How to make DIY Vape Juice

Vaporizer smoke with e-juice bottles
Rain Ungert/Shutterstock

Those who have vaped for a long time may have grown tired of having to regularly spend money on e-liquid (or e-juice) to refill their vape pen. Some may even have ideas for never-before-tried flavors. If this is you, it may be the time you learned the fine art of making your e-liquid.

Mixing your e-juice can be fun or frustrating, depending on how much knowledge you have. Whether this is your first time, or you’ve previously tried but failed, this ABCD simple, step-by-step guide on how to make DIY vape juice will serve as a reference to help you traverse the world of DIY e-liquid, make it fun, and might even save some cash in the process.

Table of contents

  1. What Do You Need to Make Your DIY Vape Juice?
  2. What Are the Ingredients in E-Liquid?
  3. Is It Safe to Mix Vape Juices?
  4. Step-by-Step Guide on DIY Vape Juice
  5. Tips and tricks of DIY-e-juice
  6. Frequently asked questions
  7. Final Word on DIY E-Juice

Table of contents

  1. What Do You Need to Make Your DIY Vape Juice?
  2. What Are the Ingredients in E-Liquid?
  3. Is It Safe to Mix Vape Juices?
  4. Step-by-Step Guide on DIY Vape Juice
  5. Tips and tricks of DIY-e-juice
  6. Frequently asked questions
  7. Final Word on DIY E-Juice

What do You Need to Get Started?

You need to make sure you have the proper e-juice ingredients and tools for mixing. While the chemistry involved is basic and doesn’t involve blowing anything up, you still need to practice proper safety.

Also, since mixing your DIY vape juice will involve terms that might be lost to new users, feel free to check out vape terms.

It’s Easier Than You Might Think

It’s okay when you wonder how to make vape juice and envision an Einstein-like old scientist (who has seen better days) in a shady laboratory, mixing some volatile chemicals, surrounded by truckloads of outlandish lab apparatuses, with a loud sound of something boiling in the background.

But that’s far from reality because making e-juice is simple. However, the result can range from a fluid you instantly want to throw down the drain to the best-tasting e-juice ever or anything in between.

Depending on the desired quantity, you can get to know how to make e-juice anywhere, in your kitchen or garage, but you’ll need some specific ingredients and equipment. Almost everything we mention in this guide is easily available online as well as in stores.

You need to make sure you have the proper e-juice ingredients and tools for mixing. While the chemistry involved is basic and doesn’t involve blowing anything up, you still need to practice proper safety.

Also, since mixing your DIY vape juice will involve terms that might be lost to new users, feel free to check out vape terms.

It’s Easier Than You Might Think

It’s okay when you wonder how to make vape juice and envision an Einstein-like old scientist (who has seen better days) in a shady laboratory, mixing some volatile chemicals, surrounded by truckloads of outlandish lab apparatuses, with a loud sound of something boiling in the background.

But that’s far from reality because making e-juice is simple. However, the result can range from a fluid you instantly want to throw down the drain to the best-tasting e-juice ever or anything in between.

Depending on the desired quantity, you can get to know how to make e-juice anywhere, in your kitchen or garage, but you’ll need some specific ingredients and equipment. Almost everything we mention in this guide is easily available online as well as in stores.

Ingredients to Make Vape DIY E-Juice

There are five ingredients to make e-liquid namely vegetable glycerin (VG), propylene glycol (PG), e-juice flavor extract, diluted nicotine, and distilled water or vodka, though you may or may not use nicotine and vodka. At a bare minimum, e-juice can be made with just a PG/VG base and flavoring.

  •  Propylene Glycol (PG)

It’s the preferred base liquid of most DIY vape juice makers. However, some may have allergies to propylene glycol.

It’s a federally approved, colorless, odorless organic chemical compound used in various products, including tobacco, foods, and more.

It’s also used in some medicinal products inhaled, injected into the bloodstream, used orally or topically.

  • Vegetable Glycerol (VG)

Similar to PG but a natural liquid extract derived from vegetables, VG is more viscous (thicker) and has a slight tinge of sweetness to it. While PG doesn’t really impact the overall flavor but VG can, either in a good or bad way. 

It’s an FDA-approved product used in foods, e-juices, and even cosmetics. Most DIY vape juices use both PG and VG, as each brings unique characteristics to the e-liquid.

We’ll discuss how to make DIY vape juice with them and how they impact the end product in a later section.

  • Distilled Water or Vodka

While not really crucial to the mix, this is generally used to thin out 100% VG combinations. Vodka gives added throat hits, as well, without having to add nicotine.

If you don’t want to use vodka, consider adding distilled water instead.

  • Flavoring

Flavors are available in a wide variety, but for better-tasting e-liquid, we recommend using flavors made particularly for inhaling instead of using the commonly used food flavorings.

