# Dry Feeling with DIY E-Liquid.



## Jebula999 (11/7/19)

Hey guys, been a while.

So I decided to mix up some DIY goodies, as it's been a few months.
I got enough flavors and bases to make around 1L of juice and made 9 different flavors.

It's been about a week now, and all the bottles have a dry sensation. It actually leaves my mouth feeling dry after half a tank. There is no burn or signs the nicotine is bad.

None of them have that thick, creamy "wetness" that store-bought juices have. They are always rich, creamy and have a "thick" feeling to them, yet in my 4 years of vaping/DIYing, I have never had that sort of success.

They were all mixed ~8-12% flavor and 2-3mg Nic.
I have made 3 fruit blends and 7 dessert/custard blends, and all seem to give the same issue.

Should I be adding sweetner? Marshmellow? Smooth?
Could it just need a month steep time? Would steeping that long help with making it more thick and creamy?


Any advice or help would be appreciated.


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## takatatak (11/7/19)

Thickness and saturation are not quite the same but if you feel they're dry and not similar to commercial juice, it would definitely be the lack of sweetener.

Most commercial juices use sucralose with CAP Super Sweet being the most popular choice. Sucralose will definitely add saturation to your juice but at the cost of gunking your coils and cotton more quickly. I've found 0.25-0.5% to be a decent amount of sweetness compared to commercial juice. 0.5% is quite sweet though.

FLV Sweetness is cleaner than CAP Super Sweet but it's 3-4 times the price. FW Sweetener is sucralose without additives. CAP Super Sweet contains some preservatives which probably shouldn't be vaped, yet it remains the most popular sweetener because of its efficacy... It contains Water, Sucralose, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate.

I'd recommend deciding which sweetener you'd prefer and that should almost certainly help with making the juice more saturated and vibrant... Hope this helps

Reactions: Winner 1 | Informative 3


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## Dela Rey Steyn (11/7/19)

@Jebula999 I have the same problem, received some good advice on this thread: https://www.ecigssa.co.za/advice-required-how-do-i-round-my-juice-off-a-bit-smoother.t60414/

I have unfortunately not gotten around to mixing again, so can not yet comment on the effectiveness of the advice received. Will put in some mix time this weekend.

Reactions: Winner 1 | Informative 1


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## Wesley (11/7/19)

Jebula999 said:


> Hey guys, been a while.
> 
> So I decided to mix up some DIY goodies, as it's been a few months.
> I got enough flavors and bases to make around 1L of juice and made 9 different flavors.
> ...



Hi @Jebula999 ,

Maybe post some of the recipes you've made so we can suggest some enhancers specific to the flavour profile.

There are a couple of concentrates which can help with the 'mouthfeel' you're looking for without necessarily having to add sweetener (which I never use).

For example - FA's Fresh Cream is a fantastic unflavoured cream that you can add to bakery / dessert profiles to add substance without affecting the taste. Their Marshmallow helps with thickness while adding a small amount of sweetness. TFA Vanilla Swirl is great to add to fruits at low percentage for some fluffiness. TFA Graham Cracker (Clear) will impart a graininess to crusts.

FA MTS Vape Wizard apparently helps with adding thickness too, although I have yet to try it.

Keep in mind that commercial juices also have the advantage of being steeped for some time before they get into anyone's atomisers, as they have been sitting in transport / on shelves. If you are going for custard / cream / dessert profiles, the best way to get to that creaminess is time; custards can take from 2 weeks to a month to develop that richness you're after.

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 1 | Informative 1


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## Jebula999 (11/7/19)

Wesley said:


> Hi @Jebula999 ,
> Keep in mind that commercial juices also have the advantage of being steeped for some time before they get into anyone's atomisers, as they have been sitting in transport / on shelves. If you are going for custard / cream / dessert profiles, the best way to get to that creaminess is time; custards can take from 2 weeks to a month to develop that richness you're after.



I wasn't sure if steeping played a massive role in the "feel" of a juice, hence i wasn't sure if i was missing an additive or if i just needed to give it more time.

I've always vaped my DIY stuff 1-3 weeks after making them.

I'm really not too sure of the exact recipes i used, i mainly go on gut feel and have whipped out a few bangers that way.
It is indeed a sad day when one turns out amazing but i have no way of remembering what exactly went into it xD

The main flavours i used are the following:




One of them i know is the following:

5% Bavarian Cream
5% Butter Cream
5% Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
2.5% Sweet Cream

I mainly did that one for an all out custard and is by far the highest flavour % of all the mixes i made.

All 9 bottles were mixes and matches of flavour, depending on what i wanted to be the main flavour profile of the bottle.

