Homemade 2 Ingredient Play Dough

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easy playdough recipe 2 ingredients

If you’re looking for something fun to do with the kiddos, try making this easy homemade playdough using just two common household ingredients. The result is a super soft play dough you can mold and no cooking is required!

DIY play dough recipe

For this craft, you’ll need:

  • Conditioner (I just used a dollar store brand)
  • Cornstarch

cornstarch and conditioner playdoh

Directions:

The correct ratio is 1 part conditioner to 2 parts cornstarch. I used one cup of conditioner and mixed it with 2 cups cornstarch in a large bowl. It makes a fun dough that’s very soft and smells great too! Add a few drops of food coloring to the mixture to make different colors. Store playdough in a Ziploc bag when finished.

Idea originally found on KidsActivitiesBlog.com

Join The Discussion

Comments 51

  1. brandice

    Cool idea…thanks for sharing

    Cheap too

  2. Kristina

    Awesome! Less time to make too! Thank you.

  3. deepthi

    Super cool idea….

  4. Jennifer

    Love cheap!

  5. Charlotte's Mom

    Fun! I love these posts, keep up the good work Lina!

  6. Maria

    LOVE THIS

  7. JA

    Just made some with my daughter. Fun stuff! Love your posts like always, Lina!

    • Lina (Hip's Modern Martha)

      Oh thanks, and glad it worked out! 🙂

      • Rebecca Linscott

        Could you add pumpkin spice?

  8. Sarah

    I was just talking about making homemade play dough today!

  9. Megan

    We always used peanut butter and dry milk. Then it is edible too and actually tastes not half bad!

  10. Ashley

    Just made this!!! A must try summer project!! Works perfectly. Kids love love love!

    • Lina (Hip's Modern Martha)

      Oh good! Mine did too!

  11. terri

    Well, it’s ‘super soft’ play dough because you used conditioner!! Thanks:)

  12. debern

    I have tons of hair conditioner so I’ll try this. Corn starch at the 99 cent store so can’t beat the price of this play dough.

  13. Lynne

    We made this over the winter. It kept the kids busy all afternoon one day! It got a bit dry towards the end but we just added a bit more conditioner and it worked great.

    • Lina (Hip's Modern Martha)

      Yes we did that as well, thanks for mentioning!

  14. kelly

    Awesome idea, thanks Lina!

  15. Teresa

    I love this stuff. I make it for my youngest occasionally since he has a wheat allergy and can’t use the real stuff.

  16. Lisa

    Thanks for the great idea. Lina, do you recommend a particular blender for smoothies? I know it isn’t related to play doh, but I love your recipes and have just started making my own smoothies. My blender doesn’t seem to be the best for smoothies. Thanks!

    • gem

      I’m not Lina but I have a Hamilton Beach single serve bullet type. It works great. They also have lids that just pop right on the bottle for when you’re on the run. Blends really good, even ice. Cosy about $20.

      • Lisa

        Thank you!!

    • Lina (Hip's Modern Martha)

      I’ve had a Ninja for a few years and it works great for smoothies. A Vita-mix has always been on my wish list….maybe someday! 🙂

      • Sharon

        Vita mix isn’t worth it. To be honest, I’ve been a lot happier with my immersion blender than the Vita mix. Don’t get me wrong, it works great but not worth that much money. I’ve heard the ninja is just as good!

        • Lina (Hip's Modern Martha)

          Interesting thanks Sharon!

        • Melsoca

          I completely with agree with you. To me the nutribullet is amazing and blends my spinach smooth as well for my smoothies had it for years now problem. My ninja didn’t blend my spinach well and I always felt like was drinking a bits of salad 🥴

        • TiffanyRae

          Gotta disagree, As a chef I gotta speak up. VitaMix’s ROCK!!!!!! No other appliance can compare. They are pricey but worth every penny and they last forever. Worth the investment. 100%

      • Lisa

        Thank you!

  17. lj

    Ive made this and it is really soft! But I dont think it keeps as long. Seems to dry out really fast and get crumbly. But as cheap and easy as it is, just make a fresh batch each time!

  18. Erica

    Nice and simple but not toddler friendly for those that have ones that like to put things in their mouth :(. I don’t have that issue but have seen many kids that do. I’ll stick to my recipe.

  19. Suzanne Renae

    I would have never come up with this combination. I bet you also end up with soft hands too. 🙂

  20. Laura

    Tried making this today and after the little one I nanny played with it for a few minutes, the texture changed and it got really scaly and dry. Anyone else have a similar issue?

  21. sarah

    when i added the food coloring it ruined the texture and made it fall apart. i wanted a really grassy green. i adjusted the ratio to no avail, gave it to my kid to play with then started getting a burning feeling after i started to was it off my hands :\ then it darn near ruined the toy ( hair salon with hand crank). a good idea, but not the best to use with real play dough products. it even got stuck in all the molds from stickiness regardless of increasing the corn startch :[

  22. Lynda Carter

    This came in handy to replace the clay in the Cranium Caddo game we picked up at Goodwill today. It was simple, quick and easy. Plus the smell from leftover conditioner made it smell wonderful.

    • Lina (Hip's Modern Martha)

      Great idea!! Thanks Lynda

  23. Heather Allen

    How much does this make ? I watch four kids , is this enough , or should I doube the ingredients? Thanks!

    • Lina (Hip's Modern Martha)

      Yes I’d double for four. It makes a good sized ball, but for 4 kids I’d double 😀 thanks for the question!

  24. Heather Allen

    Ok thank you! That’s what I was thinking 🙂

  25. Lulu

    Does it stain clothes & carpet because of the food coloring?

    • Ruth

      you could use soap coloring if you are afraid the food coloring might stain anything, I think

  26. Ruth

    Does it get hard if you let it air dry? Thought about using it to make fossils….

  27. apples2applique

    Love this, but had to use an extra 1/4 cup of corn starch because it was too sticky. Even then, it stuck to my daughter’s hands quite a bit, but she said she liked it. Maybe if she played with it longer it would be less sticky. Smells great, though, and is so soft!

  28. Donna

    I made play dough with corn starch & lotion. Still don’t feel right & I was making it black color for galaxy. Color comes off on hands. Not good!

  29. Jeremy

    i like ice cream.but it difficult to do it.i will follow your step.thank for sharing this article.

  30. Debbie

    Can I use shampoo in lieu of conditioner?

  31. Emily Delahoussaye

    How long does this playdough last? Just want to know before i go and get the stuff to make it for the kids and then later they come to me an say i cant play with it thanks

  32. Carolynn A. Vanderbrink

    This was so fun and my little brothers loved mixing stuff together and we did a color course during it.

    • Lina D

      Oh fun! Thanks for sharing 👍🏻

  33. Arianna

    Thanks I am going to try it now

  34. An

    I used chickpea flour because I didn’t have corn starch it was okay my toddler loved playing with it but it was sticking to our fingers a little while playing. Must go n buy corn starch asap 🙂

  35. amandanicole

    Crap! I wish I would’ve seen this before! I made another one from Pinterest and it took like half my salt supply lol

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