Most of the slime recipes that you find online are made with glue and borax powder. Borax is a component of many household products as detergents and cosmetics. You can buy it at any grocery store in the powdered form. Then, all you have to do is dissolve it into warm water and mix it with glue to make slime.
Borax it’s technically safe to use and I actually think it makes better slime than using other activators, but some people prefer not to use it. That’s why I am going to tell you other ways to make slime without using borax powder!
HOW TO MAKE SLIME WITHOUT BORAX POWDER
The ingredient that you combine with liquid glue to form the slime, makes it stretchy and less sticky the more you add, it’s called activator. Instead of borax powder there are some other slime activators that you can use:
- Liquid starch. Used to get wrinkles out of clothes, liquid starch is another activator that you can use to make slime. It’s cheaper than borax, but you will need to use more. I use Sta-Flo concentrated liquid starch, ideal for crafts and contains no dyes.
- Liquid laundry detergent. You can use any brand to make slime. When using laundry detergent as an activator, combine the detergent with glue and food coloring if desired. For making clear slime, use clear laundry detergent.
- Saline contact solution. Saline solution is very popular for making slime, but make sure you buy the right one or it won’t work. It must contain boric acid as an ingredient. You will need very little saline solution to activate the slime, and you will need to add baking soda to the glue. I always add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to one bottle of Elmer’s Washable Glue and then I add the saline solution little by little, just a few drops at the time, otherwise the slime can become stiff. Add food coloring as needed.
I understand that some people are very sensitive to borax or even allergic to borax. In those cases, you shouldn’t use any of this activators, since they all contain borax but with different names like boric acid or sodium borate.
If you want to make slime that really is “borax free”, you should try other types of slime like cornstarch slime (just mix cornstarch with water), but it won’t be the traditional slime made with glue that is so popular right now.
Check out my slime recipes, find one that you like and have fun making slime!