DIY: The complete guide to making your e-liquid!
The Do It Yourself phenomenon continues to grow over time. A social phenomenon, the “do it yourself” fashion is attracting more and more consumers, especially in the vape sector. Do you want to consume your electronic cigarette liquid? For reasons of taste or economic reasons? Find all our advice to achieve this!
I. Personalize your vaping experience: one advantage among many others
DIY represents an alternative consumption to classic vaping since it involves developing your e-liquid, dosed exactly as you wish. However, making your electronic cigarette liquid requires following a few steps and paying particular attention to the mission you are investing in. The idea is ultimately to adapt the e-liquid to your desires, in the hope of personalizing your vaping experience as well as possible, and not only…
1 – More economical consumption
Indeed, embarking on Do It Yourself by making your electronic cigarette liquid not only allows you to meet your exact needs but also to adopt a more economical mode of consumption. If vaping already allows you to reduce your budget, the wallet is even better off when the e-cigarette is equipped with liquids made by you. For example, the price of an e-liquid base in a container of approximately 100 millilitres, accompanied by an aroma, is the same price as a bottle of e-liquid of 10 millilitres already constituted beforehand.
2 – An ecological trend
DIY is not only more affordable, but it is also environmentally friendly. Remember that traditional cigarettes do not offer the possibility of appropriating as many flavours and versatility as electronic cigarettes. But the butts of conventional, non-recyclable cigarettes are also extremely polluting, in addition to being harmful to health. E-cigarettes want to be reusable, which limits their negative footprint in terms of ecology and eco-responsibility. Moreover, the elements of which it is composed are recyclable when they are returned to a specialized store when they are no longer of interest to the consumer. In addition, by opting for Do It Yourself e-liquids, you are opting for customizable solutions that are available in various versions, without increasing the number of bottles used.
3 – A revisited experience
If you decide to create the composition of your next e-liquid yourself, you will be all the more proud of it but, in addition, the liquid will prove to be much more exceptional and tasty than a liquid traditionally found. on the shelves of specialized vape shops. Thanks to the DIY, you not only offer yourself a quality e-liquid but also and above all a personalized and intense e-liquid!
4 – An activity open to all
If the fashion of Do It Yourself in terms of e-liquid for electronic cigarettes has long been reserved for informed and ultra-confirmed vapers, today, the action of making your e-cigarette liquid is open to everyone. To date, everything is correctly and sufficiently explained to be able to be found in all homes, except in the hands of children and young people in general, of course. Like a recipe found in the culinary world, the composition of an e-liquid is shaped from different ingredients to be assembled by respecting certain steps and, above all, according to the necessary quantities.
5 – Limitless customization
This is one of the great advantages of DIY e-liquids: customization and the number of choices available to the vaper! The ranges of flavours as well as bases offered to consumers to date make it possible to imagine many different combinations.
II. How to choose the composition of your e-liquid?
1 – DIY e-liquid: the final composition
First of all, it is necessary to understand what an e-liquid is made of. In each of the formulas you develop, you will find:
A base
Also recognized under the name of “ neutral base ” or “ nicotinic base ”, the base can, as its names indicate, consist of nicotine or not, according to tastes and needs. However, it remains essential in the composition of an e-liquid since it represents approximately 80, even 90% of the final solution. The base is, by nature, neutral and therefore releases no taste. It is this base (and its rate of PG/VG) which will determine the sensation, the “hit”, found in the throat. Depending on the balancing of the rates of this base, the taste chosen will also be influenced, as well as the texture and the intensity of the vapour.
A concentrate
The concentrate is none other than the aroma that will give flavour to your vape. Mint, strawberry, bourbon vanilla… There’s something for everyone! The categories of flavour concentrates are generally divided into five different parts, namely the categories “drinks”, “menthol”, “classic”, “gourmet” and “fruit”.
A booster
The booster allows you to add a certain level of nicotine to your e-liquid. The nicotine booster is added directly to the base, before mixing with the flavour concentrate afterwards. The difference with the neutral base? Practically none since the nicotine booster is nothing other than a neutral base solution to which a nicotine solution has been added.
an additive
Non-compulsory, the additive can be added to the preparation if certain flavour concentrates need to be slightly raised, in particular. Furthermore, the additive also makes it possible to sweeten the final solution or even to provide a certain “freshness” to the product.
