Playdough
No-cook playdough
Flour, salt, hot water: a soft dough in 10 minutes, no saucepan needed.
- Very easy
- 10 minutes
8 boron-free recipes
Homemade dough: playdough, salt dough and sands
Slime’s cousins: you can shape them, mold them or let them harden, and none of them uses a boron activator. Perfect for younger kids.
Homemade doughs are made with kitchen staples: flour, salt, cornstarch, oil. Many are fine from age 3, with an adult. The one rule they all share: they’re not for eating, even though the ingredients come from the pantry.
Playdough
Cooked playdough
Cooked for a few minutes by an adult: softer and longer-lasting.
- Easy
- 15 minutes
Dries hard
Salt dough
2 cups flour, 1 salt, 1 water: shape it, dry it, paint it.
- Very easy
- 15 min + drying
Sensory
Cloud dough
5 parts flour, 1 part oil: soft as a cloud, moldable like sand.
- Very easy
- 5 minutes
Sand
Magic sand (kinetic-style)
Sand, glue, dish soap, cornstarch: it molds, then flows.
- Easy
- 10 minutes
Sand
Moon sand
Sand, cornstarch, a little water or oil: it molds like at the beach.
- Very easy
- 5 minutes
Sensory
Foam dough
Shaving cream and cornstarch: a dough as light as meringue.
- Very easy
- 5 minutes
Playdough
Cornstarch dough
Conditioner and cornstarch: a smooth, scented dough with 2 ingredients.
- Very easy
- 5 minutes
Slime or dough: which one should you make?
Slime stretches and oozes slowly; dough can be shaped and holds its form. For kids under 6, homemade dough is often simpler because it doesn’t need an activator. For a real boron-free slime, also check out cornstarch slime and marshmallow slime.