There are all sorts of DIY playdough recipes out there. Our family loves creating together to see which one is our favorite. We loved this simple DIY playdough because it was so silky with only 2 basic ingredients.
With all the handwashing going around, this easy playdough is not only fun to play with but also great for your skin.
Little hands can easily manipulate, squeeze and sculpt this soft playdough recipe. My children and I were calling this awesome 2-ingredient playdough recipe: moon dough. You simply make this soft playdough by mixing cornstarch and body lotion.
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Recommended Supplies
- Bowl for mixing
- 3 parts cornstarch
- 1 part lotion (unscented works best, but we just used whatever we had extra of)
- Optional: Food Coloring-Gel food coloring will give you more vibrant colors
How To Make Lotion & Corn Starch Playdough
Step 1: Add Corn Starch To Bowl
Add 3 cups of cornstarch to the mixing bowl.
See our FAQ for why our cornstarch looks this way. We were just reusing it from another project.
Step 2: Add Lotion To Corn Starch
Stir in 1 cup lotion or baby lotion. We used 3 cups and 1 cup and seemed to have enough for both children to play with and make different colors.
Make sure you chose the proper lotion for your child. If they have sensitive skin I would use a lotion that you know will work for them.
Step 3: Mix Together
Mix together until the homemade playdough is soft and will not stick to your hands. If you are having trouble with a sticky mess, I found that using the back of the spoon to push the moon dough together helped consistency.
If it is too wet, you could also add additional cornstarch to get a good mix. No matter what, this is a great sensory activity for your children.
Optional Step: Add Food Coloring
If you want different colors spilt your total amount of dough up into smaller mixing bowls. You can add a few drops of food coloring.
Our Food Color Mistake
When mixing the colors, use the back of the spoon and not your hands.
I let my son use his hands. His hands were pretty blue for the rest of the day.
Step 4: Repeat To Make Different Colors
Play and have fun using this homemade silky playdough.
Warning: Since this playdough is using lotion you will want to monitor your youngest children to make sure that they are not putting this in their mouths.
Playdough Clean-up Tip
This easy recipe is so much fun for sensory play.
As the children played with this cornstarch and lotion playdough, it did start to “dry” out. You can clump it back together. Putting a little bit of lotion on your hands helped collect the dried pieces.
Also, anytime you use a homemade playdough recipe, it can be a little messier than regular store-bought. However, have your children work in one space and then just simply vacuum up the rest.
How-To FAQs
Start with the lighter food coloring. Put a few drops of food coloring in the playdough. Use the back of the spoon to mix it partially in. Add a few drops of the next color and mix slightly. If you overmix it, your colors will just blend together.
Just note that after a while of playing with the dough, the colors will mix together.
We reused the cornstarch from our DIY oobleck slime activity. We let it dry out before mixing playdough.
To make this playdough, I actually reused the dried-up cornstarch from the last time we made the DIY oobleck. I just let it dry up (it is only cornstarch and water). I used a soup spoon to turn the chunks of cornstarch into powder. 
We have seen how-tos where they use hair conditioner in place of the lotion.
It can last for a few days in an airtight container or Ziploc bag. We were able to continue to play with ours for about 4 days after.
You will need to add a little more lotion because you have too much corn starch.
Related Posts Easy Family Activities
- Easy Rainbow Craft (You probably already have the supplies on hand) or 42 Rainbow Craft Ideas
- 11 DIY Piñata Ideas
If you are interested in other homemade playdough recipes, check out this book.
And if you are simply looking for a product that is just as fun, but no mess here is one of my favorite sculpting material for kids!
Let us know how your homemade silky playdough making went! We would love to see the sculptures that were able to be made with just cornstarch and lotion!
Corn Starch Playdough
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl
- Measuring Cup
Recommended Supplies
- 3 cups Corn Starch
- 1 cup Unscented Lotion
Instructions
- Add 3 cups corn starch to a large mixing bowl.
- Stir in 1 cup unscented lotion.
- Use hands to mix together until smooth.
- Optional: Split playdough into small bowls to add different food colorings.
Valerie
Tuesday 24th of November 2020
Why is mine so sticky? Do I need more lotion or more starch? HELP ME PLEASE LOL MY OCD IS FULL THROTTLE with doughy hands ???????? ????
Erin
Wednesday 25th of November 2020
Hi, I would try adding a little more cornstarch. Just do it slowly and knead together until you get the consistency you are looking for. Good luck.
Rachel
Friday 17th of April 2020
So fun! I've never seen playdough made this way before! We used to make it all the time when we were kids. Such a fun little project!
Erin
Saturday 18th of April 2020
Hi Rachel! You will have to try this playdough. I was skeptical at first, but then it was such a different feeling material that my kids just loved playing with this DIY playdough recipe.
Krysten
Friday 17th of April 2020
I’ve never heard of using lotion! I’m going to give this recipe a try with my little one
Erin
Saturday 18th of April 2020
Hi Krysten! This is totally a fun and worth it indoor activity with your little one. I hope you enjoy making this fun playdough out of cornstarch and lotion!