Looking for an easy homemade slime recipe with glue? This DIY Shaving Cream Slime is SO simple to make and is a great Valentine’s Day gift!
Homemade Slime Recipe
Kaitlynn has been making batches and batches of Homemade Slime recently. This stuff is so fun to play with, it makes great gifts (kids have been begging her to make it for them!), and it’s really popular right now.
She recorded a Facebook Live video with me a few weeks ago about how to make Homemade Slime and so many of you asked for the recipe. So she helped me put together this post for you all today on how to make Homemade Slime.
If you’ve never made this before, you have to try it! It’s SO cool and kids of all ages (and adults!) love playing with it. It’s great for stress relief and for kids who have trouble concentrating if their hands aren’t busy.
Jesse and I have fun playing with it with the kids and seeing who can make the biggest slime bubble that pops the loudest (does that mean we are kids at heart or just weird??!).
DIY Slime Ingredients
Ingredients for “Slime Activator”:
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 tsp. Borax
Ingredients for Slime:
- 1/4 cup Elmer’s glue (don’t try this with other brands of glue)
- 1/4 cup shaving cream
- 1/4 cup foaming hand soap
- 3 pumps regular hand soap
- Food coloring (optional)
- Slime Activator — 1 tsp. at a time
- 2 pumps body lotion (optional)
Slime Recipe Variations & Additions
You can try all different colors, but make sure you only use one color per ball of slime, otherwise the colors will mix and you’ll get an army green/brown color!
Use scented lotions for sweet-smelling slime or unscented lotion for unscented slime.
As noted above, there is something specific about Elmer’s glue that is perfect for this slime recipe. We don’t recommend using a different brand as it often doesn’t set up properly.
Slime makes a fun Valentine’s Day or Easter gift idea, too!
Substitutions for Slime Activator
If you don’t have Borax in the house (or don’t want to buy a giant box), you can substitute 1 tsp. laundry detergent, liquid fabric softener, or liquid starch (as long as they contain “boron”).
How to Make Slime with Glue
1. In a small bowl, make the slime activator by mixing 1 cup hot water with 1 tsp. Borax laundry booster; stirring until fully dissolved. Set aside.
NOTE: You can keep the Slime Activator for a few weeks in an airtight container if you are planning to make multiple batches of Homemade Slime.
2. In a large bowl or container, add Elmer’s glue, shaving cream, foaming hand soap, and liquid hand soap. Mix well.
3. Once the glue mixture is stirred well, add 2-8 drops of food coloring (optional) to make the slime whatever color you’d like. Kaitlynn has made all sorts of fun colors.
4. Once the color is fully incorporated, add the Slime Activator ONE tsp at a time, stirring continually, until the slime forms into a ball (it only takes a few seconds).
5. Once your slime has formed into a shaggy ball, take it out of the bowl and start kneading it on the table (just like bread dough).
DIY Slime Recipe Substitutions
If you’d like your slime to be more stretchy, you may add a little body lotion and knead it in until you get it to your desired stretchiness.
How to Store Shaving Cream Slime
When you’re finished making (and playing with) your slime, you’ll want to store it in an air-tight food container or zip-top bag to keep it from drying out.
If it’s stored properly, it should last for a couple of months — however, it WILL eventually get very sticky and stringing — that’s when it’s time to throw it out and make new slime!
Slime does not need to be refrigerated.
Slime Recipe with Glue FAQs
Mix 4 ounces of Elmer’s glue with 1 cup of shaving cream until combined. Then add 1 Tbsp. contact lens solution and mix until it forms a fluffy ball. Add optional food coloring if you want.
You will need some type of “activator” but it doesn’t have to be Borax. You can mix 1/2 tsp. of baking soda with 3 T. contact lens solution and add that to the slime mixture 1 tsp at a time until a soft ball forms.
This slime is NOT edible! Other than that, it is safe for kids to play with. However, if they have very sensitive skin, the Borax could cause a rash or itchiness.
Hand sanitizer can be used to make the slime stretchy and moisturizing, just like lotion. But it’s not an activator on its own.
Adding a few squirts of hand lotion to your slime will make it extra stretchy (and it will smell nice!)
Shaving Cream Slime Recipe
Materials
Ingredients for “Slime Activator”:
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 tsp. Borax
Ingredients for Slime:
- 1/4 cup Elmer’s glue don’t try this with other brands of glue
- 1/4 cup shaving cream
- 1/4 cup foaming hand soap
- 3 pumps regular hand soap
- Food coloring optional
- Slime Activator — 1 tsp. at a time
- 2 pumps body lotion optional
Instructions
- In a small bowl, make the slime activator by mixing 1 cup hot water with 1 tsp. Borax laundry booster; stirring until fully dissolved. Set aside.
- In a large bowl or container, add Elmer’s glue, shaving cream, foaming hand soap, and liquid hand soap. Mix well.
- Once the glue mixture is stirred well, add 2-8 drops of food coloring (optional) to make the slime whatever color you’d like. Kaitlynn has made all sorts of fun colors.
