Ultimate Guide to 100% VG E-Liquids
100% VG E-Liquids are a great choice for PG-intolerant vapers, but they’re not for everyone. Let’s explore the pros and cons of 100% VG E-Liquids to help you decide if they’re right for you.
At Vape Green, we’re experts in 100% VG E-Liquids. In fact, our company originally started out as the UK’s first (and only) 100% VG specialists.
Since then, we’ve grown to offer everything vape-related, but to this day, we still offer the UK’s best selection of PG-free E-Liquids.
As a result, we get a lot of queries from customers asking if they should try 100% VG. Oftentimes, these are smokers and new vapers who tried vaping once and it made them cough, so they think they might have a PG intolerance.
Whatever your reasoning, we’ve written this guide for customers who are considering trying 100% VG E-Liquids, since they’re not for everyone. These vape juices have their own set of advantages and disadvantages, and whether you should use them will depend on your particular circumstances.
Before You Try 100% VG…
Consider the following:
- When did you last try vaping? If it’s been several years, you should try again with a newer E-Liquid type, like nic salts, which are smoother on the throat.
- Are you trying to quit smoking? Vaping can make you cough while you’re in the process of quitting, and for several weeks after you stop, so you may not be PG-intolerant. Check out our article on Vaper’s Cough for more information.
- Could you be reacting to a specific flavouring? Consider trying a different flavour or brand, as you may be reacting to a specific flavouring or preparation from a particular E-Liquid brand.
Before trying 100% VG E-Liquid, try these steps first:
- Pick up a disposable. Rather than investing in a whole set up to go PG-free, pick up a disposable vape first. It’ll only cost you a fiver, and it’ll help you determine whether you can tolerate PG. If you respond well to the disposable, you can vape nic salts in a refillable device.
- Try a different E-Liquid. Your previous reaction might be to a particular flavouring, or if you were using nic salts, it could be because of the type of acid used (benzoic, salicylic, etc.). Some people don’t react well to specific nic salt formulations. Try a different E-Liquid before assuming you’re intolerant to PG.
What are 100% VG E-Liquids?
100% VG—also known as PG-free—E-Liquids are a special type of vape juice made with only vegetable glycerine (VG), a substance that’s naturally derived from plants.
Standard E-Liquids are made with a base mixture of VG and propylene glycol (PG), blended in varying ratios for different types of vaping devices. PG is an artificial (man-made) substance and is used in everything from cosmetics and medicines to tobacco and even food.
We have a handy article on E-Liquid ingredients if you’re curious to learn more about what’s in your vape juice.
PG is much thinner than VG, and as a result, E-Liquids high in PG are ideal for use in low-powered devices like most simple pod kits and starter vape kits. Conversely, E-Liquids high in VG are thicker and require more power to vaporise, which means that they should only be used in high-powered sub-ohm vape kits.
You can learn more about VG/PG ratios in vape juice in our other article.
Even high-VG E-Liquids, like shortfills, contain some PG—usually in the base mixture and the flavourings. Propylene glycol is a particularly good flavour carrier, so almost all flavourings used by manufacturers are suspended in PG before being added to the base mixture.
100% VG E-Liquids, on the other hand, contain no PG whatsoever, so they’re thicker in viscosity, have less concentrated flavouring, and require specific equipment and techniques to work properly.
Now that we’ve outlined what 100% VG E-Liquids are, let’s dive into their pros and cons.
Pros & Cons of 100% VG E-Liquids
100% VG vape juice has many benefits, especially for those with a PG intolerance, allergy, or sensitivity. It’s also great for sub-ohm vapers chasing the biggest clouds. But while they have some incredible upsides, there are also some important factors to consider—particularly if you’re new to vaping.
Pros of 100% VG E-Liquids
Suitable for Vapers With a PG Intolerance or Allergy
By far the biggest, most important benefit of 100% VG E-Liquids is that they’re perfect for vapers who have problems using propylene glycol. PG-free E-Liquids were originally conceived to help a subset of vapers who have an allergy, sensitivity, or intolerance to PG.
The prevalence of PG intolerances is currently unknown, but it’s estimated to affect between 1% and 4% of vapers. True allergies to PG are rare and are usually discovered before a person tries vaping, since PG is present in many other everyday products (like food and medicine).
If you have a PG intolerance, you may find it difficult to vape without experiencing symptoms like coughing, a dry mouth, headaches, sore throat, gum problems, or skin rashes.
100% VG E-Liquids contain no PG whatsoever, so if PG is your issue, you’ll likely find that your symptoms subside when using a 100% VG E-Liquid.
