1 cup of hair conditioner
2 cups of cornstarch
Mixing bowl and spoon
Food coloring (optional)
STEP 1: Start by adding the hair conditioner to a bowl.
STEP 2: If you want to add a few drops of food coloring, now’s the time!
STEP 3: Now add the cornstarch to thicken your dough and give it that awesome play-dough texture. You can start out mixing the conditioner and cornstarch with a spoon, but eventually, you will have to switch to kneading it with your hands.
STEP 4: Time to get the hands in the bowl and knead your play-dough. Once the mixture is fully incorporated, you can remove the soft play-dough and place on a clean surface to finish kneading into a silky smooth ball!
Mixing Tip: The beauty of this 3-ingredient play-dough recipe is that the measurements are loose. If the mixture isn’t firm enough, add a pinch of cornstarch. But if the mixture is too dry, add a glob of conditioner. Find your favorite consistency! Make it an experiment!
Note: Inexpensive hair conditioner works perfectly. You can easily add food coloring as desired or leave plain. Some conditioners are naturally tinted. (Keep in mind that conditioners vary in viscosity or thickness, so you may need to adjust the amount of cornstarch used.)
Create a counting or sorting activity.
Make letters and words.
Develop motor skills by using kid-safe scissors to practice cutting play-dough into pieces.
Use cookie cutters to cut out fun shapes.
Sculpt your own creations!
Shape the play-dough into blocks and see how many you can stack before it falls over!
Roll mini-balls out of the play-dough and use them to connect toothpicks or straws to create cool 2-D or 3-D shapes!
Generally, you would store homemade play-dough in an airtight container in the fridge. Similarly, you can still store this conditioner play-dough in an airtight container, but since it doesn't have much preservatives, it might be good for only 2 or 3 extra uses. If you find that the texture just isn't the same, try reintroducing moisture by working in a little extra conditioner or whip up a fresh batch.