2 – The base
Several data are to be taken into consideration to create the perfect base for your e-liquid.
The importance of the PG/VG ratio
When you have to choose a base for your DIY electronic cigarette e-liquid, the question of the PG/VG rate will inevitably arise to define what type of vape you want to use. To better understand, you should know that PG indicates the level of Propylene Glycol, and VG is the level of Vegetable Glycerin. The mixture of the two solutions makes it possible to adapt the hit – that is to say, the sensation felt in the throat when inhaling the steam – and the quantity of steam desired. For example, on a base containing a much higher rate of PG (80%) than the rate of VG (20%), the vaper will benefit from an experience with a very light vapour and a very strong hit at the level of the throat.
The DIY mix and the ready-to-use solutions
You can opt for do-it-yourself blends and even maximum rate bottles, i.e. 100%, without mixing.
However, you should know that 100% Propylene Glycol (PG) offers a base that intensely restores aromas and offers a correctly marked hit, without going overboard. On the other hand, the steam generated will only be in small volume and quantity. In addition, an excessively concentrated PG rate can cause problems with leaks and other defects on certain types of atomizers. Treating yourself to a 100% mg PG vape means risking dehydration, due to the concentration of the product. Remember to drink well!
As for the 100% Vegetable Glycerin bottles, we then start with a base with a high quantity of vapour, which does not fail to attract fans of clouds of smoke. On the other hand, the aromas are somewhat altered and the sensation in the throat (the hit) is limited and not very marked. The disadvantage of 100% VG is that it tends to foul electronic cigarette coils, due to its natural viscosity. Also, when it is pure and heated to more than 150 degrees, vegetable glycerin could produce acrolein, that says, a toxic substance with carcinogenic risks.
In addition, beginners can also opt for pre-defined and directly ready-to-use mixes, such as 80/20 (the PG-rated is always placed before the VG rate), or 50/50.
3 – Nicotine
The correct nicotine level
The nicotine level you choose will directly depend on your consumption habits. This, while knowing that it is generally considered that:
0 mg corresponds to a vaper not dependent on the effects of nicotine
6 mg corresponds to a vaper slightly dependent on the effects of nicotine
12 mg corresponds to a vaper moderately dependent on the effects of nicotine
16 to 18 mg correspond to a vaper very dependent on the effects of nicotine
The do-it-yourself nicotine base
To go with your aroma concentrate, you can make your DIY nicotine base. To do this, you will again need to go to the online calculators and fill in:
The desired final base quantity.
The desired nicotine level.
With this data, you will be able to get the nicotine booster rate in the milligrams you equip, as well as the neutral base rate. You will then have to pour the nicotine booster into a blank bottle, in which you will mix the correctly dosed base, before shaking everything!
III. How to make your e-liquid?
1 – Do It Yourself: a simple principle open to everyone
The principle of Do It Yourself is extremely simple to understand and remember, to develop a perfect DIY e-liquid, you will have to follow the same steps each time:
Choose the PG/VG rate and the nicotine concentration of your base
Add a few drops of the aroma concentrate of your choice
Allow approximately 48 hours to pass so that the aromas can be released
Vape with truly increased pleasure!
3 – Accessories
Very important element not to be put aside: the accessories. Indeed, if you do not equip yourself with the necessary equipment to manufacture your e-liquid in Do It Yourself, you are not likely to obtain any result whatsoever. Thus, to carry out your experiment, you will automatically need:
Blank bottles: to store your e-liquid
Protections: to mix serenely
Syringes: to take and assemble the solutions
4 – Precautions you need to take
Indeed, do not forget that nicotine and other solutions of a chemical nature are products to be handled with great care and provided with gloves and protective goggles.
To note :
Bottles containing nicotine solution must be stored away from any light spectrum and in a locked place to avoid any danger to children.
Flavours must always be mixed with a base, never consume them alone