The Right Stuff

Authored by: Natalie Lopez

Nothing can turn away a person faster than lack of experience. Whether it comes down to trying something new or snagging that job you’ve had your eye on, experience matters. Which is why we need to start opening ourselves up to the question: how do I begin? It can be taxing to find the right information or the right tips, which is why I decided to share my experience. Raise your hand if you’ve watched videos and read blogs on vaping, but still have no idea what to do. Precisely my point.

I remember my first time smoking. I coughed and nearly threw up in front of the person I was trying to impress. Loads of fun. Naturally, the experience turned me off of smoking for a long time. Of course, I’m a terrible quitter, so I tried again a few years later. The attempt did not go as well as I hoped, but I at least wasn’t going to be sick. I knew the risks and consequences associated with smoking, and I vocalized this concern to some friends of mine. Fortunately for me, they were already on Cig-a-Likes.

Vaping sounded like a joke to me at the time. We’ve all seen and heard the jabs! Admittedly, I was reluctant to give the world of vape a chance, but with some coaxing, my friends got me to buy my first e-cigarette. Personally, they weren’t for me. It didn’t deliver a strong enough hit, nor did I like the flavor. To be fair, I wasn’t aware there were other flavors involved.

Then another friend filled me in on ejuice. She said, “Vape juice, ejuice, call it what you want, it’s a taste other than tobacco.” I figured it couldn’t hurt to try. So I go to ejuices.com and I’m immediately blown away (and you can take that as a pun if you’d like). There’s flavors galore and now my biggest problem is narrowing down what I want. That’s another story for another time though.

I graduated to a vape pen when I realized how convenient it was. Not too big, not too small. Nearly all the flavors available at ejuices.com are compatible with my pen, and using it is fairly simple. Sure it might take you one or two tries to get exactly what you’re looking for (what with all the options: do I go VG or PG? Do I mix to my heart’s content? What nicotine level should I pick?), but practice makes perfect. I took a hands on approach with my first vape pen, picking out a flavor (blue raspberry, I’m a sucker for it) and getting to work.

Couple tips I want to share. First of all, don’t be scared of the pen. You can unscrew it and put the pieces back together like an actual pen. Second, dripping isn’t as tedious as it sounds, so try not to go in impatient. Most importantly, be careful with the flavor bottle. You can give it a light squeeze to help the juice along, but from experience, don’t squeeze too hard. Unless you want juice everywhere. Also, be mindful of the air hole in the tank. You’ll know it when you see it; you want to avoid getting juice in there if possible.

As a beginner, and somewhat of a risk taker, I decided to start in the middle with my nicotine levels (12mg). I chose VG (vegetable glycerin) over PG (propylene glycol) because VG is hypoallergenic, and I didn’t want to risk activating some hidden allergy. Plus, I’ve been told it tastes a little sweeter, which I’m more inclined to try. The verdict turned up good! I liked my choices, I liked my flavor, and I loved my pen. Experience matters, so I plan to keep broadening my palate when it comes to flavor and nicotine levels, just to make sure I can find what fits perfect for me.