While the usual mix requires about 10-20% flavoring, some are strong enough to require only 5%. Therefore, when using a certain flavor, make sure you read the labels and understand how it will impact your mix.

  • Nicotine Liquid

You will use diluted nicotine liquid that can be in PG or VG-base, available in various strengths. For beginners trying out how to make DIY vape juice, you can choose any nicotine strength between 8 to 24mg and then experiment with it to find your sweet spot.

If you want an apples-to-apples comparison with nicotine found in tobacco cigarettes, consider the following table:

  • Be extremely careful when handling nicotine liquid and do not ingest it. This can lead to a nicotine overdose.
  • Children are very receptive to the effects of nicotine and can easily get sick or worse if they accidentally ingest it.
  • Even a small amount can be deadly for a child.
  • A 5mg dose killed this 15-month-old, for example.
    Nicotine Level in Traditional Tobacco Cigarette Nicotine Level for E-Liquid (Milligrams)
    Nicotine-free 0
    Ultra-light 8
    Light 11
    Regular 16
    Strong 24
    Unfiltered 36

There are five ingredients to make e-liquid namely vegetable glycerin (VG), propylene glycol (PG), e-juice flavor extract, diluted nicotine, and distilled water or vodka, though you may or may not use nicotine and vodka. At a bare minimum, e-juice can be made with just a PG/VG base and flavoring.

  •  Propylene Glycol (PG)

It’s the preferred base liquid of most DIY vape juice makers. However, some may have allergies to propylene glycol.

It’s a federally approved, colorless, odorless organic chemical compound used in various products, including tobacco, foods, and more.

It’s also used in some medicinal products inhaled, injected into the bloodstream, used orally or topically.

  • Vegetable Glycerol (VG)

Similar to PG but a natural liquid extract derived from vegetables, VG is more viscous (thicker) and has a slight tinge of sweetness to it. While PG doesn’t really impact the overall flavor but VG can, either in a good or bad way. 

It’s an FDA-approved product used in foods, e-juices, and even cosmetics. Most DIY vape juices use both PG and VG, as each brings unique characteristics to the e-liquid.

We’ll discuss how to make DIY vape juice with them and how they impact the end product in a later section.

  • Distilled Water or Vodka

While not really crucial to the mix, this is generally used to thin out 100% VG combinations. Vodka gives added throat hits, as well, without having to add nicotine.

If you don’t want to use vodka, consider adding distilled water instead.

  • Flavoring

Flavors are available in a wide variety, but for better-tasting e-liquid, we recommend using flavors made particularly for inhaling instead of using the commonly used food flavorings.

While the usual mix requires about 10-20% flavoring, some are strong enough to require only 5%. Therefore, when using a certain flavor, make sure you read the labels and understand how it will impact your mix.

  • Nicotine Liquid

You will use diluted nicotine liquid that can be in PG or VG-base, available in various strengths. For beginners trying out how to make DIY vape juice, you can choose any nicotine strength between 8 to 24mg and then experiment with it to find your sweet spot.

If you want an apples-to-apples comparison with nicotine found in tobacco cigarettes, consider the following table:

  • Be extremely careful when handling nicotine liquid and do not ingest it. This can lead to a nicotine overdose.
  • Children are very receptive to the effects of nicotine and can easily get sick or worse if they accidentally ingest it.
  • Even a small amount can be deadly for a child.
  • A 5mg dose killed this 15-month-old, for example.
    Nicotine Level in Traditional Tobacco Cigarette Nicotine Level for E-Liquid (Milligrams)
    Nicotine-free 0
    Ultra-light 8
    Light 11
    Regular 16
    Strong 24
    Unfiltered 36

Mixing Supplies For DIY Vape Juice

  • Empty Plastic Bottles with Childproof Cap

As a beginner, using a plastic bottle is your best bet. You don’t want to use big containers or expensive bottles, which are a bigger investment. 

Also, you want to use clean equipment every single time or you risk ruining your juice’s flavor with the residue from your previous experiments.

A fresh cheap bottle is a lot more cost-effective and effective than an expensive, hard-to-clean container.

  • Syringes

For accurate measurements, get a separate syringe for each type of ingredient, mark the syringes and always use them for the same ingredient. Syringes can also come in handy if you’re using bottles with small openings. 

While counting drops also works, but when you’re working with small quantities, even a tiny difference can have a big impact on the overall e-juice. 

Remember, the volume of each drop depends on so many factors that there will always be some variation no matter how hard you try.

  • Tissue Paper or Napkins

The tissue paper is to wipe off any excess liquid that might spill. Even the best of us spills, so it’s better to be prepared, especially when learning how to make DIY vape juice.

  • Pair of Gloves

Since you’ll be dealing with nicotine, it’s ideal to use gloves. Upon contact with skin, it can be absorbed by your body which can be hazardous or can cause a skin rash.

