Vape e-juice:  What is it?

One of the key ingredients to any vape device is the liquid that goes inside it.  But did you know what it is made of?  We at Ace Vape Melbourne are here to help demystify the gooey good stuff.

First thing first, vape juice is called by a variety of different names.  Vape liquid, vape e-juice, e-juice, vape juice and more.  It is all the same in terms of nomenclature.  It is the liquid that goes in your vape device or vape starter kit.

Vape juice is primarily made up of three ingredients.  Vegetable glycerin (VG), Propylene Glycol (PG), and Flavouring

Vegetable Glycerin also known as glycerol or glycerin is a clear viscous liquid made from palm oil (not all the time), soybean or coconut oil.  Vegetable glycerin has a myriad of commercial use such as cosmetics, food products, tinctures and much more.  It is extracted from a process called hydrolysis.  It is a fairly complex process but in a nutshell, the palm oil or coconut oil is put under high pressure to extract its oils and combined with water.

Propylene Glycol is found in many house-hold personal care products.  You’ll be surprised to learn that this is one of the ingredients in such products as shampoo, toothpaste, and conditioner.  It is a colorless and odorless liquid that is made from a synthetic product obtained from the hydration of propylene oxide.  This can be ingested and considered as “Generally Recognized as Safe” by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States.

Vape juice makers should use what we call BP or USP grade quality.  USP stands for United States Pharmacopeia.  BP stands for British Pharmacopeia.  When you use USP or BP grade, it ensures that the product is made under specific requirements. 

In terms of what vapers see on the bottle, there is always a VG and PG percentage.  This shows you how much of each is roughly in the bottle.  VG is known to be more vicious, smoother and provide more vapor.  PG, on the other hand, is known to produce more flavor but is more “watery”.

VG and PG percentage

If you are using a high wattage direct lung device, generally a higher VG percentage is preferred.  This produces better vape clouds and a smoother hit while also minimizing leakage from the tank.

If you are using a vape pen or pod, a higher PG is preferred.  This allows for the pen or pod to easily vape the juice without degrading the coil quickly.  Most if nicotine salts e-liquid are designed for pods as they are a 50/50 mix (VG/PG)

Typically normal eliquids are made with a higher VG percentage.  Most people who vape sub-ohm prefer at least a 70% VG mixture.

Most vendors will print the VG and PG percentage on the bottle.  This is a good indication of what you are getting. 

The third element in vape juice

The remaining element in most vape is the flavoring.  This is what adds the flavors to the VG and PG.  Vape juice vendors use a variety of different artificial and natural flavorings.  There are a variety of big commercial vape juice concentrate companies from around the world.  Some of these big names include Capella (USA), The Flavour Apprentice (TFA - USA), Flavourt Art (FA - Italy), Flavor West (FW – USA) and many more.  These are the primary ingredients used to create the flavor in the e-juice.  There is typically anywhere from 5% to 20% flavoring in the bottle.  The rest is made up of VG and PG.

Please check with the vendor if you have any specific allergies as it might contain some natural flavorings. 

Is it easy to make vape juice (DIY)?

The short simple answer is Yes, anybody can go and make vape juice with a handful of e-juice concentrates.  DIY (Do-it-yourself) is a common trend for those who want to try and make juice for themselves.  You simply blend the e-juice concentrates with some PG and VG and away you go. 

But to make great tasting ejuices similar to vendors such as Jam Monster or Naked100 requires a bit of skill, knowledge, and experience.    Professional juice makers understand the balance that is required to blend the concentrates for a smooth tasty vape juice.  They also use concentrates sometimes not readily available to the open market. 

If you wish to try to make ejuice recipes, there are a variety of sources online such as Youtube or Reddit for more information.

Is vape juice allergy true?

Yes, we have seen some customers that have an allergic reaction when it comes to vaping a particular ejuice.  Generally, they are allergic to the Propylene Glycol in the ejuice.  We found that offering them high VG or 100% VG ejuice helps them out.

If this is the case, we recommend you look for juices with no or little PG to see if this helps. 

Is there a difference between vape juices made in Australia vs other countries?

In terms of the flavoring, no there is no difference.  Most Australian vendors use the same e-juice concentrates as the rest of the world.  In regards to PG and VG, there can be a difference as the majority sources these two ingredients locally. 

Why is my eliquid turning brown?

There could be a few different reasons why your liquid is turning brown.  In Australia, all the e-liquids are sold with zero nicotine.  That means that there is no nicotine in the juice.  When you add nicotine at home, it can turn the liquid dark.  The vape liquid can turn it even darker depending on the amount of nicotine you introduced and the passage of time.  We recommend you store the liquid in a dark and cool place to minimize light exposure.

Why am I not getting a throat hit in my vape juice?

Unfortunately, the juices in Australia do not contain any nicotine.  Nicotine is the primary driver that creates that “throat hit”.  If you are unable to obtain nicotine and wish to feel something as you inhale, we recommend you try a mint/menthol flavor ejuice.  The coldness of the mint or ice helps give you that throat hit that you are accustomed to. 

How long can I store my vape juice?

Vape juice can last for years if stored in the correct environment.  As long as you keep it away from direct sunlight, the vape juice bottle can last many years.  Since there is no water in the bottle, the chances of germination is very low. 

Why does Australia only sell 0% nicotine vape juice?

From the TGA website:

Due to the rules set forth by the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration), they deemed nicotine as a position. 

Also, vaping has not been approved by the TGA as a nicotine sensation device.  If you wish to vape with nicotine in Australia, you will need a doctor’s prescription.

Australian doublers vs singler vape juice

Since we don’t have the right to sell nicotine, Australian vape juice vendors created doublers.  These are made for you to add in nicotine.  The bottle is half full.  The reason behind this is because the vendors don’t want you to lose flavor when adding nicotine.

For example:  You have 6mg nicotine.  You want to vape a 3mg vape juice.  You would buy a doubler and fill it to the top.  This will make your juice 3mg nicotine. 

A singler is just normal ejuice and ready to vape.  You can technically vape a doubler but the flavor profile will be very strong compared to a singler.

Since the rise of stronger nicotine on the market, doublers are slowly going out of fashion. 

Is there the best vape juice in Australia?

We get this question all the time, think of vape juice as food.  Is there a best dish?  This is very subjective.  Everybody has different flavor preferences.  While something might be popular, it might not be your fancy.  We encourage our vape customers to try different flavors and see which one suits them best.

Can I vape essential oils?

No, you cannot vape essential oils or add them to your vape juice.  They are not made for vaping and can do more harm than good.

Conclusion

We hope you found this information on vape liquids useful.  If you do have any additional questions or comments, please feel free to contact us.