It's hard to find a good e-liquid whose flavor and nicotine strength are just right. Most e-liquids are either too weak or too strong, and it's hard to find one with the perfect flavor.
Making your own e-liquid may seem intimidating, but it’s actually a very easy process. Plus, you can customize the flavor and nicotine content to suit your tastes, which means you can create exactly the e-liquid you want.
Not only is it fun to make your own e-liquid, but it's also a great way to save money. You'll get more e-liquid for your money than if you bought pre-made e-liquid at a store.
With this guide, you can make your own e-liquid at home in your favorite flavor.
So gather your supplies and get ready to start mixing! It's easy, affordable, and a lot of fun.
Why Make Your Own E-Liquid?
Making your own e-liquid is a great way to save money and customize it to your personal preferences. You can make large quantities at a low cost, choose flavors you might not find in stores, and decide how much nicotine each bottle contains!
Substantial savings
The biggest advantage of making your own e-liquid is the money you save. You can buy the ingredients in bulk, and you’ll never have to go out and buy them again.
The typical cost of DIY e-liquid is about 3 to 5 times lower than that of commercially available 10-ml pre-filled bottles, which is quite remarkable.
For example, a typical vaper who uses 3 mg/ml of nicotine wants to make 500 ml of DIY e-liquid over the next three months to save money. Currently, they spend €175 each month on 10-ml bottles of ready-to-vape e-liquid to cover their monthly consumption.
Our vaper will start with a base. This is the least expensive item on his shopping list. He’ll spend just €4.50 on a 125-ml bottle of base (which must be nicotine-free due to European regulations) with a 50/50 PG/VG ratio.
To achieve the desired nicotine concentration, he’ll add a set of 20 mg/ml nicotine boosters to this base. Since 2017, the cost of nicotine boosters has nearly halved, and they’ll now cost him 5.50 EUR for 5 boosters in stores—and even less at LiquidBox. Finally, he’ll choose the flavor he liked best before, but in concentrated form. For €13.90, he’ll add a 30-ml bottle of concentrate to his order.
To make 200 ml of e-liquid, it will have cost him just €23.90! Making your own e-liquids is 4 to 6 times cheaper than buying ready-to-vape e-liquids—unless, of course, you choose the option LiquidBox XL, in fact, in the XL box, the e-liquids—selected based on your preferences—cost less than €10 for a 60-ml bottle (booster included), which is close to DIY prices (for ready-to-vape e-liquids).
How can you make your own e-liquid at home?
Before making the e-liquid, make sure you have a clean, dry surface to work on. Make sure your equipment is clean and in good working order, and that you have all the necessary tools. If possible, wear latex gloves. Nicotine can irritate your skin if it comes into contact with it.
Prepare the mixture
Start by combining the ingredients: the flavoring first, then the nicotine, and finish with the neutral base. For any other additives, it is essential to add them before the base.
As for the proportions, while the nicotine level can be easily calculated using online calculators, the flavorings must be adjusted accordingly.
The amount of flavoring to add
The amounts of flavorings are determined based on a dilution percentage. When a flavoring is to be used at 10%, this means that the amount of flavoring must be equal to 10% of the bottle’s total volume. This is equivalent to 20 ml for a 200-ml bottle.
To determine the amount of flavoring to add to a mixture, for a liquid to be diluted to 10%, simply multiply the final volume of your mixture by 0.10.
For a 50-ml bottle -> 0.10 x 50 = 5 ml of concentrated flavor.
If you want to use several different flavors, divide the total amount by the number of flavors you want to use.
Don't forget to adjust the dosage based on the base, as bases with higher VG content require a higher dosage of flavorings.
Bottling and Aging Period
The DIY e-liquid It has many advantages, but it requires a little time and organization.
In addition to preparing your e-liquid—which normally takes less than 30 minutes—you need to be patient and let the flavors in your recipe develop. The aging time for each flavor varies depending on the type of flavorings used.
We also suggest letting your e-liquid age for a few more days if you've used a VG-rich base.
| FLAVOR TYPE | STEEPING TIME |
| Fruity | Up to 5 days |
| Coffee, Vanilla, Mint | 5 to 14 days |
| Foodies | 14 to 21 days |
| Tobacco flavor | At least 15 days |
The aging process takes a little longer depending on the type of flavoring used, but it's definitely worth the wait if you want a high-quality e-liquid.
It is therefore not recommended to vape a DIY e-liquid within a minute of making it: the flavors will most likely be absent. This is one of the reasons why DIY e-liquids should be planned in advance to avoid running out of e-liquid!
Be sure to set aside a storage space for your mixtures. Of course, you can prepare e-liquids in advance and use them as needed. In addition, many flavor concentrates have a minimum aging period. To get the most out of your DIY e-liquids, we recommend allowing them time to mature.
Everything you need to make your own e-liquid
Equipment
Start by getting a few essential supplies so you can make your own e-liquids, such as a measuring cup for the various ingredients and storage bottles for your DIY mixtures.
Empty bottles
Empty DIY bottles are available in various sizes and can be used to mix and store your e-liquids. It’s up to you to choose the size that works best for you! For example, you can store your e-liquid in a large 100-ml bottle and use a small 10- or 30-ml bottle for everyday use.
There are also graduated bottles that make it easy to make your own e-liquids without having to measure them out.
Syringes
The amounts of nicotine and flavorings must be precise for the e-liquid to mature properly. To measure to the nearest milliliter, a syringe or a graduated pipette can be very handy.
Ingredients
To make your first e-liquids, you'll need the following items:
- A neutral base tailored to your preferred PG/VG ratio
- Nicotine boosters
- The flavor concentrates of your choice
Making e-liquids for e-cigarettes takes more time than simply buying ready-to-vape e-liquids. However, once you have the equipment and have mastered the process, it offers many advantages!
You can customize your own DIY e-liquid.
No matter what your personal preferences are—whether it’s PG/VG ratios, nicotine content, flavors, or quantities—you can do it! No matter what kind of e-liquid you like to vape, you can make it.
Would you like to customize your favorite perfume by adding a different scent—perhaps cinnamon or lavender? Is it possible to add a hint of tobacco? It’s definitely doable!
Once you’ve mastered the techniques needed to mix your own e-liquid, you’ll be able to create large quantities all at once. This is one of the advantages over buying ready-to-use e-liquid.
Do It Yourself or Not?
DIY e-liquids offer many advantages over ready-to-vape liquids: greater customization eliminates boredom at an affordable price! However, you need to master the basics to get good results.
It’s essential to master the basics of DIY e-liquid making to get good results, but once you’ve done that, the possibilities are endless. You can customize your e-liquid to have the nicotine level or flavor you want, and you can make as much or as little as you need.
DIY e-liquids also give you the chance to get started without spending too much. Although not all flavors mix well together, you can buy a few and test them out risk-free before deciding if DIY is right for you.
If you're looking for an affordable alternative to DIY, the XL Boxes are perfect for you! You'll find Mix and Vape and ready-to-vape e-liquids in sizes starting at 300 ml at unbeatable prices thanks to our partnerships with manufacturers—that's a maximum of €10 for a 60-ml bottle of top-quality e-liquid!