Hiding behind the stereotype of a minor deal spilled e-liquid can be very toxic, but nicotine is very easily absorbed through the skin.

Use good quality, powder-free rubber gloves to avoid contamination of your e-liquid.

  • Goggles/Face Shield

While we highly recommend using gloves, you may use goggles to protect your eyes if you plan to make DIY e-juice frequently.

Highly concentrated nicotine juice can be extremely dangerous for your eyes, and can even cause blindness. Only make this investment if you’re planning on making serious amounts of e-juice.

  • Empty Plastic Bottles with Childproof Cap

As a beginner, using a plastic bottle is your best bet. You don’t want to use big containers or expensive bottles, which are a bigger investment. 

Also, you want to use clean equipment every single time or you risk ruining your juice’s flavor with the residue from your previous experiments.

A fresh cheap bottle is a lot more cost-effective and effective than an expensive, hard-to-clean container.

  • Syringes

For accurate measurements, get a separate syringe for each type of ingredient, mark the syringes and always use them for the same ingredient. Syringes can also come in handy if you’re using bottles with small openings. 

While counting drops also works, but when you’re working with small quantities, even a tiny difference can have a big impact on the overall e-juice. 

Remember, the volume of each drop depends on so many factors that there will always be some variation no matter how hard you try.

  • Tissue Paper or Napkins

The tissue paper is to wipe off any excess liquid that might spill. Even the best of us spills, so it’s better to be prepared, especially when learning how to make DIY vape juice.

  • Pair of Gloves

Since you’ll be dealing with nicotine, it’s ideal to use gloves. Upon contact with skin, it can be absorbed by your body which can be hazardous or can cause a skin rash.

Hiding behind the stereotype of a minor deal spilled e-liquid can be very toxic, but nicotine is very easily absorbed through the skin.

Use good quality, powder-free rubber gloves to avoid contamination of your e-liquid.

  • Goggles/Face Shield

While we highly recommend using gloves, you may use goggles to protect your eyes if you plan to make DIY e-juice frequently.

Highly concentrated nicotine juice can be extremely dangerous for your eyes, and can even cause blindness. Only make this investment if you’re planning on making serious amounts of e-juice.

How to Make DIY Vape Juice Kit in 5 Easy Steps

How to Make Vape Juice
Step 1. Prepare Nicotine
Here you’ll need some math skills to figure out the volume of nicotine required for the e-liquid to achieve the desired percentage. Since you’ll have diluted nicotine, use its strength in milligrams and the overall volume of the e-juice to calculate the required amount of nicotine. You can also use an online e-juice calculator or smartphone app to make life easy.

Adding too much nicotine can be a mess up so add a little less than the amount recommended by your e-juice calculator or the e-juice recipe, then add to the mix according to taste after steeping.

If the nicotine level is enough for you, but you still want more throat hits, adding a few drops of vodka will help. It doesn’t take much; about one to five percent will be good enough.

Step 2. Prepare Flavor(S)

This is where your skills and luck come in, especially if you want to make a new flavor. Also, this step can make or break the e-juice and deserves your maximum consideration. You can either use one flavor or combine several different flavors. However, for beginners, we recommend starting with just one or two flavors and then go from there.

Trial and error is the only approach to making e liquids, but as a rule of thumb, add a little less flavor than what the e-juice calculator or the recipe recommends. It’s better to start with less flavor than to ruin the entire batch by adding too much.

After steeping, do a taste test and add flavoring according to taste. Unless you’re sure what you’re doing, never add more flavoring agents than 10% of the total volume of the end product.

Also, artificial flavors are extremely complicated and can behave differently when used with other flavors or chemicals.

For instance, if you added a recommended amount of flavor to your e-liquid but don’t feel anything, adding too much flavoring will usually not help, or might even backfire by washing out the flavor. It becomes even more complicated when you’re mixing flavorings, as the final flavor can be totally different from what you expected.

Step 3. Prepare Base
You can choose any VG/PG blend depending on your recipe, but usually, it’s between 50/50 and 80/20. Just remember that diluted nicotine usually contains some levels of PG or VG, so don’t forget to take that volume into consideration.

Step 4. Mix the Blend
When you’ve everything ready, mix it in a bottle and shake it, and I mean shake the heck out of it as most e-juices (especially high VG e-juices) are very thick, and need some shaking to blend the ingredients properly.

Step 5. Steep
To steep it or not is a personal preference. Most e-juices will taste much better when steeped, just like good, aged wine. You can try out your freshly made e-liquid after you’ve experimented with how to make DIY vape juice. If it tastes really good and is up to your expectations, you might want to skip this step.

Basically nothing but oxidation of the components of your juice, steeping is a process in which you leave the ready-to-vape e-juice sit for a while in a cool, dark place. There is no predefined period as to how long the juice should be steeped, but it can take a few days or even several months. Again the denser components will finally settle down at the bottom, so you’ll need to shake them every once in a while.

