Vape Juice

What is E-liquid?

“E liquid” refers to the flavoured liquids used in vape kits to produce vapour, and are one of the most important parts of any vape, as they allow users to personalise their experience through picking the perfect flavour as well as the most suitable nicotine strength for their needs. The liquid is inserted and stores within either a vape pod or vape tank, ready for when you activate your device - the heating element within the tank or pod (usually a coil) will then heat the juice and turn it into a vapour that you inhale, allowing you to enjoy the incredible taste and satisfying throat hit.

What is in Vape Juice?

Vape juice is made using 4 main vape ingredients, each of which has been tested vigorously to ensure that it is safe to be vaped. The 4 main components are: Flavouring (food-grade quality), Propylene Glycol (PG), Vegetable Glycerin (VG) and Nicotine (optional). 

Flavouring

The flavour is an important aspect as a poor quality flavour can affect the taste of the entire ejuice; and if you don’t enjoy the taste, you’re less likely to want to vape which could potentially draw vapers back towards less savoury habits. This is why we’d also recommend avoiding purchasing products simply due to their price, as the cheaper the liquid, the higher your chances are of receiving a poor quality product.

Propylene Glycol (PG) & Vegetable Glycerin (VG)

PG and VG make up the base or most vaping juices and are responsible for the consistency, as well as how efficiently it vaporises and carries flavour. Choosing the best e liquid for your vape can hinge entirely on the base and the ratio of its ingredients as some bases work best with specific types of vapes and can cause issues when used in others.

Nicotine

Vape liquid with nicotine is the most popular type of 10 ml for those that are using vaping as a substitute for smoking - but whether you vape nicotine or not is completely optional. There’s a huge variety containing nicotine available, not just due to the sheer variety of flavour, but also in strength and type too; e-liquids that are considered free base contain a type of nicotine that is known for its strong throat hit, whilst those containing salt nicotine are much smoother and are also absorbed by the body into the bloodstream faster too.
However, as we stated previously, nicotine is an optional component and there are plenty of different types of 0mg juices available, with just as many flavours on the market as other 10mls, although if you’re looking to cut back on costs we’d suggest opting for a 50ml or 100ml which will provide you with more for your money, effectively allowing you to spend less and save more.

PG and VG Ratios - What Do They Mean?

The concentration of PG (Propylene Glycol) and VG (Vegetable Glycerin) can have a significant effect on both the strength and the flavour of your juice, as well as its throat hit and the size of the clouds that it’s capable of producing.
VG and PG make up the majority of most vape juices, with anywhere between 10% to 20% of the liquid consisting of either natural or artificial food-grade vape concentrates for flavour, while the other 80% - 90% of the bottle is the VG/PG base and nicotine (if it contains nicotine). See the image below for an example of how VG/PG ratios are depicted on e-liquid bottles.

What is PG?

Propylene Glycol, usually shortened to PG, is the ingredient responsible for providing vapers with that throat hit that they crave - especially if they were smokers previously. PG is a thin liquid with a similar consistency to water that is more effective at carrying flavour; due to its thinner consistency high PG liquids are best suited to Mouth to Lung (MTL) vapes.

What is VG?

Vegetable Glycerin, often shortened to VG, is another important ingredient, especially if you’re a bit of a cloud chaser and are looking to produce some seriously dense clouds. VG is a viscous liquid that is made using vegetable oils and is the perfect consistency for sub ohm vapes.

1. PG and VG have been proven safe to use as they’re found in a variety of household products, foods and medicines.

What Are The Different Types Of E-Liquid?

As we briefly mentioned previously, the ratio of VG to PG also affects the thickness of the juice which influences whether it should be used in a powerful vape such as a sub ohm vape kit, or a low powered vape such a Mouth to Lung device. You’ll find that the majority consists of both VG and PG and can be found in four main ratios:

1. 80/20 VG/PG
2. 70/30 VG/PG
3. 50/50 VG/PG
4. 70/30 PG/VG

These 4 ratios are sold in many different forms, as we’re about to explain.

