Are your children enthralled with how to make slime?  You know that goo that you can’t keep your hands out of. Join the craze and learn how with all our classic slime recipes below. Our fluffy slime recipe is easy and fun to make! No borax – ours is made with contact solution and shaving cream. Time to play!
Mesmerize kids (and teach a little science) with oobleck! This stuff is cool and another recipe for fun.

how to make slime safe

This safe DIY slime recipe is completely worry-free. Super easy and FUN! My daughter says it is so addictive!

I recently learned that liquid starch may contain borax. We found out that contact lens solution can act as the binder instead of the borax.  This recipe produces a stretchy, smooth, extra fluffy slime and uses contact solution instead of borax.

Slime Ingredients

What do you need to make slime? It doesn’t take many items to make this classic recipe (sometimes called Gak).  Just a few ingredients you probably have in your pantry and you can make this super stretchy fluffy concoction! What a great kids activity.

This recipe calls for:

  • washable school glue like Elmer’s glue (grab a couple of bottles of glue because kids will want to make it over and over again)
  • food coloring (colored slime is extra fun)
  • baking soda & contact solution

Baking soda will combine with the boric acid in contact solution to make borate, the same crosslinking solution that Borax contains. This mixture becomes the activator. The saline solution needs to contain active ingredients like sodium borate and boric acid. So yes, even this recipe has a touch of borax.  Borax powder and liquid starch can also be used as the slime activator.

  • shaving cream – this will make it super fluffy

How do you make slime fluffy?

Try our fluffy recipe (our exact recipe is below)! Make your homemade slime fluffy with shaving cream. Not the gel kind, go for the original shaving cream.

How do you make slime without borax?

This amazing homemade slime that is safe and borax powder free is made in only 6 steps.  It is a fluffy slime recipe because we added shaving cream.

1. Measure 1/2 cup glue into a mixing bowl.

safe slime add glue

2. Add food coloring. Add more food coloring than you think you need. The shaving cream will make it lighter in color.

safe slime add coloring

3. Add in 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda and mix.

safe slime add baking soda

4. Next, add 1/4 cup shaving cream. This ingredient makes a batch of super fluffy slime!

safe slime add shaving cream

5. Stir in 1 tablespoon contact lens solution.

safe slime add contact lens solution

Mix all the ingredients until mixture starts to come together.

safe slime mix with spoon

6. Remove from bowl.  The mixture will be sticky.

safe slime mixing sticky

Keeping working and will become perfectly slimy and not sticky the more you work with it.

slime stretching

The girls added a bit more color so it would be really bright! It is best to add the color to the glue.  It was more difficult to mix in the color at the end.

safe slime

Slime Recipe

Now let’s learn how to make slime the safe way, with a borax-free recipe that is perfectly slimy! Your kids will be playing with it for hours and making it over and over again. All you need are simple ingredients found in your pantry. There is no need to add water. The more it is played with the less sticky it becomes.

safe slime
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4.78 from 18 votes

Slime Recipe

Keyword crafts, kidsactivities, slime
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Author Cindy Hopper

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup washable school glue
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 cup shaving cream
  • 1 tablespoon contact lens solution
  • food coloring (your choice for colored slime)

Instructions

  • Measure glue into a bowl. Add a few drops of food coloring.  Once it is the desired color add a few more drops. The shaving cream will make the color lighter. Mix in baking soda then shaving cream, Stir in contact lens solution and mix. The mixture will start to come together. Remove mixture from the bowl and knead with hands. It will be sticky.

Notes

The more it is played with the less sticky it becomes.

Have your children experienced this craze? We can’t get enough. We have made green, purple, blue, pink……………………..more than one gallon of glue has been used. Don’t stop at plain school glue. Glitter glue makes a great galaxy Gak!

All your questions answered! Keep reading.

How do you make Elmer’s Slime?

Elmer’s is the brand of glue. Their slime recipe is a typical recipe.

Elmer’s Slime

  • 1/2 TBSP of Baking Soda
  • 1 TBSP of Contact lens solution
  • 4 fl oz Elmer’s White school glue
  • Your choice of food coloring

1. Find a bowl, cup, or plate to mix your slime in 2. Pour out the entire contents of a 4oz of Elmer’s school glue into the bowl. 3. Add ½ TBSP of baking soda and mix 4. After mixing, add your choice of food coloring. 5. Mix and/or add more food coloring until you get the color you want 6. Add 1 TBSP of contact lens solution 7. Mix until slime forms and it begins to get harder to mix 8. Take the slime out and begin kneading with both of your hands 9. If needed, add ¼ TBSP contact lens solution to make the slime less sticky.

How do you make slime in a Ziplock bag?

If you look at my gak recipe (only two ingredients) you will see step by step instructions for making an easy slime recipe in a  bag. Actually, this is my favorite mess-free way.

