How to Make Cloud Dough (2024)

Do you want to learn how to make cloud dough? Well, I’m here to share my inexpensive, oh-so-fluffy, and easy 2-ingredient cloud dough recipe with y’all today. Kids love it and you may even find yourself playing with it during nap time. It’s almost therapeutic!

How to Make Cloud Dough (1)

Jump to Recipe

If you have kids at home these days, you’re probably well acquainted with the range of homemade play doughs. Today I’m bringing you a super simple recipe about how to make cloud dough that only takes two ingredients (and you may already have them in your pantry). If you don’t, rest assured that they’re super inexpensive.

Okay, so what are the two ingredients? Today we’re making homemade cloud dough with conditioner and cornstarch! These two basic ingredients combine to make the fluffiest play dough imaginable. Yeah, it lives up to its name because it feels as soft and fluffy as you’d imagine a cloud feels.

Now, when I say this is a quick and easy cloud dough recipe, y’all know I mean it. All we are going to do is pop our two ingredients in a mixing bowl, mix them together with a rubber spatula, and then we use our hands to knead the dough together. This is the kids favorite part! They love to feel the ingredients squish and gush between their sweet pudgy little fingers. In less than 10 minutes your moon dough is ready for the kids to enjoy. This cloud dough is so easy to make that I often just hand over the reins to my kids and let them create it all on their own! If your kids love playing with cloud dough make sure you check out Homemade Lemon Scented Play DoughorHomemade Smurf Play Dough, these will keep your kids entertained for hours.

Alright, who’s ready to make some soft and fluffy cloud dough? Let’s get to it!

How to Make Cloud Dough (2)

Recipe Ingredients

  • Corn starch
  • Conditioner

Helpful Kitchen Tools

How to Make Cloud Dough

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Measure out your cornstarch into a bowl and then add the conditioner.

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Begin stirring until it’s well incorporated but crumbly and hard to mix.

Now we need to use our hands.

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First, knead it together until it becomes smooth.

Next, we are going to continue kneading the dough until it’s fully blended and cloud-like.

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Lastly, store it in an airtight container when you’re not enjoying it.

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Have fun with your dough!

Storage

Store cloud dough in an airtight container for a few weeks. Just ensure you squeeze the air out every time. You can also wrap it in plastic wrap before popping it into the sealable container to extend its lifetime.

Notes

  • You can use any conditioner but scented is really fun to make it a sensory experience for your kiddos! If you don’t have scented conditioner you can also add in a few drops of essential oils.
  • Instead of cornstarch, you can use regular all-purpose flour as well. I just prefer the texture of cornstarch.

FAQs

Is this similar to moon dough?

Moon dough is the exact same thing! Just another name for it. 🙂

What are the ingredients of cloud dough?

All you need is cornstarch and hair conditioner.

How do you make cloud dough with 3 ingredients?

The 3-ingredient dough includes cornstarch, hair conditioner, and food coloring. You can do this with artificial food coloring or you can experiment with natural food coloring like beet powder or turmeric.

Can you use any lotion for cloud dough? Are there any alternatives?

You can use hair conditioner, baby oil, shampoo, hand lotion, body lotion, or baby lotion.

Does shampoo work for cloud dough?

Yes, you can use shampoo or conditioner. I just prefer the creamy texture of the conditioner.

What is the difference between cloud dough and play dough?

Play dough has a stiffer texture, while this has a soft and grainy texture like wet sand or kinetic sand. This is why our dough is perfect for sensory play!

You may also like these posts:

Gingerbread Playdough Recipe

My Favorite Kid-Friendly Halloween Crafts

Homemade Smurf’s Play Dough

Bunny Pom Pom Crafts (with free printable)

Easy Peasy Batik Dyed Shirts

Homemade Lemon Scented Play Dough

How to Make Cloud Dough (8)

Cloud Dough

Learn how to make cloud dough with my inexpensive, oh-so-fluffy, and easy 2-ingredient cloud dough recipe.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes minutes

Course: it's easy!

