Like many of you, my girls just love making slime. I have several slime recipes on the blog (I’ll link them all at the bottom of this post) but one variation we have not yet made is fluffy slime!
This version of slime is fun because the magic ingredient is shaving cream- aka fun in a can- and it comes out a bit softer and a bit lighter than regular slime.
It is super simple to make and I came up with this version that is Borax free.
You only need four ingredients to whip this up and I bet your kids love it. Please note this recipe worked perfectly for me- I even did a video to show you exactly how it comes together- but note at the end of the day slime is still science. You may need to try a little more of this or that to make yours perfect.
The second note is that this recipe does require contact lens solution. I think some slime experiments fail because of the brand of solution- you do want to look for boric acid on the ingredients list. The Walmart brand solution (pictured below) for roughly $2.50 for two large containers works perfectly for me. I have heard good reviews from readers on the Target brand solution as well.
One last note- I tried to find unscented shaving cream but this is the only one available at my store. My children and I smell like a mixture of men’s aftershave and Pine Sol now so it is totally worth looking for the unscented if you can find it. 😉
Ready to make fluffy slime? Here goes!
- 7-8 oz Elmer's Glue (clear or school glue)- about 1 cup
- 1½ cups shaving cream
- Food Coloring (optional)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons contact solution
- Add glue to a container
- Mix food coloring and baking soda- stir well
- Add shaving cream and stir well. Consistency is very loose.
- Add 1 tablespoon contact solution and stir well- if the mixture is quite sticky add one more tablespoon and mix well.
- The mixture should be fluffy and fun and not sticky.
- Store in an air tight container or bag.
You can see from my video below my slime is super sticky after putting in the first tablespoon of saline solution but more mixing and a bit more contact solution solves that problem.
Also I made this recipe several times before posting and used clear glue and regular school glue from Elmer’s randomly and both worked equally well. I think I prefer the clear because the colors come out a bit more vivid but really it doesn’t matter.
If you decide to make this please come back and let us know what you think!
And a few other slime recipes you might enjoy:
Contact lens solution has boric acid in it, the same active ingredient in borax powder.
http://kitchenpantryscientist.com/tag/borax/
Is there anything else beside contact solution or borax you can use to make the fluffy slim. What is borox anyways.
Hi Stacy, Yes you can use liquid starch. Here is a recipe:
http://myfrugaladventures.com/2016/05/fish-in-a-bag-slime/
Borax is a cleaning solution that comes in powder form. It can be a little harsh if it is used in extremely large quantities and is not advised around infants or very small children. There was one case of a girl getting burns to her hands from making slime using Borax. My understanding is that the girl was making or playing with the slime daily for weeks. I assume she wasn’t washing her hands after she was done, which is always a good idea.
I prefer not to use Borax just because it is powdery like corn starch and unpleasant if you spill it and it gets in our eyes or you inhale it deeply.
Hi Sarah,
Borax is actually Sodium borate and Boric acid, found in contact solution, is hydrogen borate. I am not a chemist but it is my understanding that they are not the same thing. I use contact solution for my contacts every single night without any issues so I feel pretty comfortable using it to make slime. 🙂 I would suggest washing hands thoroughly after playing with your slime though.
I love all you’re amazing slimes
Hi!
I need to make slime for 14 Girl Scouts next week. We are keeping it white and making “melted snowman slime”
When you added 1c of glue and the shaving cream, roughly how much slime did that make? I need to know how many times i need to multiply the recipe. Thanks!!
Hi Cathleen- I just made this for our soccer team so I happen to know exactly 🙂
I would recommend buying the giant Elmers glue because I bought the smaller, school size glue and 4 containers just barely made enough for 10 kids. I portioned it out in small condiment containers- these ones that are 4oz:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dart-400PC-4-Oz-Conex-Clear-Complements-Portion-Polypropylene-Container-Plastic-Condiment-Cups-Clear-Lids-Souffle-Portion-Jello-Shot-Cups-Salad-Dress/173660980
(mine were $2.97 in store BTW not $25 as that says.) So I guess 6 times would be safe.
Good luck! The Halloween slime I made for soccer was a massive hit. In fact, the girls skipped over the candy treat bags and went after the slime. 😉
Hi – did you use contact solution or saline solution? Your picture shows latter, but the recipe says “contact.” They’re different. I used saline, and it didn’t come together Wondering if the sodium borate in contact solution is necessary.
Hi Cat, Hmm.. good point. I used what is pictured. I recently tried Opti-Free and that did not work well but once I added that saline solution the slime came together nicely. I believe the Opti-Free is a contact solution so I’d say the Saline Solution is what has worked better for me.
After reading a few more recipes online, I decided to buy contact solution, which has sodium borate (Target brand). This worked very well. I modified your recipe a bit: halved it; added a couple of extra drops of contact solution to bind the slime further; and added 3 squirts of lotion to make it softer and less sticky. This resulted in the best fluffy slime we’ve made. It was super helpful to have a recipe w/actual measurements – so thank you!
Oh good! So contact solution does work too. Very happy to hear that 🙂
It was cool
Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just a heads up, make sure you use a contact solution that has sodium borate in there. I used a multi-purpose solution from a popular drug store and the finished result was colorful marshmallow soup. I even tried to use laundry detergent to get it to work. Free and clear detergents will not work. Generic (smelly) detergents will.
Thanks for the tips Joe!
Am I able to use Saline Solution instead of Contact Solution
Am I able to use Saline Solution instead of Contact Solution?
Hi Faith- you can definitely try it.I used saline solution as you see pictured and it worked fine. 🙂 I believe more people have success with products that list boric acid on the label- so check the back and see if yours has that listed and it should be OK!
My granddaughter and I tried this recipe 3 times. Epic fail all 3 times. Slime is supposed to be stretchy. This is more like silly putty. I finally told her no more. We were wasting too much money on product for bad results.
Really? I didn’t find it to be hard like silly putty at all. Sorry you weren’t happy with your results.
My daughter & I love this recipe! We used glow in the dark Elmer’s glue & women’s shaving cream ( smells a lot better ) It turned out great!
Yay! So happy to hear that!
I am going to try it out, but what should I add if it is way to stick? This is probably a dumb question but mine came out way to sticky.
Hi Emelia- in general if slime is too sticky try adding a little more contact solution. It is science so sometimes it takes a little trial and error. Hope that helps!
How long does it typically last? Thanks!
Nancy if you store in a ziploc bag or tupperware should last for ages.
Hi, i was just wondering if the slime stays ‘fluffy’? A lot of other recipes say it loses its fluffiness after a day, which makes sense as the shaving cream would deflate somewhat. Thanks, Aimee
Hmm… yes it loses some of the lightness after a day or so.
I made this for the first time and with my 7 year old granddaughter it came out amazing. She said it was fun to make and the best.