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Best Activators For Making Slime

Slime Activator List

Ever thought about the different ingredients you can partner with glue to make your own gooey, thought-inducing, fantasy-creating slime? There are a number of glue partners, or slime activators (as they are more aptly called) in your household which you can use. These items activate the mixture and give the glue movements that range from jelly-like to liquid. From a handful of items, here is a slime activators list which we think are the best:

Borax

At the top of the slime activator list is Borax. It contains either sodium tetraborate or borax. It’s one of the most popular slime activators and probably the best activator for slime and as activators for slime go, it’s the one that will prove to be successful. It has been banned in some countries as it is poisonous if swallowed and this has caused some concern for parents. Children should be supervised if you intend to let them play with slime made with this ingredient as Borax powder can irritate the throat, eyes and the skin if inhaled. If you decide to use Borax solution then make sure that you follow the correct instructions when making the slime and do not leave children unsupervised with Borax. Note that Borax cannot permeate broken skin, but after playing with it, make sure that hands are thoroughly washed.

If you decide to use Borax solution then you can simply put a teaspoon of borax in a cup of warm water and ta da! Slime activator.

Liquid laundry detergent

Using a laundry detergent to make slime is such a breeze! You just need to slowly add it in a little at a time to your glue and your slime will slowly come together. Please be advised though that some liquid laundry detergents work better than others in the slime-making world. It is worth bearing in mind that if anyone who comes into contact with this slime suffers from allergic reactions to laundry detergents or has sensitive skin, this slime may not be suitable and may irritate the skin.

Contact lens solution and baking soda

To make a good slime activator out of this one, remember to dissolve baking soda in warm water and allow to cool before adding it to your glue. Note that the amount of baking soda depends on the glue volume. After mixing the glue and the baking soda solution, spritz in your contact solution and voila! Your slime is ready! When it comes to using contact lens solution for slime, many parents are left baffled as contact lens solution needs to contain borax when making slime otherwise it will not work. One advantage of using contact lens solution as an activator for slime is that the borax is already contained within the solution so there’s no risk of children gaining access to borax powder. It is worth bearing in mind however that using contact lens solution as a slime activator is an expensive option when compared to buying borax powder. There are also ways to make your own contact solution.

Other activators for slime list

If you don’t happen to have those listed above and you are itching to make some slime to play with friends, boast online or simply look at as it oozes on your hand, you can search the house and use this list of activators for slime instead. We show you how to make slime activator without borax and eye drops. Of course, we left in eye drops as an option:

liquid fabric softener

  • Liquid fabric softener

Our activators for slime list begins with liquid fabric softener. You can use this the same way as using liquid laundry detergent for slime. A big plus is that this makes the slime smell nice! This is at the top of our activator for slime list as it’s a product that everyone has at home and therefore it is readily available.

  • Liquid starch

You can find liquid starch in the laundry soap section of groceries. It’s a great option for making slime quickly and it’s very effective. Liquid starch contains something called sodium borate and this is the key ingredient for making successful slime. Once you’ve made slime with this activator, place it in a container that’s clean and dry and let it sit for approximately five minutes, as it can be stringy when its first made. You will see that this slime does get better with time.  Bear in mind that you cannot make your own liquid starch, corn starch or even use a starch spray.

  • Salt

Also, on our slime activators list is salt. So how to make slime activator with salt. You have to make a saline solution first by mixing salt with water. To make this saline solution use one cup of water and half a teaspoon of salt and place this in a pan. Boil this for approximately fifteen minutes and keep the pan lid on to avoid evaporation. You will then need to allow the pan to cool until it is at room temperature. Finally, carefully pour this solution into a bottle and jar which has a lid. You are now ready to start combining it with the glue to make some gooey fun stuff!

Salt is a good option as an activator for slime as it is readily available and it is also cheap to purchase. The volume of salt that you can purchase can produce a large quantity of slime which is useful if you need to make a large amount or if you plan to make it on a few occasions.

  • Eye Wash or Eye Drops

Another activator for our slime list. The ingredient that you are looking for is boric acid and this is something that can be found in drops that are used for your eyes instead of lens cleaning solution. As eye washes and eye drops don’t contain sodium borate you will need to double up on the amount that you use when compared to a slime recipe using a saline solution.

We hope that our list of activators for slime has been useful and provided you with a suitable option for when you next have a go at making your own slime. As you can now see it’s a lot simpler than you may have originally thought! Which slime activator works best? You tell us by leaving a comment below. For us, it all depends on personal preference.

Try our 20 easy slime recipes list. Let us know how your slime making went if you have any suggestions to make the slime better leave a comment. We love hearing from our fans.

25 thoughts on “Best Activators For Making Slime

  • May 17, 2018 at 6:04 am
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    This was extremely helpful!
    Thank you

    Reply
    • June 12, 2018 at 1:12 am
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      No, salt will not work by itself. You need to make it into a saline type solution. See the directions we posted about salt.

      Reply
      • July 13, 2018 at 6:04 pm
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        Is there a actavitors that you can find around your house?

        Reply
        • July 15, 2018 at 2:08 pm
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          Yes, if you use contact lenses.

          Reply
        • May 23, 2019 at 11:39 pm
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          Where can I find contact solution??

          Reply
          • December 11, 2019 at 6:55 pm
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            you can find it in the medicen ile in fred myers or ask a employee for help finding it!

    • September 15, 2018 at 1:53 pm
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      i don’t know going to try right now hope it works 🙂 Xx

      Reply
  • October 23, 2018 at 12:15 am
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    I seriously only have gain

    Reply
    • November 23, 2018 at 4:18 pm
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      Gain won’t work. Tide is the best detergent activator

      Reply
      • July 12, 2019 at 4:48 pm
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        Do we need to boil the salt

        Reply
      • February 26, 2020 at 7:34 am
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        I use gain with febreeze and it works just fine with Elmer’s white glue….?

        Reply
  • November 4, 2018 at 1:07 pm
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    i tried some of them but they didnt work on my soap and shaving cream slime but did work on my glue slime.I wanna try it again but on another slime.

    Reply
    • November 23, 2018 at 4:17 pm
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      Usually, soap and shaving cream doesn’t work. Without glue, it won’t work.

      Reply
    • November 23, 2018 at 4:12 pm
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      What part is stupid?

      Reply
  • October 16, 2019 at 8:25 pm
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    what activators can you find in ur bathroom

    Reply
  • January 19, 2020 at 9:49 pm
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    The laundry detergent does not work!?

    Reply
  • May 5, 2020 at 1:03 pm
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    This is really helpful i never get to make slime tho. Because my mom thinks it will get everywhere.

    Reply
  • June 22, 2020 at 10:35 pm
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    thanks because i just made a slime a i ran out so thanks

    Reply
  • January 12, 2021 at 8:45 am
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    What is good for your hair is beneficial for your skin all the same.

    Reply
  • May 13, 2021 at 1:47 pm
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    If you try baking soda alone will it work and please answer quick no rush

    Reply

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