Ideally, you should leave the cap off and let oxygen play its trick and make the highly volatile fluids, such as alcohol vaporize into the air. Some people sporadically put the bottles in warm water, which can actually speed up the steeping process.

Another technique involves using a coffee mug warmer or a slow cooker, which can steep the fluids in days instead of weeks. However, in this case, you’ll need to frequently check the water level.

After steeping, not only the flavor but also the color of the juice will change because of nicotine getting oxidized. Instead of a colorless or light pale-ish color, you might see a more alluring, yellowish, or even light brown color.

In fact, a color change is a sign of your juice being properly steeped. When it comes to steeping there is nothing absolute. For better steeping, you need two things: patience and experimentation. The process is long and monotonous, but the outcome is worth the wait.

How to Make Vape Juice
Step 1. Prepare Nicotine
Here you’ll need some math skills to figure out the volume of nicotine required for the e-liquid to achieve the desired percentage. Since you’ll have diluted nicotine, use its strength in milligrams and the overall volume of the e-juice to calculate the required amount of nicotine. You can also use an online e-juice calculator or smartphone app to make life easy.

Adding too much nicotine can be a mess up so add a little less than the amount recommended by your e-juice calculator or the e-juice recipe, then add to the mix according to taste after steeping.

If the nicotine level is enough for you, but you still want more throat hits, adding a few drops of vodka will help. It doesn’t take much; about one to five percent will be good enough.

Step 2. Prepare Flavor(S)

This is where your skills and luck come in, especially if you want to make a new flavor. Also, this step can make or break the e-juice and deserves your maximum consideration. You can either use one flavor or combine several different flavors. However, for beginners, we recommend starting with just one or two flavors and then go from there.

Trial and error is the only approach to making e liquids, but as a rule of thumb, add a little less flavor than what the e-juice calculator or the recipe recommends. It’s better to start with less flavor than to ruin the entire batch by adding too much.

After steeping, do a taste test and add flavoring according to taste. Unless you’re sure what you’re doing, never add more flavoring agents than 10% of the total volume of the end product.

Also, artificial flavors are extremely complicated and can behave differently when used with other flavors or chemicals.

For instance, if you added a recommended amount of flavor to your e-liquid but don’t feel anything, adding too much flavoring will usually not help, or might even backfire by washing out the flavor. It becomes even more complicated when you’re mixing flavorings, as the final flavor can be totally different from what you expected.

Step 3. Prepare Base
You can choose any VG/PG blend depending on your recipe, but usually, it’s between 50/50 and 80/20. Just remember that diluted nicotine usually contains some levels of PG or VG, so don’t forget to take that volume into consideration.

Step 4. Mix the Blend
When you’ve everything ready, mix it in a bottle and shake it, and I mean shake the heck out of it as most e-juices (especially high VG e-juices) are very thick, and need some shaking to blend the ingredients properly.

Step 5. Steep
To steep it or not is a personal preference. Most e-juices will taste much better when steeped, just like good, aged wine. You can try out your freshly made e-liquid after you’ve experimented with how to make DIY vape juice. If it tastes really good and is up to your expectations, you might want to skip this step.

Basically nothing but oxidation of the components of your juice, steeping is a process in which you leave the ready-to-vape e-juice sit for a while in a cool, dark place. There is no predefined period as to how long the juice should be steeped, but it can take a few days or even several months. Again the denser components will finally settle down at the bottom, so you’ll need to shake them every once in a while.

Ideally, you should leave the cap off and let oxygen play its trick and make the highly volatile fluids, such as alcohol vaporize into the air. Some people sporadically put the bottles in warm water, which can actually speed up the steeping process.

Another technique involves using a coffee mug warmer or a slow cooker, which can steep the fluids in days instead of weeks. However, in this case, you’ll need to frequently check the water level.

After steeping, not only the flavor but also the color of the juice will change because of nicotine getting oxidized. Instead of a colorless or light pale-ish color, you might see a more alluring, yellowish, or even light brown color.

In fact, a color change is a sign of your juice being properly steeped. When it comes to steeping there is nothing absolute. For better steeping, you need two things: patience and experimentation. The process is long and monotonous, but the outcome is worth the wait.

Sample E-Juice Recipes

DIY E-juice for vaping
archielv/Shutterstock

The whole point of learning how to make DIY vape juice is to try something new that nobody else has ever tried. But to help you get started on the right foot, here are a couple of e-juice recipes that I personally made and am proud of.

In fact, since the process is exactly the same, we’ll only list the DIY vape juice ingredients here.