I do love me some sugar cookie and custard/vanilla. They probably in 90% of the juice i mix.
Although 2 bottles are only fruit and cream varients. No custard or vanilla.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Resistance (11/7/19)

Jebula999 said:


> Hey guys, been a while.
> 
> So I decided to mix up some DIY goodies, as it's been a few months.
> I got enough flavors and bases to make around 1L of juice and made 9 different flavors.
> ...



what percentage are you mixing pg/vg?


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## takatatak (12/7/19)

Jebula999 said:


> I wasn't sure if steeping played a massive role in the "feel" of a juice, hence i wasn't sure if i was missing an additive or if i just needed to give it more time.
> 
> I've always vaped my DIY stuff 1-3 weeks after making them.
> 
> ...


I've noticed you have quite a few DX flavours in your inventory. They are all reformulated to not contain DAAP (Diacetyl, Acetoin, Acetyl Propionyl) which may not be the healthiest things to vape but they definitely add thickness to concentrates. Not to say that DX or V2 concentrates can't add mouth feel but their original versions generally perform better.

The VBIC and Sweet Cream are probably your best options from those you have on hand but they only have medium to low mouth feel. I'd recommend getting some CAP Vanilla Custard V1 or V2, CAP French Vanilla and/or FW Yoghurt for some nice heavier creams and some TFA Vanilla Swirl & TFA Marshmallow for some lighter creams.

Things like MTS Vape Wizard & TFA Smooth can help to add extra thickness and roundness to recipes in small percentages but not without help from other concentrates and over using them will likely lead to flavour muting.

I'd also highly recommend using a mixing app on your phone or computer so you don't lose or forget your recipes in the future. You can do it on ELR but I've come to really like the advanced features and options in www.diyjuicecalculator.com

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Lawrence A (12/7/19)

Just thinking out loud....

1. What PG/VG ratio are you using
2. Are you using a pre-mixed base or separate PG/VG
3. I find DIY nic to be 'stronger' than store bought - perhaps look at dropping your 4mg down to 2.5mg?
4. In my opinion the recipe you posted is too cream heavy and over-flavored - perhaps it is contributing to the mouthfeel you don't like?

_5% Bavarian Cream
5% Butter Cream
5% Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
2.5% Sweet Cream_

5. Not sure where you are getting your recipes from but if ELR, perhaps rather look at ATF - the recipes on ELR tend to be from a time when using high-flavors was required but with modern hardware, you can really tone the quantities down.
6. I would strongly recommend downloading a recipe calculator to help ensure can replicate recipes at will. 
7. What device are you using?

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1


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## Jebula999 (12/7/19)

@Lawrence A 

1. What PG/VG ratio are you using
30PG/70VG
2. Are you using a pre-mixed base or separate PG/VG
This time i used pre-mix, all other times i have mixed separately
3. I find DIY nic to be 'stronger' than store bought - perhaps look at dropping your 4mg down to 2.5mg?
I make juice between 2mg-3mg
4. In my opinion the recipe you posted is too cream heavy and over-flavored - perhaps it is contributing to the mouthfeel you don't like?

_5% Bavarian Cream
5% Butter Cream
5% Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
2.5% Sweet Cream_

5. Not sure where you are getting your recipes from but if ELR, perhaps rather look at ATF - the recipes on ELR tend to be from a time when using high-flavors was required but with modern hardware, you can really tone the quantities down.
I get idea's from ELR, to see what flavour people tend to use with others, i only look at highly rated recipes, not just anything.
This recipe was only made because i had these flavours on hand, and decided to give it a bash. Normally i would not put this much cream/custard into a recipe.
6. I would strongly recommend downloading a recipe calculator to help ensure can replicate recipes at will.
I use an app called "eJuice Me Up". So far the best one i have used in the past 2 years.
7. What device are you using?
I am using a noisy cricket with either a Twisted Messes Squared RDA or a Zeus X RTA.



Here are some images from recipes i have done in the past with the same results:


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## Lawrence A (12/7/19)

@Jebula999 perhaps the problem may be the pre-mixed base? I've seen a few posts on various forums where people aren't happy with the results of using a premixed base?


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## Jebula999 (12/7/19)

Lawrence A said:


> @Jebula999 perhaps the problem may be the pre-mixed base? I've seen a few posts on various forums where people aren't happy with the results of using a premixed base?


This is the first time using a pre-mix base. But i have had this issue/problem many times in the past when not using pre-mixes.

I'm gonna pop out and get some sweetener today, will add it to a bottle and give it a try, maybe that's the solution, and probably the easiest one to try,

Reactions: Like 1


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