What is PG & VG

One of the most common questions we get from vapers is what is PG and VG. It's a phrase that people often hear but those that are new or do not take vaping up as a hobby it sounds completely foreign to them. While we're not going to give you the entire scientific make up PG and VG here are some basic uses and tips on selecting the right PG/VG ratio for you. 

PG is propylene glycol, VG is vegetable glycerin. While they might sound like something crazy you would typically hear about in chemistry they are both very commonly used. One of the most common uses are in the food industry, most of us(or pretty much anyone)has already eaten or drank foods that have contained PG or VG. NyQuil for example is one of the most popular brands that use PG. VG is very often used in foods to help sweeten up flavor. 

One thing people will often hear when talking  about ecigs and vaping is that PG and VG are toxic chemicals, which couldn't be further from the truth. The most common thing you will hear from the anti vaping / anti ecig groups is  that PG is in antifreeze, which is true, but then again so is water. PG was is used in antifreeze as a non-toxic alternative to ethylene glycol, but the anti groups will frequently leave that out along with it's many uses in the food industry and that fact that everyone including those anti members have already ingested PG many times from their food and beverages. 

So for vaping and ecigs what really is PG and VG. PG is very thin almost like water, vg is very thick almost like syrup. Both of them are clear and make up two of four ingredients in ejuice. The other two being the flavoring and  nicotine. PG carries flavor a little better due to it being thinner, it also has more of a throat hit(although the majority of the throat hit in ejuice will come from the nicotine). PG is also known to dry out one's mouth. VG due to it being thick doesn't carry the flavor as well as PG, although with steeping(aging) of ejuice that can be eliminated. VG also produces more vapor and doesn't cause the dry mouth some people may get with PG. 

Which is best for me? There really is not right or wrong answer as it is personal preference. What we notice with our sales trends is that people with higher nicotine typically go with a high PG ratio because they like the throat hit. For those just starting out it is recommend to go with our 50/50 standard mix as it will be a 50% PG based and 50% VG based eliquid. As you become more experienced in vaping then it might be a good idea to adjust your pg/vg ratio to see what you do/do not like. Keeping in mind that since VG is thicker it also has a tendency to clog up some coils on your basic and older tanks, whereas using a sub ohm tank with VG is perfectly fine due to the coils being designed to allow the thicker VG to flow through them. 

End the end, select a pg/vg ratio that works best for you after all the entire idea of vaping is to stay off cigarettes.