Whimsical Milky Chocolate E-Juice Recipe

  • 70/20 VG/PG blend (approximately 16 ml and 5 ml)
  • Diluted nicotine (according to the strength, as desired)
  • 5 ml Coconut Milk flavoring
  • 5 ml Chocolate Roll flavoring
  • 3 ml vodka or distilled water

* Yields 30 ml of intensely flavored e-juice, and tastes best after at least 4 weeks of steeping.

Minty Paradise E-Juice Recipe

  • 50/50 VG PG blend (12 ml each)
  • Diluted nicotine (according to the strength, as desired)
  • 3 ml Peppermint flavoring
  • 1 ml Menthol flavoring
  • 5 ml Honey Dew flavoring

* Yields 30 ml of soft, cool flavor. Longer steeping results in a milder flavor, but if you like intensely rich flavor, just steep for a few days or skip it altogether.

Sample E-Juice Recipes

DIY E-juice for vaping
archielv/Shutterstock

The whole point of learning how to make DIY vape juice is to try something new that nobody else has ever tried. But to help you get started on the right foot, here are a couple of e-juice recipes that I personally made and am proud of.

In fact, since the process is exactly the same, we’ll only list the DIY vape juice ingredients here.

Whimsical Milky Chocolate E-Juice Recipe

  • 70/20 VG/PG blend (approximately 16 ml and 5 ml)
  • Diluted nicotine (according to the strength, as desired)
  • 5 ml Coconut Milk flavoring
  • 5 ml Chocolate Roll flavoring
  • 3 ml vodka or distilled water

* Yields 30 ml of intensely flavored e-juice, and tastes best after at least 4 weeks of steeping.

Minty Paradise E-Juice Recipe

  • 50/50 VG PG blend (12 ml each)
  • Diluted nicotine (according to the strength, as desired)
  • 3 ml Peppermint flavoring
  • 1 ml Menthol flavoring
  • 5 ml Honey Dew flavoring

* Yields 30 ml of soft, cool flavor. Longer steeping results in a milder flavor, but if you like intensely rich flavor, just steep for a few days or skip it altogether.

Tips on Making a Great Tasting DIY Vape Juice

  • If you were to walk away with just one tip from this entire article, let it be this: take notes of every single measurement and every step you take in making an e-juice. Many users have expressed how they’ve once made the perfect mix but can never replicate it because they never took note of the ratios and amounts.
  • Go online, and there are several social portals for e-juice recipe sharing where you can learn from others and share your great recipes.
  • Try to use flavorings made for inhaling instead of using the commonly used food flavorings.
  • If you are making e-juice for the first time, don’t make a lot either make too little. Because making a lot of e-juice could prove to be an expensive disaster while making very little leaves a tiny margin of error, as smaller variations in amount can have a greater impact.
  • If you want a great throat hit, add more PG.
  • If you want dense vapor clouds, but want a mild throat hit, add more VG.
  • E-liquids with high VG are better suited for sub-ohm vaping, as they offer not only bigger clouds but also VG, being more viscous, requires more heat from the vaporizer.

Handle nicotine safely. Make sure kids and pets don’t have access to your “laboratory” because nicotine can be poisonous if ingested.

  • If you were to walk away with just one tip from this entire article, let it be this: take notes of every single measurement and every step you take in making an e-juice. Many users have expressed how they’ve once made the perfect mix but can never replicate it because they never took note of the ratios and amounts.
  • Go online, and there are several social portals for e-juice recipe sharing where you can learn from others and share your great recipes.
  • Try to use flavorings made for inhaling instead of using the commonly used food flavorings.
  • If you are making e-juice for the first time, don’t make a lot either make too little. Because making a lot of e-juice could prove to be an expensive disaster while making very little leaves a tiny margin of error, as smaller variations in amount can have a greater impact.
  • If you want a great throat hit, add more PG.
  • If you want dense vapor clouds, but want a mild throat hit, add more VG.
  • E-liquids with high VG are better suited for sub-ohm vaping, as they offer not only bigger clouds but also VG, being more viscous, requires more heat from the vaporizer.

Handle nicotine safely. Make sure kids and pets don’t have access to your “laboratory” because nicotine can be poisonous if ingested.

Frequently asked questions

How Much Juice Does 30 ml of Concentrate Make?

30 ml of flavor concentrate can be used to flavor 150 ml of a base liquid.  

Is It Cheaper to Make Your Own Vape Juice?

Making juice at home is less expensive than buying it in the long run. A 30 ml bottle of flavor concentrate costs around ten dollars, and a 30 ml of flavorless base liquid costs around the same. Buying the concentrate and the base costs less than twenty dollars.

On the other hand, making juice at home takes a lot of time. Buying ready liquid is much simpler and easier. 

How Long Does Homemade Vape Juice Last?

The two main ingredients of juice are vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol. There is little data available on how long these ingredients remain good to vape. It is advisable to store enough juice to last two months. Keep juice out of direct sunlight and in a dry cabinet to make it last longer. Signs of juice that have gone bad are discoloration, changes in thickness, and changes in smell.

