Cloud Dough Recipe for sensory play

Cloud dough is another form of sensory play dough that you can buy but also make at home. I prefer to make cloud dough, and it’s actually very easy, cheap and effective and I think better than most of the bought brands you can get. It’s a great alternative to play-dough that you don’t have to cook and you can make it any colour you like. It’s three based on three ingredients and keeps in an airtight container or ziplock bag for a few weeks.

cloud dough

Some people prefer to use lotion for their cloud dough but I tend to like hair conditioner and you don’t have to buy expensive stuff. Off label, supermarket own cheap hair conditioner works. If you can get unscented then you can add your own scents to it. Lotion is better for adding your own fragrance to and you can get a bottle of unscented basic body lotion to use. You also need cornflour or starch.

Cornflour is one of those weird chemicals that can also be used in Ooblek or “cornsilk” when mixed in water, and it goes between being liquid and solid depending on what you mix it with, and it’s amazing for texture and sensory play.

For this recipe you need

2 cups of hair conditioner or unscented lotion

3 cups of cornflour (you may need more, to make the texture you want)

Food colouring

Biodegradable glitter if you want it

Fragrance if you are using plain lotion or conditioner

Put your lotion or conditioner in a bowl and add your food colouring, fragrance and glitter if you are adding them. Mix well then gradually add your cornflour. It will absorb and the dough will start to form.

You need to mix it well until it’s no longer sticky, this may take more or less cornflour, you can judge it as you mix.

Because it doesn’t need to cool it can be used straight away.

I store mine in an air tight Tupperware when it’s not being used.

Posted in Family Life and Parenting, Sensory Processing Disorder and tagged cloud dough, Messy play, messy play ideas, sensory play.