Can you keep slime in a Ziplock bag?

Yes! Sealable bags or airtight containers are a great way to store slime. If you seal it up in a ziplock bag and store it in the fridge, it will keep mold from growing in your goop.

Tips for Homemade Slime

  • We have found that using different glues only produce slightly different textures. So try different glues….. like clear glue and glitter glue! Elmer’s makes a glow in the dark glue that would be great to try.
  • Use food coloring, liquid or gel to make it colored. We have even used glow in the dark paint!
  • Use multiple colors to make a “unicorn” slime. Be aware that after a lot of mixing, the colors will blend together into a gray or brown, so you might stick to one or two colors (blue and green, or pink and purple, are pretty).
  • Don’t worry if it is sticky at first. The more you work with it the less sticky it becomes. How do you make slime less sticky? We have found adding a bit more of the contact solution does the trick to get the desired consistency. Usually though, the more you mix the less sticky it becomes so don’t add too much!
  • The food coloring will stain hands. We have found that it comes off in about a day.  If this is worrisome just wear gloves.
  • Be creative! This is a great kids activity that allows them to experiment with great results. Think of different items you can add. You might add glitter or foam beads to give it different textures.
  • Children’s hands can be sensitive. Always wash hands after playing.  Contact lens solution does contain boric acid it is still is a borax solution just a safer amount, but still, use caution.
  • We have found that all white glue is not the same. Some brands are harder to work with and don’t come together as easily. They may have less of an ingredient called polyvinyl acetate (PVA), which is a kind of polymer that the borax or boric acid binds to. When recipes call for PVA glue, that’s what they’re talking about.

How to Make Slime – Video

Here is a cool video on how to make glow in the dark slime. No need to stop playing when it gets dark outside, this recipe will light up the night.  A cool fun kids activity that will bring hours of fun!

More Slime Recipes

If your kids can’t stop learning how to make slime they will love these amazing recipes. Who would have thought there were so many different kinds!

Slime 5 different ways!

Look! You can see through this one. Changing the type of glue you use can make it so clear you can see through it.

Clear Slime Recipe

clear slime

Mesmerize kids with this one that glows in the dark. This recipe uses glow in the dark paint. Now, though you can also purchase glow in the dark glue.

Glow in the Dark Slime

glow in the dark slime

How do you make slime without borax or shaving cream?

This is a great recipe that doesn’t use borax (sodium tetraborate) or shaving cream. This slime/gak uses liquid starch. While liquid starch contains a tiny bit of borax it is much more friendly to the skin. I was shocked to see on the news where kids were actually getting burns from the borax. This two-ingredient recipe should be just fine. For sure this is how to make slime easy!

How to make Gak

how to make gak

It only takes 3 ingredients to make this butter slime. The addition of clay makes it holds its shape.

Butter Slime Recipe

3 ingredient butter slime

How do you make slime with salt and shampoo?

Believe it or not, you can make it without glue. This recipe uses three-in-one shampoo and salt. It isn’t as stretchy as the regular but is still fun to play with. Warm hands do cause this one to melt.

How to make slime without glue

how to make slime without glue

What do you do if your goo is too sticky? If it is too sticky, add a bit more activator. Learn what to do here.

How to make slime less sticky

less sticky slime

We are always looking for more recipe variations and are going to try this 3-ingredient one that uses salt. It is as much fun to watch this goo being made as it is to make, so check out this video.

Now you know how to to make it fluffy, and so many other ways! Now try Kinetic sand aka moon sand your kids will LOVE it.  Have you ever made it? A fun activity for sure!

How do u make slime? Leave your tips in the comments!

photo cindy hopperCindy Hopper combines a BFA in Art Education along with the practical experience of raising children to share simple crafts for kids, DIY projects, holiday inspiration, recipes, printables and approachable ideas for simple and happy living. Don’t miss a thing! Sign up to get crafty ideas, recipes, sewing tutorials and more delivered right to your inbox. Follow Skip to My Lou on FB to find out the latest news! Join me at Pinterest and Instagram for an extra dose of fun!


About Cindy Hopper

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Comments

  1. I have just learned some few tips that would be helpful for me when making my slime. Thanks a lot for the effort.

  2. We tried this recipe because of the great reviews, but the slime doesn’t stretch at all. Compared to other recipes there isn’t really much shaving cream in this one. Not sure what the problem is, but it’s a 1 star for us

  3. These are great! We have the slime craze going at our house and I will be using these tips! Thank you!

  4. I can’t even being to tell you how many batches of this I have made! We make this all the time in my house.

  5. I love making all kind of slime. My daughters Gabriella and Elliza loves making fluffy and butter slime, I. have to try your 3 ingredients recipe, so exciting. Thanks for sharing ❤️

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