Honey Slime in 6 Steps

Materials you'll need

• Clear glue
• Warm water
• Baking soda
• Red food coloring
• Orange food coloring
• Measuring cup
• Contact lens solution
• Mixing bowl and spoon
• Borax (activator) ⚠️ See safety note below

*Safety note

Borax can irritate skin, especially with prolonged contact or for kids with eczema or sensitive skin. If you'd like to use a lower-concentration alternative, swap the borax/warm water mixture for a contact lens solution activator: mix ½ teaspoon of baking soda into the glue-water mixture, then slowly add contact lens solution one tablespoon at a time, stirring as you go, until the slime comes together. Check the label. It needs to list boric acid or sodium borate as an ingredient, or it won't work. Note that contact lens solution contains borax derivatives at a much lower concentration, so it's gentler but not entirely borax-free. Either way, wash hands after playing and keep slime away from eyes and mouths.

Heads up: swapping the activator may change how your slime turns out. Different concentrations can affect stretchiness and texture, so results may vary.

Step-by-step tutorial

Step 1: Pour 1/4 cup of clear glue into a mixing bowl.

Step 2: Add 1 cup of warm water to the glue.

Step 3: Add drops of red and orange food coloring and mix well.

Step 4: Slowly pour in 1 teaspoon of borax/warm water mixture (activator) while stirring.

Step 5: Add in 2 tablespoons of contact solution. Mix until the slime is smooth and elastic.

Step 6: Once it's too thick to stir, pick it up and knead it with your hands until it's smooth, stretchy, and no longer sticky.

Learn more

This slime works thanks to polymers — long chains of molecules that can slide past each other like cooked spaghetti, which is why the glue starts out runny. The contact lens solution contains borate ions, and those ions act like tiny clips that link the polymer chains together. As more links form, the chains get tangled into a stretchy network that traps water inside, turning your runny glue into squishy, honey-colored slime.