For PG-intolerant vapers, 100% VG is their only option.
Massive Clouds
100% VG E-Liquids are great for cloud chasing. If you’ve ever seen a cloud-chasing competition, you’ll be interested to know that these “professional” vapers are often using 100% VG E-Liquids since they create the biggest, densest clouds.
If you’re a greedy sub-ohm vaper, you’ll find that 100% VG E-Liquids are excellent for cloud production. You won’t get a bigger plume from any other E-Liquid.
Less Concentrated Flavour
Because VG is a less potent flavour carrier compared to PG, and because of its plant-derived, semi-sweet taste, 100% VG E-Liquids are generally milder in taste compared to standard E-Liquids.
While some vapers—particularly those who regularly vape disposables—crave that ultra-concentrated, super-sweet taste, we hear from lots of vapers who say they prefer the milder taste of PG-free E-Liquids.
These vape juices are generally less sweet and more natural-tasting than standard E-Liquids, which is a boon for those who find regular vapes too sweet or sickly for their liking.
All-Natural
Because all E-Liquids (except 100% VG) are made with some propylene glycol, which is an artificial substance, the only way to vape all-natural is to use a 100% VG E-Liquid made with natural-derived flavourings.
In the UK, the only company that makes all-natural E-Liquids like these is a brand called Frugi.
Their Frugi All-Natural range is made with only natural flavourings and sweetened with stevia, so you can rest assured that your vape juice is as pure as possible—if that’s what you’re looking for.
Frugi has a good article on natural vs. artificial flavourings if you’re curious to learn more.
Note: It’s currently not possible for UK-made E-Liquids to be certified as organic. As a result, 100% VG E-Liquids made in the UK (like Frugi) cannot claim to be organic, even if they meet the criteria.
Cons of 100% VG E-Liquids
Not Ideal for Smokers
We get a lot of enquiries from smokers about 100% VG. Their reasoning is often that they tried vaping a long time ago, but it made them cough or caused other unpleasant effects. As part of a quit attempt, they’re considering trying again, and think that PG might have been their issue.
This is absolutely possible. However, we try to dissuade these customers from going directly to 100% VG for a number of reasons.
If the last time you tried vaping was more than 2 or 3 years ago, you were likely vaping a high-strength freebase nicotine E-Liquid, which is known to be harsh and uncomfortable on the throat the higher your nicotine strength.
And if it’s been even longer since you tried it, you were likely vaping one of the earlier generations of vaping devices. Vaping has come a long way since then.
Nicotine Strength
100% VG E-Liquids are not ideal for those who smoke more than 5 cigarettes a day because with a PG-free 50ml shortfill, the maximum nicotine strength you can achieve is 3mg.
For reference, most smokers need at least a 10mg to 20mg nicotine to successfully make the switch, with the standard being 20mg.
DTL Vaping Style
Because of the hardware needed to vape 100% VG E-Liquids, you’ll need to employ a direct-to-lung (DTL) vaping style, which is a far cry from how you would smoke a cigarette and may be difficult to adopt.
Instead of pooling the vapour in your mouth before inhaling, like with a cigarette, DTL vaping requires you to inhale the vapour directly into your lungs with big inhales.
Most smokers should start with a mouth-to-lung (MTL) vaping style, which is much closer to smoking and is therefore more satisfying.
You can learn more about the different vaping styles in our other article: What is MTL and DTL Vaping?
Freebase Nicotine
Smokers have the best chance of quitting when they use nicotine salts, which provide a faster nicotine delivery and a smoother throat hit at higher strengths compared to freebase nicotine. Nic salts are recommended for those trying to quit smoking because it can satisfy your cravings faster.
For 100% VG E-Liquids, you’ll need to add a nicotine shot to the bottle if you want to vape with nicotine. All nicotine shots contain either nic salts or freebase nicotine suspended in a solution of PG and VG, though there are 100% VG nic shots available.
However, the only 100% VG nic shots currently available are made with freebase nicotine, which is less ideal for current smokers as it won’t satisfy your cravings as quickly as nic salts will.
Requires Special Hardware
Because of the thickness of the E-Liquid, PG-free vape juices require high-powered hardware to function properly. To vape 100% VG, you’ll need an advanced vape kit that uses sub-ohm vape coils—the replaceable part inside that vaporises the E-Liquid—and not all sub-ohm coils are ideal.
Sub-ohm vape kits are larger, higher-powered, more technical, and often more expensive than the simpler pod vapes on the market today. They usually have wattage settings, adjustable airflow, and various coil options, which means that they require at least an intermediate level of expertise to operate.
