When I found my favourite grape-flavored e-juice no longer tasted rich, I realized this was not because of e-juice itself, but vaper’s tongue.
What is vaper’s tongue?
Vaper’s tongue is a universal phenomenon that the vaper loses the ability to taste vape juice. Although this condition won’t affect the vapor production or nicotine absorption, the flavoring is also part of vaping experience.
One of the common causes of the vaper’s tongue is that the taste buds have to get used to one flavor, and they can’t react to it. If you have vaped with one flavor for a long period, you definitely know how does vaper’s tongue feel like. Vaper’s tongue doesn’t need treatment in the hospital, you can recover from it by yourself. The easiest solution is to switch your flavor regularly or to use two or more flavors.
The tongue is covered with taste buds from 2,000 to 10,000. The more taste buds you have, you are more sensitive to flavors. The taste buds can regenerate from 10 to 14 days. Besides, your gustatory sense requires saliva to keep your taste buds working. Vaping can cause a fatigue tongue, and lead to dry mouth. The lack of saliva can bring about the lose of taste.
6 causes for vaper’s tongue
Vaping the same flavor for too long
Once vapers find their favorite flavors, they may stick to one e-juice all the way. One day they find they can’t taste the e-juice any more. While it is said that the brain may feel dull if it received one flavor for a long time.
Damaged taste buds
Your taste buds can be effected by too high wattage indirectly. The high temperatures can produce greater flavor but can burn the taste buds, too.
Recently switch from smoking
Every smoker knows smoking can lessen the sense of taste. The traditional tobacco can damage your taste and smell receptors. If you smoke and vape at the same time, the vaper’s tongue can also happen on you.
Dehydration
Dehydration is easy to recognized by the symptoms of dry mouth, headache, fatigue and brown urine. A degraded sense of taste is usually connected with dehydration, the PG and VG can absorb moisture in one’s mouth and can even cause a thin film to cover the tongue, which can limit the number of flavorings that reach your taste buds.
Aging e-liquids
The flavors can degrade because e-liquids age, sometimes the peppery taste can appear as well. Once the e-juice bottles are not sealed closely, the flavors can volatilize quickly, especially you are steeping the e-liquids.
Dirty atomizer contacts
Actually, it is not really because of ‘vaper’s tongue’ that makes vapers taste no flavors, but the dirty atomizer contacts. Keeping your vape clean is always significant. You can give the device a good clean to wash out the lingered e-juices and give a fresh taste of new e-juice. Or you can change a new atomizer to have a new start.
7 Ways to cure vaper’s tongue
Switch the flavors from time to time
Choose more than one flavored e-juice, and switch among them from time to time. Your brain will not be stoned for one flavor anymore. Trying different kinds of flavors can activate your taste buds before you lose the taste. You may find more flavors that you are interested in.
Drink water
Keep drinking water especially when you are vaping. This can wash off the PG and VG stuck on the surface of the tongue and you can gain the taste again. What’s more, you are away from dehydration, and your body part, taste buds can work efficiently again!
Smell the fresh coffee beans, or sucking on a lemon
One trick is to sniff of a bunch of coffee grounds, but don’t inhale the powder of coffee. Many vapers find they can smell or taste their e-juices again. If there is a lemon nearby, you can cut one piece and suck on it for a few seconds. By doing this, you can reset the taste buds via powerful sensation of lemon acid. Or you can shock your taste buds with other intense flavor like mint or menthol flavors.
Clean your tongue
If drinking water cannot wash out your tongue, why not clean your tongue directly? Using professional tongue scraper and mouthwash can clean your tongue thoroughly. I would recommend you to put this into your wash routine so that you can have less chance to have vaper’s tongue.
Take longer breaks in between vapes
If you are a chain vaper, you had better take a break between two puffs. It is not only can avoid the burnt taste, but also give your taste buds time to recover themselves.
Vape unflavored e-juice
Various flavors of e-juices are attractive to most vapers, however, there is unflavored e-juice as well. You can find unflavored ones from DIY e-juice shops and they are generally cheaper than flavored e-liquids.
Take a break from vaping
If you have tried all of the methods above and find they don’t work out desperately, I would recommend you to stop vaping for a while and wait for your taste buds to recover. As it is discussed above, one cycle for new taste buds normally needs 10-14 days. Be a little bit of patience, the taste and smell will come back very soon.
In conclusion
It is common to lose taste for the flavored e-juices if you stick to one flavor for a long time. The high wattage can burn your taste buds as well. Technically, switching among various flavors and lowering down your wattage can reduce the possibility of vaper’s tongue. As for daily routine, drinking more water and cleaning oral carefully, or you can just have a rest from vaping and wait for the recover of taste buds.