- Once the color is fully incorporated, add the Slime Activator ONE tsp at a time, stirring continually, until the slime forms into a ball (it only takes a few seconds).
- Once your slime has formed into a shaggy ball, take it out of the bowl and start kneading it on the table (just like bread dough).
Notes
Love this craft?
Make sure to share and save it on your favorite platform below!
Psst! This is a great gift idea for Valentine’s Day! Read this post for how to gift slime!
Reader Interactions
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Becky says
My granddaughters have been making different versions for the past 2 years (now 14&11-1/2) and watched many YouTube clips to learn. Now they just create their own… But we don’t do Facebook- how can we see Your daughters video clip ??
Jordan says
Here is a link to the video on You Tube. Hope that helps! -Jordan, MSM Team
Lee Ann Ferguson says
Just wanted to share idea my daughter came up with for her activator if borax and water. She made some up and kept in old glue bottle. I was impressed with her thinking and I love that I don’t have borax powder everywhere each time she makes slime! Also, make sure to watch this slime parody. So funny for us parents. https://www.facebook.com/TheHoldernessfamily/videos/2046211772284756/
Sarah says
Thank you for a written recipe, I have been looking for one… I keep on getting videos….
Lori says
My 10 year old daughter makes tons of it also. I have containers of slime all over the place, lol. I tried your recipe 3 times though and I can’t get it to work.
It seems to be fine until I add the activator.
Lori
Jennifer says
Mine was sticky but wet in a ball. Any idea why it felt so wet?
Malinda says
Just curious how much this makes? If I were to buy little containers to put this in for gifts for Valentines Day kids, would I need to triple this batch? Just wondering if anyone has advice. I have 20 kids in the class. Thanks!
Crystal Paine says
If you bought small containers, I think you could take it times 7 or 8 and there’d be enough for 20 kids. If you bought really tiny containers, I think you could get by with taking it times 5.
Malinda says
Just curious how much this makes? Like if I were to buy little containers to put this in for gifts for Valentines Day kids, which I need to triple this batch? Just wondering if anyone has advice. Thanks!
Sandy says
This must be a national trend in the pre-teen age group! My daughter, 11, has been making batches and batches of slime using different recipes. I’ll share Kaitlynne’s potion with her!
Crystal Paine says
😉
Susan says
My daughters have been obsessed with slime for months. Here are a couple of tips I’ve learned from them.
1. Elmer’s glue works best, but a cheaper brand can work too. I guess it just needs to have PVA in it. I bought a dollar store brand and it was horrible.
2. The best substitute for borax is contact lens solution, but you need to use a lot more than the borax to make it work. Other items that my kids know of, but haven’t tried, are tide laundry detergent or liquid starch.
3. Foaming hand soap makes it bubbly, add it in when you are adding the glue and shaving cream.
4. You can store it in plastic bags also.
Ashley | MamaHustleRepeat says
Great tips, thank you for adding your input. I’ll have to stock up on Elmer’s at the next school sale.
Crystal Paine says
Thanks so much for these great tips!
Meg says
Could you please add to the recipe when and how the regular (non-foaming) hand soap gets used?
Thanks!
Crystal Paine says
I added that in. Sorry for missing that the first time around!
Meg says
Great post, Kaitlynn! What happens if the borax is not used? I’m interested in making this with my students at school, but it borax is typically frowned upon in the school. Are there any alternatives that work well? Also, would it work to store the slime in freezer bags?
Thanks!
Diane says
My kids loved to make this when they were young, and they’re now in their 20’s! Our recipe used liquid starch instead of borax. And, yes, we stored it in freezer bags.
Hannah says
I have seen recipes using contact lens solution instead. Check Pinterest.
Laurie says
Yes! I made slime with my older vbs kids And we used buffered saline solution instead of borax. There is boric acid in saline but is already nicely dissolved and diluted to safe levels. It works really well. I found it was more reliable than the borax method for a large group. It was a major hit 🙂
Anamly says
This looks like a really fun project to make with our son. He is still quite young, so I had a few questions.
1) Does the food coloring come off on to hands or surfaces at all?
2) Does the slime leave any residue behind on hands or surfaces?
Carrie says
My daughter has been making slime by the bucket full, and yes it will leave colorful stains on your walls if they touch them before washing their hands. It doesn’t leave a residue, however, probably because of the soap. At least, I haven’t noticed that yet – ymmv!
Crystal it’s so funny you posted this today. Homemade slime must be taking the kid world by storm right now, because my 11 year old is fairly obsessed with it and I’ve been buying glue every week! The interesting thing I’ve noticed? She plays with it for hours every day. I’ve noticed that she will have one hand working the slime while she does her (homeschool) math. And she can sit to get an entire lesson done – which takes around an hour, something that in the past has proved difficult for her.
I think playing with the slime gives her the tactile stimulation, or at least the movement, she needs to sit still to get her math done without popping up out of her chair every two minutes (what she used to do).
Slime is literally helping her with math. 🙂
Crystal Paine says
I love that!! Thanks for sharing!