Homemade Slime Recipes Use Toxic Ingredients

When my 10 year old daughter came home from school a few weeks ago begging to make Fluffy Slime at home, I asked her what it is and how do you make it? While she didn’t know exactly know how to make it, she knew it entailed using Elmer’s glue and shaving foam. Hmm.. alarm bells sounded and onto Google I went. What I found was incredibly concerning, homemade slime recipes use toxic ingredients and in all sorts of combinations.

Parents please be aware of the dangers of this latest Fluffy Slime Craze. Children are playing with an array of dangerous and potent, volatile ingredients and mixing them all together.

Making slime may be all the rage, and from a distance seem like harmless fun and a great way to see your kids getting scientific and creative, as opposed to being glued to their iPad’s, but… we need to monitor what they use to make their slime!

First I will list the ingredients commonly used and what I found out about each ones safety and health side effects. Then I will give you some links to safer slime recipes. These recipes have been created by other mindful parents, who have taken it into their own hands to come up with ingredients to make slimes that are A LOT SAFER!

Toxic Ingredients Used To Make Fluffy Slime List

BORAX – Borax may be a natural occurring mineral, but it is not safe for children to handle. It is not safe to inhale the dust, it can cause eye damage. It is not safe to ingest and it is very caustic and can burn skin. Borax is linked to organ and reproductive toxicity. I always look to EWG’s Skin Deep reports on ingredients and here is the EWG Borax listing. Here is a Borax safety data sheet.

GLUE – Elmer’s Glue is the glue of choice, but I have seen other glues used for slime recipes. According to Elmer’s Glue Safety Data Sheet, it states, wash immediately upon contact with skin. GREAT!

SHAVING FOAM – I write a lot about the toxic ingredients in cosmetics, and shaving foam is no exception. Here is EWG’s report on one of Gilette’s Shaving Foams. Shaving foams are full of toxic ingredients including Butane, Isobutane, BHT, TRIETHANOLAMINE and the list goes on and on.

CONTACT SOLUTION – Is not a pure saline product as some people may think. It is a specialized solution of ingredients designed to clean contacts and eyes. It is not designed to mix with glue, borax and shaving cream! See ingredients here

LAUNDRY DETERGENTS – The standard supermarket brands are full of toxic chemicals and toxic artificial fragrances. See Mother Earth Living’s List of Chemicals Commonly Found in Laundry Detergents .

EYE DROPS – Google the ingredients of any eye drop brand and you will see that they contain very specific chemical ingredients, designed ONLY FOR USE IN THE EYE and in minute dosages, at certain time intervals. Eye drops are not something that should be mixed into a slime recipe.

SHAMPOOS – Again, your standard supermarket brands,are full of toxic and artificial fragrances. They are designed to wash hair and then be rinsed straight off.

DISH-WASHING LIQUID & LIQUID SOAPS – same reasons as Laundry Detergents.

*Note – even natural detergents, shampoos and liquid soaps have been made for their intended purpose alone, and not to be mixed together with glue and borax. Natural ingredients can still cause unwanted and toxic chemical reactions when mixed together.

The Dangers Of Mixing Different Ingredients Together To Make Fluffy Slime

Children are not chemical engineers, or chemical scientists, with extensive amounts of knowledge under their belts as to how different chemicals react together. Creating Fluffy Slime, or any type of Slime using any of the above ingredients is simply put DANGEROUS!

We have know way of knowing what mixing any, or all, of the above ingredients together will produce in the way of toxic Volatile Organic Compounds.
Making Fluffy Slime and Slime using these ingredients is just playing Russian Roulette.

Safer, All Natural Slime Recipes – NO GLUE, BORAX, DETERGENTS, OR EYE DROPS

I spent hours searching for safer slime recipes, and while they are not going to result in the same elastic and super fluffy slime as using the toxic ingredients will, they will still allow kids to indulge in their little inner-scientist, and make some fun and colourful slime for great tactile, sensory fun!.

These recipes below are by other clever mums, who quickly cottoned on to the fact that most standard, homemade slime recipes, are using toxic ingredients.

These recipes use perishable ingredients, so need to be kept in the fridge.

Psyllium Powder Slime Recipe – uses just water, psyllium and food colouring.

Cornstarch and Basil Seed Slime Recipe – uses waters, cornstarch, basil seeds and food colouring

Chia Seed or Flaxseed Slime Recipe – uses water, seeds, Xanthan gum, cornstarch and food colouring.