Certain vaping laws and regulations around the country have forced vapers to take some pretty dramatic steps when it comes to obtaining e-cigarettes, e-juices, and more. For example, vapers in Indiana are scrambling to purchase vaping products right now in light of the new state regulations that were just put into place.

The new Indiana regulations call for all e-juices that are sold at vape shops in Indiana to be manufactured at facilities that meet incredibly strict guidelines. And so far, there is only one such facility in the entire state, meaning vapers don’t necessarily have the e-juice options that they’re used to.

These vapers are being forced to find alternative options. Some are driving into other surrounding states and purchasing their e-juices there. Others are trying to use the internet to their advantage. And there are even some people who have said, “Screw it,” and decided to try and make their own e-juices. These DIY-minded folks are manufacturing their own products and using them.

This could actually turn into a trend if other states adopt similar regulations to the ones put into place in Indiana. High taxes could also drive people to try the DIY method with e-juices.

Hopefully, states will recognize this and act accordingly, seeing as how they’ll be doing their residents a huge disservice by imposing strict regulations. But there’s a chance they won’t do that, and it could result in more and more people going the DIY route.

We’re here to tell you that, especially if you’re relatively new to the vaping community, making DIY e-juices is probably not the best idea. It might save you some money and it might offer the experimentation you’re looking for. But why make e-juices when you can use companies like Aspen Valley Vapes to satisfy your vaping needs?

Here are 5 reasons why making your own DIY e-juice might not be a good idea…

1. It can be dangerous.

This seems like a great place to start, doesn’t it?

Your safety is obviously important, and you are going to put your safety at risk when making your own e-juices. It doesn’t matter if you are doing it for the first time or the 100th time—there are always going to be some safety concerns that come along with making e-juices. And you are going to assume a lot of risks when you attempt to do it.

For this reason, many experts will tell you that you should have at least six months to a year worth of experience with vaping before you even think about making your own e-juice. Truthfully, that probably won’t give you enough time to learn everything you need to know to do it. But it will give you enough time to appreciate e-juices and the materials that go into them. You must respect the process before you get started.

When mixing e-juices, you also need to be careful about the nicotine level that you use. If you decide to use a level that’s too high (note: you should never use pure nicotine!), you could potentially suffer adverse health effects simply by touching it or accidentally spilling it on your skin. So if you decide to mix e-juices despite our advice, keep that in mind and opt for a lower nicotine level at first.

2. It’s not as simple as mixing a few materials together.

When you think about making your own e-juice, what comes to mind? You’re probably imagining taking one beaker and mixing it with another beaker to magically make the e-juice that you’re going to start vaping with, aren’t you?

Well, we’re here to tell you that it does not work that way. The truth is that there are a lot of calculations—more calculations than most people want to do—that go into making e-juice. You have to account for the nicotine levels plus the liquid base and figure out exactly how much of each you need to make an e-juice that has the right nicotine level as well as the taste you’re going for.

You can use a calculator to do your calculations, but you’ll also need to have an idea of about how much mixing you’ll need to do to create a quality e-juice. It actually takes more time than you might think, and you’re going to need to make adjustments to your calculations if something tastes off once you’ve made your final product. Which leads us to our next point…

3. It probably won’t turn out how you expect it to at first.

Let’s say everything goes according to plan—or at least, everything goes close to plan—and you successfully make a small bottle of e-juice. You don’t get injured throughout the process, and you do all of the calculations you need to do to actually put together an e-juice.

Great! Except for one thing: When you use the e-juice, it tastes nothing like what you imagined. You were trying to go for a light strawberry or a creamy vanilla, but instead, you have a tasteless, bland e-juice that doesn’t hit any of the right notes.

Congratulations—consider this your welcome to the DIY world! While you would normally call up your vape shop and ask for a refund, in this case you are to blame for your low quality e-juice. And believe us, you’re not going to nail it every time and create an e-juice that you enjoy. More often than not, you’re going to make a wrong calculation or add too much of one ingredient and miss the mark with your e-juice, especially when you’re starting off.

You are going to need to try different things when you make your own e-juices before you find your rhythm and start producing e-juices you actually love.

4. It could lead to a lot of wasted products.

If you make a batch of e-juice and it doesn’t taste the way you want it to, chances are you’re not going to vape with it. Maybe you’re going to give it away, or maybe you’re going to throw it in the trash. But either way, you’re essentially going to be wasting products (and money!) when you create an e-juice you don’t like.

You’re also probably going to waste products throughout the production process. Accidents are going to happen, and you’re going to knock over a bottle or spill some of the liquid you use to make your e-juice. You’re also going to try to conduct experiments that won’t work, and you’re going to have to toss ingredients while doing it.

This is all part of the fun of mixing your own e-juices, but it’s also one of the biggest downsides of it. Before you decide that you want to make your own e-juices, you’ll need to come to terms with the fact that you’re going to waste more products than you’ll actually create when you’re starting off.

5. It might not end up saving you much money.

One of the goals of making your own e-juice is to save money, right? And when done properly, you can save quite a bit of money. You’ll spend just a fraction of the money you would spend buying e-juices when you make them.

But it could come at a cost. It will take you time to make e-juices, so you should factor that into the equation. It will also take you time to purchase the products you’ll need to make them, and you’ll need to spend time perfecting your recipes as well.

So while you could end up saving some money in the long run, you’re going to have to put out quite a bit of money before that time comes. Is it really worth it? That’s for you to determine. Just make sure you figure it out before you get too deep into the game.