The slime craze continues and so many people are having fun making slime! Not only is slime fun to make – but kids will love stretching and squishing it. You’ve probably heard of all the slime fails. Well you’ve come to the right place for an easy slime recipe. Our favorite slime recipe is made with contact lens solution. It’s the easiest we’ve tried and without borax. So you won’t have to worry about slime fails with this one! Be sure to read the full post and tips below on how to make slime with contact solution!
How to Make Slime With Contact Solution
There are a number of different slime activators you can use to “transform” your glue mixture into slime. Contact lens solution is our favorite activator. You can also replace this for saline solution, but just make sure that that they contain boric acid and sodium borate.
Why is boric acid important for slime?
Boric acid is made from borax and similarly liquid starch contains sodium tetraborate which is also made from borax. Typically all activators have some derivative of borax. However, we prefer using the contact lens solution as it’s easier to use and more widely available (liquid starch is not available in Canada and Borax is not available in the UK).
This Renu Fresh Contact Lens Solution is one of the recommended brands we suggest since it contains both boric acid and sodium borate. But there are many others you can find as well.
Ingredients for How to Make Slime With Contact Solution
This easy 3 ingredient recipe is such a popular one! If you haven’t seen our Unicorn Slime made with it, head over to watch the video on how it’s done!
Only 3 ingredients are needed:
1. 1 Bottle of Elmer’s Glue (6 oz) – we like to buy the gallon size and then measure out for savings. If you want to get a similar effect to the photos in this post, you’ll need to buy Elmer’s glitter glue and review our Unicorn slime recipe.
We recommend Elmers as it has been tested and is quality glue. If you do not have Elmers in your country, substitute for the next best quality glue. Do not use dollar store glue as this is what results in a lot of slime fails. The make-up of the glues are not the same. Note, we have only tested this recipe with Elmers.
2. Baking Soda (1/2 TBSP)
3. 1½ TBSP of Contact Lens Solution – Renu Fresh or Equate are both good brands which contain Boric Acid and Sodium Borate
4. (Optional) – Add 1 TBSP or up to 1/2 CUP of water if you’d like a stretchier slime.
5. (Optional) – extra glitter
Watch our Unicorn Slime tutorial video here before you get started!
Steps for How to Make Slime With Contact Solution
1. Get a bowl to mix your slime ingredients in.
2. Pour your entire 6 oz Elmer’s Glitter glue into the bowl.
3. Add your 1/2 TBSP of baking soda and mix in thoroughly. Also add 1 TBSP or more of water here (up to 1/2 cup) if you want a stretchier slime.
5. Slowly add in your contact lens solution (reminder: your contact lens solution should contain boric acid or your slime will not form). Add it in slowly and mix if possible so that you can adjust and ensure you do not add too much. We like to add a few teaspoons at a time and then mix. Knead and mix thoroughly before adding more as you do not want to add too much or your slime will get too hard. You may not need the full amount so take this step slowly.
6. Now mix until your slime forms and begins to harden. Take it out and knead, knead, knead. You may be surprised how much you need to knead to really make the slime form. If it’s not the desirable consistency keep kneading. If you find it to still be too sticky, add a bit more contact lens solution.
You can print the full recipe off here:
How to Make Slime With Contact Solution
Ingredients
- 1 Bottle of Elmer's Glue
- 1/2 TBSP Baking Soda
- 1½ TBSP of Contact Lens Solution
- 1 TBSP Optional - Add 1 TBSP to up to 1/2 CUP of water if you'd like a stretchier slime.
- Optional - Add in extra glitter if desired
Instructions
- Get a bowl to mix your slime ingredients in.
- Pour your entire 6 oz Elmer’s Glitter glue into the bowl.
- Add your 1/2 TBSP of baking soda and mix in thoroughly. Also add 1 TBSP or more (up to 1/2 cup) of water here if you want a stretchier slime.
- Slowly add in your contact lens solution (reminder: your contact lens solution should contain boric acid or your slime will not form). Add it in slowly and mix if possible so that you can adjust and ensure you do not add too much. You may not need the full amount so take this step slowly.
- Now mix until your slime forms and begins to harden. Take it out and knead, knead, knead. You may be surprised how much you need to knead to really make the slime form. If it’s not the desirable consistency keep kneading. If you find it to still be too sticky, add a bit more contact lens solution.
We hope this easy to follow recipe on how to make slime with contact solution has been helpful!
Other Slime Recipes to Try
Head over to our Unicorn Slime page to see how you can turn this into Unicorn Slime!
Make Fluffy Slime which has a different texture and is fun to play with! See our Fluffy Slime Recipe.
See how we turned these 4 slimes into Galaxy Slime! This one is really fun to mix!
