The BEST Slime Recipe Without Borax | How to Make Slime Without Borax (2024)

This slime recipe without borax is SO AWESOME. This recipe makes perfect slime every single time! It’s soft, super stretchy, and with only 4 ingredients, it’s really easy to make!

How to Make Slime Without Borax

Homemade slime is SO MUCH FUN. Every kid I know loves it. And who can blame them!? DIY slime is super simple to make and sooooo much fun to play with when you’re done!

When you’re making glue-based slime, you need an activator. Your options are borax, liquid starch (which is impossible to find in Canada!), store bought slime “activator” (which seems highly over priced), or contact lens solution.

Yes! Contact lens solution! Contact lens solution makes really awesome slime. And it’s way easier than using Borax.

Slime Without Borax Video Tutorial:

*Note: The printable recipe is at the end of this post.

Here’s What You’ll Need to Make Perfect Slime:

The full printable list of instructions is at the end of this post, but here’s a list of affiliate links to Amazon products showing what you’ll need for our slime recipe without borax:

• Elmer’s School Glue
• Contact Lens Solution
• Baking Soda
• Neon Food Colouring

I was at the pharmacy yesterday looking for contact lens solution and I saw options that were $4, $10 and $15… so depending on how much slime you want to make, there are plenty of affordable options!

What Kind of Contact Lens Solution is Best for Slime?

Make sure your contact lens solution has Boric Acid. Without Boric Acid, the slime won’t… well… it won’t turn into slime! There were lots of options on the pharmacy shelves. Check the ingredient list, and make sure Boric Acid is listed as one of the ingredients.

There are different brands you can choose, but I recommend using Renu Fresh contact lens solution by Bausch + Lomb. In the USA, this contact lens solution is called Renu Advanced Formula by Bausch + Lomb. Different brands have different amounts of Boric Acid, so if you’re using a different one, you might have to adjust the amount of contact lens solution needed to activate the slime.

What Kind of Glue is Best for Slime?

I recommend using Elmer’s School Glue. Every glue is slightly different and you may not get the exact same results with different brands. In fact, some generic brands won’t work at all!

Amazon Basics School Glue will also work, but I haven’t tried this exact recipe with it yet. You can definitely make great slime with it, but since it’s a slightly different glue, you might need to adjust the amount of water and activator you add to your slime.

Troubleshooting Your Slime:

• If the slime sticks to your hands, add more contact lens solution and knead it into the slime.
• Is your slime super stiff? You probably added too much activator. Keep adding small amounts of warm water to the slime and kneading it into the slime until it gets to a good slime consistency.
• Does your slime look like thick, clumpy soup? You might have to try again. Not all glue is the same. We recommend Elmer’s School Glue, and can’t guarantee that other brands will work for slime. Also, make sure you read the contact lens solution ingredients to make sure it contains Boric Acid. Without Boric Acid, it won’t turn into slime.
• It’s also important that you add the contact lens solution AFTER you’ve mixed together all the other ingredients. If you add the activator before mixing together the other ingredients the mixture turns into a clumpy mess.

Slime Recipe Without Borax

Follow our step by step tutorial below for how to make slime without borax. Learn how to make perfect slime, every single time!

Just a little heads up – the food colouring made my hands just a little bit blue after kneading and stretching the slime you see in the photos. A couple of hand washes later, and my hands were back to normal. But it’s something to keep in mind if you’re making this with kids.

When this slime was done it was really stretchy AND it didn’t stick to our hands at all. It’s soft and squishy and probably the best slime we’ve ever made!

Why Use Contact Lens Solution Instead of Borax?

Contact lens solution is easier to work with and more readily available. Laundry starch isn’t available in Canada, and Borax tends to be tricky to find as well. Contact lens solution is really convenient and makes really awesome slime!

Is Contact Lens Solution Safer Than Borax?

No, sadly contact lens solution is not safer than borax. The main ingredient you need to make any glue-based slime magic happen is Boric Acid. Borax is simply another name for Boric Acid – which is the main ingredient you need in your contact lens solution.

Sadly, I don’t know of any homemade glue-based slime recipes that don’t contain some form of boric acid.

If you’re concerned about skin irritation or other effects, your child can wear rubber gloves. Always make sure your kids wash their hands thoroughly after making and playing with slime.

If you’re looking for a safe slime recipe without questionable ingredients, check out or tutorial for How To Make Metamucil Slime.

More of Our Favourite Slime Recipes:

Butter Slime

Fluffy Slime

Classic Homemade Slime (With Borax)

Super Easy 2-Ingredient Slime

DIY Floam Using Styrofoam Cups

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