Sub-ohm vape kits can be confusing to navigate at first, but once you get a handle on how they work, operation can be simple. Still, it’s important not to commit to using 100% VG E-Liquids before you understand the type of hardware you’ll need to use to vape them.
We have an article on the best vape kits for 100% VG E-Liquids if you’re looking for a compatible vape kit.
Not for Beginners
On top of the fact that you’ll need to use an advanced-level device, the sub-ohm coils you use will need to have large wicking holes—the holes dotted around the circumference of the coil—to ensure that the E-Liquid can fully saturate the cotton inside between puffs.
You’ll also need to pay attention to your airflow and wattage settings to avoid prematurely burning your coil.
If this sounds very jargony and technical, it is. For this reason, we don’t recommend 100% VG E-Liquids for beginners unless you’re prepared to do some research.
The important thing to note about 100% VG E-Liquids is that because they’re such a niche product, vape devices and their coils aren’t really designed to handle them. This means that it can sometimes take some trial and error with your device’s settings to find the best way to vape them.
Because they can be a bit finicky at first as you figure out the correct settings, we only recommend them to experienced vapers who understand the nuances in their hardware.
How to Vape 100% VG E-Liquids
To vape 100% VG E-Liquids, you’ll need all of the following:
For information on how to mix a nic shot into your E-Liquid bottle, check out our shortfill guide for detailed step-by-step instructions.
Once you’ve got everything you need, you’ll need to tailor your device’s settings to suit your new E-Liquid.
Wattage
All coils come with a suggested wattage range. This is the amount of power being conducted through the coil. The range will be listed on the box, and sometimes on the coil itself.
It’ll either say something like “best: 32-40W” or “rated 32-40W,” though it’ll sometimes only state the range (eg. “32-40W”).
For 100% VG E-Liquids, you may want to start vaping at the lower end of the suggested wattage range.
If the suggestion is, as above, 32-40W, start at 32W and work your way upward until you get the amount of vapour you like without any unpleasant taste.
This is to ensure that the coil isn’t overworked by the thickness of the E-Liquid.
Vaping Style
You’ll need to employ a direct-to-lung (DTL) vaping style when using PG-free E-Liquids, which means inhaling the vapour directly into your lungs as you activate the vape.
As you press the button, you should take long, slow inhales without sucking too hard on the mouthpiece, as too much suction can cause the coil to flood with liquid.
Coil flooding leads to E-Liquid coming up through the mouthpiece, which can be unpleasant.
Airflow
When vaping 100% VG, it’s important to keep your airflow settings as wide as is comfortable for you to allow the coil to do its job. Without adequate airflow, E-Liquid can build up around the coil and cause flooding (as mentioned above) and a burnt taste, if you’re not careful.
Why Does My 100% VG E-Liquid Taste Burnt?
If you find that you’re getting a burnt taste when vaping 100% VG E-Liquid, it may be because:
You’re chain vaping. Taking many puffs in quick succession without allowing the coil time to saturate between puffs is a sure-fire way to burn your coils when vaping PG-free vape juice.
You’re using the wrong type of device or your coils aren’t sub-ohm. 100% VG E-Liquids only work in a sub-ohm vape kit that uses DTL/sub-ohm vape coils.
Your coils don’t have large enough wicking holes. The holes lining the outside of your coil should be large enough for the E-Liquid to saturate the cotton inside. Small wicking holes won’t allow enough E-Liquid to enter the coil. Frugi has an article on the best coils for 100% VG E-Liquids detailing what types of wicking holes you should be looking for.
Your wattage is too high. Because of the viscosity of the E-Liquid, PG-free juice should be vaped at a slightly lower wattage than other sub-ohm E-Liquids. Otherwise, you might burn your coils.
Your airflow is too tight. You’ll need plenty of airflow to vape 100% VG juice.
It’s time to change your coil. It may simply be time to swap coils. Coil life depends on a number of factors, from how much you vape to the sweetness of your E-Liquids, and it’s impossible to fix a burnt coil. You can learn more in our coil guide.
Summary
100% VG E-Liquids are an excellent choice for PG-intolerant vapers and sub-ohm vapers looking for the biggest clouds, but they’re not ideal for smokers and beginners because of the hardware and expertise they require.
We’re always on hand if you’re considering trying 100% VG E-Liquids, so if you have any questions or you need personalised advice, reach out to our support by email or live chat. One of our expert team members can help you figure out if 100% VG E-Liquids are right for you.
