Slime is sweeping the globe. And I don’t mean that in any sort of metaphorical way. So we looked for some good, natural, homemade slime recipes for you all because eek, there’s been a lot of talk about how dangerous the traditional Borax-based recipe can be for kids everywhere who are busy making, trading and selling homemade, gooey slime with their friends.
Sodium Borate, better known by the brand name Borax, is a compound that’s often found in detergents and cleansers, so you can see where we’re going with safety warnings.
When inhaled (as in, if particles are flying around the kitchen like flour or baking soda), Borax can irritate the lungs and way worse; just handling it can even irritate your kids’ eyes and skin, let alone ingesting it.
Related: DIY Star Wars slime recipes to keep little Padawans busy
So we’re so happy to offer these natural, safe homemade slime recipes for you as alternatives.
We haven’t yet tried out all of the recipes listed here, but we like that they’re largely chemical-free.
One thing we avoided: Lots of alternative slime recipes swap Borax for liquid starch, shampoo, body wash, hand soap, contact lens solution, or laundry detergent. Those may seem benign — and they might be — but many of them contain derivatives or relatives of sodium borate too.
So take a peek at these great natural slime recipe ideas which should make even nervous parents feel at ease. Because hopefully, your biggest issue with DIY slime is cleaning up the mess afterwards.
Top Photo: safe homemade slime recipe from Raising Whasians using spinach as allergy-free dye
Homemade Slime Recipe using Cornstarch
A few ways to find good natural homemade slime recipes is to try googling using its fancypants name, “non-Newtonian slime.” But it was the word “oobleck” — which sounds straight from the pages of Dr. Seuss to me — that brought us right to this wonderful, easy-to-follow recipe from Instructables.
I love that it only requires cornstarch, water, and food dye, which are all safe for the majority of kids. However if you’re dealing with food dye allergies or sensitivities, be sure to check out the allergy-friendly homemade slime recipe at Raising Whasians, shown at very top, which cleverly uses spinach instead of green food dye.
Homemade Slime Recipe with Chia Seeds
After some experimenting, mom and former teacher Asia, who pens the helpful Fun at Home with Kids blog, had a fantastic discovery. Turns out the gelatinous substance created by chia seeds after soaking them can be an ideal base for her natural (and edible!) homemade slime recipe. Click over for this simple, no-cook slime recipe that requires just three ingredients — and a little fridge time. The adorable pics of her joyful kids are a bonus.
Psyllium Husk Homemade Slime Recipe
This kind of ooey-gooey ooze recipe skips toxic cleaning chemicals in favor of…fiber! Kids Playbox offers up easy-looking instructions for cooking up a natural homemade slime recipe that uses water and powdered psyllium husk — which us formerly pregnant mamas are probably familiar with it as Metamucil, ahem.
I also like her use of consumable food dye, just in case the stuff makes it into small mouths. And she has a great tip about using a clear store brand alternative to Metamucil, depending on the colors you’re trying to create.
Homemade Rainbow Slime Recipe with Kool-Aid
As an alternative, consider a safe slime recipe that uses Kool-Aid for coloring a psyllium husk-based slime recipe. The result is this gorgeous rainbow slime found at Growing a Jeweled Rose that our kids would loooove!
Just know that while these recipes may be technically edible, kids’ tummies shouldn’t take on this much fiber so keep this recipe for playing, not eating! (Also, as to how “natural” Kool-Aid is…well that’s debatable. We’ll stay out of that one.)
Homemade Gelatin Slime Recipe
Slime science requires polymers to keep things gooey and globby, and the STEM craft fans from Little Bins for Little Hands discovered that gelatin mixed with water and corn syrup creates a perfect polymer for slippery slime in this natural homemade slime recipe.
For more fun, also check out the site’s “Fake Snot” Slime Recipe. With a name like that, what kid could resist?
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