Slime Activator Recipe

hands stretching green slime and a hand pouring liquid into a green slimy mixture with the title 'easy slime activator'

This quick and easy slime activator takes less than a minute to make! Learn how to make your own so you can start making your own DIY slimes in no time at all!

Table of Contents

If you want to make slime, you’re going to need a slime activator. This is what the makes the slime… well, slime. Most slimes, other than edible slime, require an activator to take all the ingredients and make them into the stretchy and gooey material you know and love as slime. Then you can make all types, including the classic green slime, see through crystal clear slime, this gorgeous gold slime, or unique color changing slime, cloud slime, snow slime, and fluffy slime.

You can either buy an activator for slime or make your own. And the good news, is making your own is incredibly easy and only requires two ingredients.

I’ve also created this set of printable slime recipe cards so you can easily make all types of slime! You can also download them from the shop.

image of slime recipe cards

14+ Slime Recipe Cards - Printable PDF

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Note: Some links in this post may contain affiliate links, which means at no cost to you, I may earn a commission.

What is Slime Activator?

Slime activator is a liquid solution that you mix into glue or other slime bases to make it into slime. The activator reacts with the ingredients to make it all stretchy and slimy.

Typically when you make slime, you use glue. The reason for this is because basic glue is made out of PVA (Polyvinyl Alcohol), hence the common name of PVA glue. It’s the PVA that is actually the key to making slime, but PVA alone won’t make slime. PVA is simply a solution – you need something to create to it in order to form the bonds to make a stretchy slime.

This is where a the activator for slime comes in. It reacts with the PVA within glue to make slime.

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The Science Behind Slime Activators

In case you’re curious, chemically what’s happening is cross-bonds are forming within the PVA when the borax is added. And even more scientifically speaking, it’s the boron within Borax that’s causing the reaction. Therefore different amounts of borax within an activator or the different fillers will create slightly different reactions.

Didn’t think you were going to get a science lesson, did you? But actually knowing the science behind slime making or any craft really, helps you choose the best supplies and make the best project.

Different Types of Slime Activators

There are different types of activators for slime that you can buy or make yourself. The type of activator for slime you use will determine the final look and feel of the slime. This is because different activators have different ingredients within them.

Common ones you can use include different solutions such as contact lens solution, borax solutions, laundry detergent, fabric softener, liquid starch, or products specifically called “slime activator.” All of these contain ingredients that contain the element, boron. Therefore when choosing your activator or making one at home, be on the lookout for ingredients starting with “bor,” such as boric acid, sodium borate, or borax.

The best slime activator recipe I’m showing you today, however, is certainly my favorite and the easiest and uses borax.

Where to Buy Slime Activator

If you don’t want to make your own, you can buy them either online, at the grocery store, or craft store, depending on the type you’re looking for. Here’s a list of places that sell different types:

  • Amazon – they’ll have everything from the product itself to different types of cleaning items

Then these craft stores have “official” ones such as Elmer’s Magical Liquid Slime Activator and Scented ones, and the Nickelodeon Slime Activator.

The Best Slime Activator Recipe

Pin it to save it for later! Use it in all of my slime recipes on the blog and with the printable slime recipe cards.

recipe card for slime activator showing two hands stretching some green slime with the title "2 ingredient slime activator"

This recipe will be enough to make several slimes – I was able to get 4 out of it, but it depends how much you use for each.

  • 1 Cup Water
  • 1 tsp Borax (Amazon)

To me, it’s kind of the rule to have the ridiculously large box of borax so I’ve linked to the one I personally use. However, I totally get if you don’t want this massive thing so I’ve also linked to a small bag if you don’t plan to make much slime. Fun fact, borax can actually be used in a bunch of different crafts. In fact, have a whole section on borax crafts!

image of slime recipe cards

14+ Slime Recipe Cards - Printable PDF

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How to Make Slime Activator with Borax

The key to the best activator for slime is borax. It’s used primarily as a laundry detergent, but it lives in my craft room since I have so many crafts that use borax

hand holding a box of 20 mule team borax detergent booster

Fill a bowl or measuring cup with 1 cup of warm water.

pouring water from a kettle into a clear measuring cup

Then add in 1 tsp of borax.

holding a teaspoon of borax powder over a clear measuring cup with water

Mix until all of the borax is dissolved. And that’s it, it’s ready to use. I told you it was easy!

using a teaspoon to stir a measuring cup with clear liquid

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How to Use Slime Activator

You can then use the activator in any slime recipe you’d like (except for the edible slime). This activator is not edible. In this example, I’m making some classic easy green slime.

Simply mix it in to your base a little bit at a time (often times this will be glue and other dyes, glitter, or other things you want to add). I recommend mixing in ~1 teaspoon at a time.

Once the slime starts to pull away from the edges (like in the second image), you’ve added enough activator.

pouring clear slime activator into a bowl of green liquid made of glue
stirring a bowl of green goo with a plastic spoon so that there are chunks forming

After stirring for a bit, you’ll get your finished stretchy slime!

stretching classic green slime apart with two hands

More Slime and Borax Crafts to Try

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recipe card for slime activator showing two hands stretching some green slime with the title "2 ingredient slime activator"

Slime Activator

This two ingredient slime activator recipe takes less than a minute to make! Learn how to make your own so you can start making your own DIY slimes in no time at all!
Yield 1 Cup
3 from 2 votes
Project Time 1 minute
Total Time 1 minute

Materials
  

  • 1 Cup Warm Water
  • 1 tsp Borax

Equipment

  • Measuring Cup
  • Measuring Spoon

Instructions
 

  • Measure 1 cup of warm water into a large measuring cup
    1 Cup Warm Water
    pouring water from a kettle into a clear measuring cup
  • Add borax
    1 tsp Borax
    holding a teaspoon of borax powder over a clear measuring cup with water
  • Stir until dissolved
    using a teaspoon to stir a measuring cup with clear liquid
Keyword Borax, Slime, Slime Activator
Daniela Kretchmer

Daniela Kretchmer

Daniela is a lifelong crafter who loves to share her passion for crafting. Through classes or learning on her own, she likes to say she'll do pretty much any craft aside from scrapbooking. Her current personal obsessions include garden crafts, felting, and spinning yarn.

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8 thoughts on “Slime Activator Recipe”

  1. 1 star
    Extremely disappointed, tried to make the clear slime, bought enough for 2 batches messed up the first one not reading the directions. (Added the glue to the slime activator instead of the other way around) it turned into glue lumps floating in liquid. Laughed that I can’t follow a 2 direction craft and tried again this time slowing adding the slime activator to the glue as instructed. Before even adding half of the slime activator it once again turned into chunks. Had to toss it as well. Extremely disappointed, waste of two bottles of Elmer’s clear glue.

    1. Oh no, that’s so frustrating! It sounds as though the issue is 2 things:
      1. You may be using too much as this recipe is intended to be used to make multiple slimes, not one. Be sure to follow the recommended small amounts at a time (~1 teaspoon at a time).
      2. You’re using clear glue instead of white glue. When making clear slime, you want to add equal parts water to the glue prior to adding the activator, otherwise there is too much activator and it immediately solidifies as you have described.

      Hope this helps and you can get some nice clear slime!

  2. 5 stars
    Using these great recipes for literacy summer camps with my students. Thanks for the activator recipe! There are many slime recipes out there but no one ever explains the activator or the reason behind its use. Thanks so much!!

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