How Much Juice Does 30 ml of Concentrate Make?

30 ml of flavor concentrate can be used to flavor 150 ml of a base liquid.  

Is It Cheaper to Make Your Own Vape Juice?

Making juice at home is less expensive than buying it in the long run. A 30 ml bottle of flavor concentrate costs around ten dollars, and a 30 ml of flavorless base liquid costs around the same. Buying the concentrate and the base costs less than twenty dollars.

On the other hand, making juice at home takes a lot of time. Buying ready liquid is much simpler and easier. 

How Long Does Homemade Vape Juice Last?

The two main ingredients of juice are vegetable glycerin and propylene glycol. There is little data available on how long these ingredients remain good to vape. It is advisable to store enough juice to last two months. Keep juice out of direct sunlight and in a dry cabinet to make it last longer. Signs of juice that have gone bad are discoloration, changes in thickness, and changes in smell.

Closing Thoughts about How to Make DIY Vape Juice

Ideally, your drill should be like this:

Make E-juice ► Steep ► Enjoy the Vape ► Repeat

But let’s be realistic. Learning how to make DIY vape juice can be time-consuming but fun. It requires a lot of testing before you create the perfect mix. 

Whereas once you find it, it’s easy to replicate. It also costs less overall, compared to buying e-juice over and over again.

That being said, some things can go wrong, and sometimes the process of tinkering and re-mixing can become tedious and tiring. Not all vapers are built to create their  DIY e-liquid. 

Those who are not cut out for it may try to make their own, but they should trust big companies with experience that have a host of flavors to choose from in the long run.

Ideally, your drill should be like this:

Make E-juice ► Steep ► Enjoy the Vape ► Repeat

But let’s be realistic. Learning how to make DIY vape juice can be time-consuming but fun. It requires a lot of testing before you create the perfect mix. 

Whereas once you find it, it’s easy to replicate. It also costs less overall, compared to buying e-juice over and over again.

That being said, some things can go wrong, and sometimes the process of tinkering and re-mixing can become tedious and tiring. Not all vapers are built to create their  DIY e-liquid. 

Those who are not cut out for it may try to make their own, but they should trust big companies with experience that have a host of flavors to choose from in the long run.

Published: August 10, 2015 Updated: September 20, 2022


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Mig Vapor E juice Mixer


Comments

Leave a comment

48 comments on “How to make DIY Vape Juice

  • Daniel Nez

    October 5, 2022 at 7:41 pm

    Question!
    I have a 30m 50/50 with 4.8 % nicotine can I 50ml 50/50 at 3 mg nicotine
    Can I safely mix the two?

  • ayman

    May 10, 2022 at 2:34 am

    Is the distilled water just to reduce the viscosity of glycerin or to incorporate flavors as well? As for vodka or ethyl alcohol, what is the best alcohol to use and what to use

  • Rick Rice

    January 18, 2022 at 5:56 am

    It can be complicated at first but it’s like anything else. Once you figure out what you are doing and the amounts….I can whip a batch together in 15 minutes or less. Matter-of-fact, I don’t even measure anymore. Half the bottle is VG and half is PG and I use about 3 grams of Flavoring and 5 grams of nicotine. I do it all on my scale and it’s super easy! Now, I’ve started using the flavorless nicotine that already has the PG/VG included. Put 3 grams of flavor in a 30ml bottle and fill it up with the flavorless nicotine which includes the PG/VG and your done! So easy but it sounds terribly complicated when you first read about it. Best to find someone who can explain it to you. Some people want to be very precise and measure everything perfectly and others want to get it done quickly. End result is what matters. Nothing wrong with experimenting….just make sure you got the basics understood and have fun!

  • Sissy

    April 21, 2021 at 1:04 pm

    E liquid ingredients I have gathered without knowing how much of each to use for a large batch. The company I use were able (by law) to send pre measured ingredients. All I needed to do was mix them all together without measuring, resulting in 13-18mg of nicotine per batch. I have 50 125ml empty bottles to fill if possible. If anyone can give me measurements (in easy form please) to make a batch with an outcome of between 13 & 18 mg of nicotine. I will be able to inform you of the exact amounts of my ingredients. Thanking you in advance, Sincerely, Sissy

  • George

    October 22, 2020 at 11:41 am

    Hi Thanush – Can I Use Torani Syrup in a DIY E-Liquid Recipe?

    • James Bickford

      November 3, 2020 at 8:53 am

      Hi George! Thanks for writing to us. About your question, I think it would be best to leave out the Torani syrup for now. Of course they have a great taste and are a great addition to coffee or tea, but they will not interact well with whatever else you are using in your DIY e-juice. There’s a lot of sugar in the syrup and it could harden in your tank, causing even more problems. I would suggest getting flavor shots from specific e-juice wholesalers that are made specifically for DIY e-juice making and put the Torani on your pancakes instead. Hope this helps, let us know what you end up using. Happy vaping!