Cuisine: American

Keyword: dough

Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 2 heaping cups cornstarch
  • 1 cup scented conditioner

Instructions

  • Measure and add your cornstarch to a large mixing bowl.

    2 heaping cups cornstarch

  • Measure your conditioner and pour it into your bowl of cornstarch.

    1 cup scented conditioner

  • Use a long spatula to mix your two ingredients together until it gets hard to mix.

  • Use your hands to finish kneading the dough together. One way I do this is to put it all in a gallon zipper seal bag and continue kneading it.

  • Now it's ready for play!

Notes

This is a craft activity. This is not for consuming (eating). It's just for playing with.

Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

How to Make Cloud Dough (9)

One hundred years from now
It won’t matter
What kind of car I drove
What kind of house I lived in
How much money I had in the bank
Nor what my clothes looked like
BUT
The world may be a little better
Because I was important
In the life of a child

by Forest Witcraft

How to Make Cloud Dough (2024)

FAQs

What is the 2 ingredient in cloud dough? ›

This easy no-cook dough requires just 2 ingredients: cornstarch and hair conditioner. Easy enough! Mix equal parts together in a bowl. There is no cooking required and students can get their hands messy while helping to make it.

How do you make cloud dough less stiff? ›

Start mixing the cloud dough with your hands once it's too hard to get it smooth with a spoon. Scrape the dough out onto a work surface and knead it with your hands to get it nice and pliable. Add a bit more cornstarch if the playdough is too soft. Add a bit more lotion or conditioner if it is too stiff.

How to make 3 ingredient cloud dough? ›

How to Make Cloud Dough. You will need cornstarch, baby lotion, and food coloring if you want to make different colors! The recipe below makes 4 small balls or 1 giant one. My son loved to mix the colors together, he said the pink and blue one looked like cotton candy!

How do you make fizzy cloud dough? ›

Mix flour, baking soda, and vegetable oil to make the cloud dough. Use spray bottles or eye droppers to spray vinegar into the mixture and watch it fizz!

Will salt dough air dry? ›

Salt dough is a great material for making basic sculptures and three dimensional craft projects. It is an all-natural alternative to commercial play dough and homemade air-dry clay. Your finished salt dough sculptures can either be air-dried or oven-dried to set.

What is the secret ingredient in play dough? ›

With this recipe the key is to really make sure you knead the dough well to avoid ending up with an end product that is too sticky or wet. The glycerine is a secret ingredient that makes the playdough extra stretchy and fun!

Does cloud dough go bad? ›

Store the cloud dough for future play in an airtight container. Really, this stuff doesn't go bad. You know you'll need to toss it when it gets impossible debris in it.

Is cloud dough edible? ›

Simple Cloud Dough

It may sound simple but this form of cloud dough is a favourite! It looks just like sand, but it's edible! Lots of fun for little ones – you can even add sprinkles to make it colourful! The recipe is simple – it's just three steps!

How do you make super stretchy dough? ›

Combine gluten and water, and a network of long, unorganized, knotted gluten strings will form. Kneading aligns these strings, creating a dough you might be able to stretch so thin you can almost see through it. The more gluten, the more elastic, stretchy and strong the dough will be.

Does flour work for cloud dough? ›

Cloud dough can be made in any quantity, but this recipe will make enough for one child. Add 3 cups of flour to a bowl. Slowly add in 1 tablespoon of baby oil and incorporate with your fingers. Continue to add baby oil one tablespoon at a time until the dough is moldable.

What oil do you use for cloud dough? ›

Making cloud dough is incredibly simple. All you need is flour and oil (baby oil or vegetable oil works well). The typical ratio is 8 to 1 of flour to oil, but you can adjust to get your preferred consistency. Add food colouring or glitter for a visual twist, or scented oils for a sensory boost.

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