Shortfill Vape Juices

A shortfill is a vape liquid that doesn’t contain nicotine as is usually sold in either a 60ml or 120ml bottle with space provided for the customer to add nicotine shots (a flavourless 10ml bottle of liquid containing high concentrations of nicotine) to tailor the strength of their nicotine - although most will only allow for 2 nicotine shots that would create a 3mg e juice. The majority of short fills will feature either a 80VG/20PG ratio or a 70VG/30PG ratio which is best suited for use within powerful vapes such as sub ohm pod kits.

Nic Salt Vape Juices

Salt nicotine juices, such as the Elf Bar ElfLiq, are available as a 10ml e liquid and contain a salt-based nicotine formula that is known for its gentle throat hit and rapid nicotine relief, even when containing higher concentrations of nicotine. Nicotine salts usually boast a 50VG/50PG ratio or a 60VG/40PG ratio which are ideal for use within MTL vape kits and vape pens.

Freebase Nicotine

Freebase e-liquid contains a type of nicotine that is much harsher than salt nic and is best suited to vapers who have recently quit smoking, or were heavy smokers previously, as it provides a similar throat hit to cigarettes. However, like salt nic liquids, freebase can often be found in the following VG/PG ratios: 50VG/50PG, 60VG/40PG and 70PG/30VG which are all ideal for low powered vapes such as vape starter kits.

Finding Your Favourite Flavour

Finding the right flavour e-liquid for you can make for an incredibly exciting time, with more than 1500 premium flavours in our range, which includes all of the most popular brands and well known flavours from around the world, but with an emphasis on UK brands that we all know and trust.

Although picking the flavour that takes your fancy is an entirely subjective experience, as it’s based on personal preference, there are some types of flavour that fit the bill for a wide range of our customers - these include minty menthol flavours, as well as authentic tobacco blends, and fun fruity combinations that feature familiar notes like blue raspberry, sherbet or cotton candy, or unique taste sensations such as aniseed, coffee and cakes!
If you’re having trouble selecting the perfect flavour for you or have a question you’d like answered before you make your choice - feel free to contact a member of our Customer Service Team who will be happy to help assist you through personal recommendations or advice on what’s hot right now.

Nicotine Strengths

When picking your perfect vape juice it’s essential that you select the strength of nicotine that best suits your needs; a nicotine strength that is too low won’t satisfy your cravings and may leave you feeling frustrated and fed up with vaping, whilst a nicotine strength that is too high can be off putting in its intensity. However, how do you know how much nicotine you need?

Understanding Nicotine Strengths

For vape juices, nicotine strengths are measured in mg per mL - this means milligram per millilitre - and it shows the amount of nicotine that’s contained within the volume of vape juice. Most nicotine strengths will depict a number followed by “mg” and it’s paramount that you pick the right mg strength for you!
When your selecting the strength of your liquid, you need to take into consideration your past smoking habits and whether you’ve been vaping previously, as many vapestores (including ourselves) will base their recommendations on how many cigarettes you smoked a day previously as it’s the most accurate way to measure the strength of nicotine that you’ll need to manage your cravings.

If you’ve selected a MTL device we’d advise the following:

• 1 - 5 cigarettes per day - 3mg - 6mg of nicotine.
• 5 - 10 cigarettes per day - 6mg -12mg of nicotine.
• 10 - 20 cigarettes per day - 12mg - 20mg of nicotine.

However, if you’re going to be using a sub ohm style device, which personally we would not recommend for those who have only just switched from smoking to vaping due to the distinct difference in inhalation styles, we would recommend the following:

• 5 - 10 cigarettes per day - 3mg nicotine
• 10 - 20 cigarettes per day - 6mg nicotine

Due to the high power output by most sub ohm vape devices we would not recommend a nicotine strength higher than 6mg for these types of devices as the liquid can be overly harsh and could lead to further nicotine addiction.