How to Make Slime That Actually Works

Everybody wants to make slime, and a lot of people end up with a bowl of sticky glue that never turns into anything. I’ve been making slime since I was eight and I’ve messed it up enough times to know exactly what goes wrong. This is the version that works every time.

I’ve messed it up enough times to know exactly what goes wrong.

What You Need

• 1 bottle of white school glue (the regular Elmer’s, not the gel kind)
• Baking soda — just a little bit
• Contact lens solution — has to say “contains boric acid” on the label. This is the activator. If yours doesn’t say that it won’t work and that’s probably why your last batch failed.
• Food coloring if you want color (optional but obviously yes)
• A bowl and something to stir with

How to Make It

1. Pour the whole bottle of glue into your bowl. The whole thing. Don’t try to save some for later.
2. Add about half a teaspoon of baking soda and stir it in completely. This helps the slime come together and makes it less sticky at the end.
3. If you want color, add your food coloring now and mix it in. Do this before the activator or you’ll be trying to mix color into something that’s already turning into slime. Trust me.
4. Add the contact solution slowly — like one tablespoon at a time — and stir as you go. You’ll see it start to pull away from the bowl and clump together. That’s exactly what’s supposed to happen.
5. Keep adding contact solution and stirring until it stops sticking to the bowl. Then pick it up and knead it with your hands for about two minutes. It gets less sticky as you work it.
6. If it’s still too sticky, add a tiny bit more contact solution and keep kneading. If it’s too stiff and tears instead of stretches, you added too much — there’s no fixing that batch but now you know.

Keeping It Safe

Slime is a toy, but the activator is not. Contact lens solution is meant for lenses, so a grown-up should be around while it is being poured, and the bottle goes back on a high shelf as soon as the batch is done. Little brothers and sisters who still put things in their mouths should not play with slime at all, and the bottles belong in the same latched or out-of-reach spot as other household products, the way the stage-by-stage baby-proofing checklist describes.

• Nobody eats it or licks it, even by accident, and it stays away from eyes.
• Wash your hands with soap after playing, and before snacks.
• If your skin turns red, itchy or sore, stop, rinse it off and tell an adult.

Cleaning Up and Storing It

Make slime at a table you can wipe, with newspaper or a tray underneath, and keep it off carpet, sofas and clothes, because those are the places it is hardest to get out of. When you are finished, press it into a container with a tight lid. If it starts to dry out, gets hairy with fluff, or smells strange, throw that batch in the trash rather than trying to save it. A new batch only takes a few minutes, and you already know how.

One More Thing

Add a tiny bit of lotion to the finished slime if you want it extra soft and stretchy. Just a little. This is the difference between regular slime and the really satisfying kind.