the matter is that at six months, you’ll only have enough time to appreciate various e-liquids and the ingredients in them. You need to understand the entire process, before deciding to set up your own home lab.

2. It is a complex process

Mixing your own e-juice is not as simple as mixing your own cocktail or following a baking recipe. You need to do actual calculations to get the right amount of ingredients in one bottle.

For one, you need to account for the nicotine level and the liquid base ratio. And then, you also need to find out how much nicotine is enough to get the hit that you’re looking for. On top of that, you also have to consider the flavouring—how much do you need to get the taste that you’ll be happy with?

This isn’t as easy as it sounds. Calculations take time; so does the experimenting. If your final product is not to your liking, you will need to start over again.

3. The taste may not be up to your expectations

Even if you followed the recipe to the letter, there is a huge risk that your final product will not taste like what you had in mind.

More often than not, you’ll end up with a bland-tasting e-liquid that does is not on par with any of the store-bought bottles you tried before. This is how it is when you DIY anything. The professionals that make e-liquids have honed their craft over years and years and are experts. It’s unlikely you’ll get anything approaching an e-liquid bought from a professional supplier on your first, third or even twenty third go.

It could, therefore, actually take you quite a lot of time and money before you nail the actual taste that you want in a bottle. And that’s just one flavour.

4. You’ll waste products

Plenty of vapers buy ingredients in bulk to save on costs. But if you end up with a bottle that you’re not happy with, then you likely won’t vape it. Even if you give it away, you’ll end up with wasted ingredients.

5. It can get costly

On your first few tries, you’ll also most likely waste a good amount of ingredients to get everything right, either by experimenting or because of any untoward accidents (e.g. spilling).

While some might argue that experimenting is part of the fun of DIY, the amount of money you’ll spend on wasted ingredients can quickly add up.

The E-Liquid Brands that make it look easy

There are a lot of talented producers out there making insanely delicious and inventive e-liquid flavours. Whether you decide to DIY or not, there is no shortage of choices for any vapers out there in today’s market.

Here are just three of our absolute favourites

1. Bo Vaping

Known for their pod vaping system, Bo Vaping, introduced by French vaping company J Well, is known for their premium flavours. You can choose from lemonade, tobacco, bubblegum, butterscotch, peppermint, and many more.

2. California Vaping Company

Based in San Diego, Cali Vapes focuses on providing premium e-liquids which are all made using organic ingredients. Among the flavours that they have include the apple berry cream puff, Kentucky sweet leaf, vanilla cloud, white mango, and waffle batter. Check out our exclusive interview with Dakoda Collins of Cali Vapes.

3. J Well

J Well brings to the market the elegance that the French are known for. Not only are their e-cigarettes made from premium products with elegant designs, their e-liquids are created using the highest quality of raw materials. Each of their 46 flavours is made without diacetyl or acetyl propionyl. You can pick from the classic tobacco or other more specialised gourmet flavours.

Not For Beginners

The e-liquid bottles that you see out in the market today are products of years of innovation. Before hitting store shelves, these delicious concoctions have gone through multiple iterations and testing, making it nigh on impossible for any amateur DIY e-liquid maker to replicate.

Perhaps more importantly though, creating your own e-liquid can be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. For this reason alone, we don’t recommend it to beginners. Leave it to the pros. They’ve definitely got you covered.

If you need help picking out flavours that you’ll be happy with, give us a call at 01179 669309 or email us at info@superiorvapour.com