  • Shyama Bhattacharya

    February 25, 2020 at 4:35 pm

    Hi, My name is Shyama, and I am interested in creating a totally herbal vape alternative, considering the vaping related injuries that we are seeing on the rise. I would like to collaborate with someone who is experienced in the arena, but also wants to see a change for the better. My aim is to understand the tastes and likings of habitual vapers, for example, will a substitute for the nicotine that is being used, work? What about completely switching out the base liquids? will the performance and neurochemical effects vary if we do change the base liquids? (from the perspective of users).

  • Nitesh

    June 29, 2019 at 7:42 am

    I have recently started making DIY e-juices, about two month ago. I am an MTL vaper. Making e-juice is really tedious and require much patience. Most of the recipes i tried didnt come up very well, except one I liked, and repeated. I am sharing the same here.
    VG/PG – 50/50
    Supershots- Virgin joint 10%
    FA Dark coffee beans 2 %
    TFA Koolada 1%
    TFA French vanilla 1%
    CAP Supersweet 1 drop in 30 ml
    Acetyle pyrazine 2 drops in 30 ml
    FA MTS wape wizard 2 drops in 30 ml
    Nicotine USP 6%
    Steep time 4 weeks
    If any one has any suggestion for improvement, please share.

  • Shawna Cornell

    February 24, 2019 at 10:05 pm

    I’m trying to make the flavor called poison apple by fusion and I can’t seem to find the right recipe can anyone please help.

  • Murray

    February 21, 2019 at 9:36 am

    i want to know this as well.

  • Bobby Wales

    November 22, 2018 at 7:50 pm

    May be a dumb question. I can’t seem to get the recipe for tobacco flavor juice. Do you have a recipe for tobacco flavor juice?

  • Tony Brady

    October 3, 2018 at 3:28 am

    Hey thanks a lot mate I’m from Australia will give it a go

  • marios

    September 30, 2018 at 7:09 am

    i made my first e juice yesterday and its not sweet enough sould i add sweetner or something?

    • Jackson Villa

      October 24, 2018 at 10:48 am

      you should probably use sweetener. or CAPS* super sweet @ 0.5 to 1.5% don’t use more than 2% or it will gunk up your coils.

  • Jason Pyktel

    September 15, 2018 at 7:15 pm

    I said screw it with a vaping flavor ban in play and bought a food flavor despite not recommending that in article. I’m not gonna be screwed. I plan on making natural extracts like lemon and orange.

    natural and organic eliquid exist. the only way can be natural and organic is if they are doing just that what stated. minus the food flavor direction took.

  • Jesse

    September 10, 2018 at 8:51 am

    Sounds like a juice I used to buy

  • Chase Rainey

    September 4, 2018 at 12:48 am

    Where do we get the flavoring? Can you give us a link? Extracts like vanilla or peppermint is unhealthy, correct?

  • Mikayla Loveless

    August 30, 2018 at 12:09 am

    Im trying to replicate the single flavor recipe for boogenshizzle fried ice cream. . . And I’ve been making eliquids for over a year now but my husband did most of the math. He died this year, im just trying to figure out the math on an 80/20 ratio of pg / vg with making 240ml , at 3% nicotine and just the one flavor of boogenshizzle concentrate. What would the percentages (&mls) be to make this?? I feel so dumb. I can follow a recipe with pre mixed pg / vg with the nicotine already on it but ive never had to do all this math. It’s probably really simple, I’m just not understanding….

  • Eleanor Jeffries

    August 5, 2018 at 8:15 am

    Hi where do you buy the ingredients to make your own oils

  • Caroline Haywood

    July 19, 2018 at 7:52 am

    What does “sub ohm” vaping mean please?

    • Jim

      September 15, 2018 at 12:28 am

      Any coil ohm less running than 1.0 ohm…majority are .25-.90 ex: .45-.90 ohm

  • Keith Perry

    July 2, 2018 at 10:55 pm

    Hi.. I’ve been vamping for years now and stumbled upon DIYing last year some time. I am a sub-ohm vaper and even make all my own coil builds. I prefer 80/20 vg/pg straight up and a formula I found for nicotine that really helps is (%nic desired/nic mg strength)*desired volume=how much nic to use.
    And steeping with a slow cooker is the Only way to go! Check lots on warm only.. 1 hour or so for fruits, 2 or so for desserts, and 4 for tobaccos… Happy vaping!

    • Matt

      July 20, 2018 at 5:20 pm

      If you wouldn’t mind, I’m brand new to this and plan to be using a 100% VG mixture with no nicotien. I have a question or two an experienced person may be able to answer.

      The first is, do I need to add anything to make it taste sweet? I would like it to since I’m going to be making chocolate style liquids.