Slime Safety & Precautions
Note: this recipe does not contain borax. However, it is still considered a science experiment and safety precautions should still be made when creating slime. By making this slime, you agree to our site terms which you can read here.
- Adults should handle any chemicals and products
- Adults should make the slime
- Always read and follow the labels of products used. If contact lens solution is accidentally ingested, seek medical attention immediately.
- This project is not suitable for children under 4.
- Slime should not be placed in the mouth. After playing with the slime, you should thoroughly wash your hands.
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Thankful i came across ur post. I bought the elmers galaxy slime starter pack. I thought it was a complete slime kit.. but we had to purchase separately baking soda and contact solution. Kids was stoked to make slime.. but all 3 glue bottles (soo expensive in my country) went to waste as it was too watery and sticky. I tried n tried. Didnt happen. Then i read you said the contact solution has to contain boric acid. Bingo. The one we used didnt contain that. But we didnt know! Honestly felt so cheated cos elmers didnt specify this in their instruction/ingredients.. wish i came across ur post sooner.
That’s great to hear Annie, I’m glad you found the right contact solution to make it work. Glad we were able to help!
Made fantastic slime using this recipe, the texture is perfect, not to sticky so isn’t sticking to clothes, etc. really stretchy so the kids are loving it. The only problem i’m having is that the slime is leaving a greasy residue on hands, even though I don’t mind this, I know my niece’s mother isn’t going to be happy. Is there any way of making it less greasy? Have I gone wrong somewhere along the way causing the slime to be greasy? Is this just the way it is? Any help will be greatly appreciated 🙂
Rachael we haven’t experienced a greasy residue but perhaps if you use a little baby oil or lotion on the hands when playing with it that may help prevent any of the slime coming off? Of course we always recommend washing hands right after use too. Glad you are happy with the recipe, thanks for commenting!
Mine is quite watery? What am I doing wrong?
Lynn if it’s too watery don’t add as much water (or less contact solution). We like to add usually only 1 or 2 tablespoons of water and then slowly add in the contact lens solution.
Super excited to try this recipe. Thank you for such great detailed recipies and tips. Making a special ‘All About Slime’ Easter basket for my 8 yr old with everything under the sun to make, play and experiment for hours. 🙂
How come your video for fluffy slime shows shaving cream being added? your recipe doesn’t include shaving cream.
Hi Joy – you’re on our regular slime tutorial page. Click the link above for our fluffy slime recipe and you’ll see the recipe for fluffy slime that includes shaving cream.
Can u store them in a ziplock bag
Yes definitely! Just squeeze out all the extra air from the bag.
If I plan on making this with 30 students, how much does one batch make?
One batch you could split between 2 students if you’d like. If you want to make a lot, we suggest you get the gallon sized clear glue as that would be a lot cheaper! 🙂
Where can I find the small jars for slime?
You can get small jars on Amazon or at Michaels or a dollar store usually! 🙂
I used baby food jars. Worked perfect!
Awesome recipe, worked so well! Four happy little girls!
That’s great to hear, thanks for commenting!!
what contact lens solution do i use what is the best brand
Hi Natalie – we link to our recommend brand and kind by Renu above in the post.
Is it supposed to be very sticky?
It’s going to be sticky when you’re initially kneading it. Keep working it for awhile and if you still find it sticky, add a little bit more contact lens solution (one teaspoon at a time) until you like the consistency. You can also put some baby oil or lotion on your hands instead which helps it to not stick as much. If you add too much contact solution it may become not as stretchy.
I got a solution which says borax in sodium chloride form will it work?
We haven’t tried one with that specific ingredient. The one we get has sodium borate and boric acid it in. But maybe test patch a small amount of glue and see if it works?
Can I also use Irilenti Contact lens solution to make slime??
Hi Meredith – we haven’t tried that kind but if it has sodium borate and boric acid in the ingredients list it should work fine!
What types of things could you put in slime to make it crunchy
You could add in some polystyrene foam beads 🙂
You put in beads or foam balls they also make it crunchy
what kind of contact solution do i use
There is a link above to the brand we recommend.
You can if it has boric acid in it 😊
About how much does this make? I have 8 children in my classroom and would like each of them to have some for sensory time. Should I make two different slimes using two bottles of glue? Thanks!
One batch could be split easily in 2 or could make 3 but would be a very small amount. So with 8 I would suggest doing 4 batches. Hope that helps!
How long does this stay good for for? If I made it for a class party and just had the children incorporate their add ins, would it be too dry to do that if I made in advance?
Not at all. Keep in an air tight container and it will last at least a week. 🙂
With the regular slime how do you know when gets bad? Just hard or something else?
It will start to get hard. Keep in an air tight (air removed) container or bag and it should last at least a week. Usually longer!
How much contact lense solution do we need to use?
1.5 tablespoons. Add in slowly and mix a few teaspoons at a time.