      The second is, when you steep in a slow cooker, is that with the lid on or off? I would guess on because otherwise your flavoring would evaporate but is there any risk of the bottle rupturing?

      Thank you for considering my questions!

  • Lawana Dennis

    May 29, 2018 at 7:15 am

    I want to taste graplberry breexe. What do you suggest

  • Amy

    May 13, 2018 at 6:48 am

    I found a good follow up article to this that has top 10 easy recipes: https://vapingdaily.com/best-vape-juices-and-e-liquids/top-10-e-liquid-recipes/

  • gordon

    March 16, 2018 at 7:39 pm

    were can I buy the propylene glycol, vegetable glycol at???

    • Yeet

      November 20, 2018 at 11:48 pm

      Any store

  • Ivy

    March 8, 2018 at 11:35 am

    This is great advice. I have never really made vape juice myself. I bought Vapour2 few months ago and i just get all the flavours the brand make.(actually there is good selection). But for sure will try it, sound interesting. I was always willing to have chocolate with coffee, that is what i love in my cakes:-)

  • Dave

    January 2, 2018 at 7:08 am

    NIce! I am going to try this out. I had one question. Is it possible to make a CBD e-liquid?

  • Lee Thornsby

    November 5, 2017 at 8:47 pm

    What’s your nicotine percentage on these flavours or is it zero

  • Vicki Weaver

    November 5, 2017 at 9:00 am

    Thank you!

  • Vicki Weaver

    November 5, 2017 at 8:59 am

    You answered my biggest concern and that is after a while my juice turned yellow. I couldn’t figure out why. Now I know and better yet it was steeped perfectly.
    I’m a beginner and I totally enjoy making my own juice. The only trouble I have is the MATH!!!
    Thanx for all the info. and I do appreciate your site!!
    Vicki

  • Tina

    October 27, 2017 at 8:00 pm

    Would this be correct for making a 30 mil bottle, the nicotine level seems too high. Please help. Ty.
    Nicotine juice 24 mg (100% VG) 7.5
    PG dilutant. 2.70
    VG dilutant 13.50
    Total base23.729.2979
    Bavarain Cream (TPA) 0.9
    DX Graham Cracker (TPA) 1.2
    (Strawberry ripe) (TPA) 2.7
    DX Sweet Cream (TPA) 0.9
    DX Vanilla Cupcake (TPA) 0.6
    Totals3035.59100

    Strength: 6 mg
    PG/VG-ratio: 30/70
    Flavor total: 6.3 ml / 6.3g (21%)

    • Austin

      April 12, 2018 at 2:19 am

      That nicotine amount should result in a 6 but i would recommend using less pg if the hit is too harsh

  • Kelly L Collins

    October 27, 2017 at 12:23 am

    Red Hot Candy, little sweet, little more cinnamon.

  • Kelly L Collins

    October 27, 2017 at 12:20 am

    I’m wanting the old juice of 80/20. When it was 20% water. But dying for. Red Hot Candy

  • Edwin Potgieter

    October 25, 2017 at 7:26 pm

    How can I buy your stuff

  • Tien

    October 21, 2017 at 11:40 am

    Hi I’m Tien
    Thanks for the DIY guide I find it easy to understand and helpful
    I’m learning to make my own juice and I want to make Mary Jane
    Do you have a recipe

    • Dwahna

      April 18, 2018 at 4:34 am

      I’ve been wondering the same thing. I can’t remember the site I came across the other day that did have a “mary Jane” (I was distracted) in their range. I, unfortunately need the real and can’t picture me vaping just the flavor.

  • Edwin Potgieter

    October 11, 2017 at 3:13 pm

    Great where can I buy this stuff
    regards
    Edwin

    • Richard

      April 4, 2018 at 9:59 pm

      Almost all can be found on Amazon except liquid nicotine.

    • Melisia Stewart

      August 24, 2018 at 1:21 pm

      Need to buy the vg of juice nicotine liquids but don’t know where to find it.Please let me know.

      • Lisa

        September 20, 2018 at 7:09 pm

        I buy online.

  • Michelle Schill

    September 2, 2017 at 1:06 pm

    Can you use only VG and leave out the PG? I vape sub-ohm.

    • Richard

      April 4, 2018 at 9:57 pm

      you can but you;ll burn out your coil really fast.

    • Austin

      April 12, 2018 at 2:17 am

      I do, but i use nicotine suspended in PG so it’s not %100 vg

    • Dwahna

      April 18, 2018 at 4:25 am

      Hi. I’m a newbie at vaping. I have found your information very honest and helpful but there are no responses to the questions that I feel “vapingdaily” should be more involved. Its a good site and I’d like your opinions. Vape on ????

    • James

      September 26, 2018 at 10:24 am

      Not with sub-Ohm its too thick