I  love play dough for kids; it helps develop fine motor skills, is calming, encourages creativity is a great sensory  experience etc.   

Through the years I have made my own play dough, bought non-toxic cleaner store bought brands and also used big name play dough at home too.

Recently I came across the patent to Hasbro’s playdoh (application number 10/137579) and the ingredients did raise some eyebrows.  

It’s US Patent 6,713,624, and it lists the ingredients as follows- lets take a closer look::  

• Sodium Chloride : this is salt

• Calcium Chloride: type of salt used to de ice streets and as a food preservative. Long-term contact with calcium chloride can also lead to contact dermatitis, according to the International Programme on Chemical Safety

• Aluminum Sulfate: also called alum, gives store bought play dough its super soft texture

• Potassium Dihydrogen Phosphate: A preservative. According to the EPA it is registered as a fungicide. They say that jn the “ absence of any toxicological endpoints risk from the consumption of residues is not expected for both the general population and infant and children from all uses of pdp” This doesn’t mean toxicity testing has shown it is safe- this just means that testing has been inconclusive to they are going to say its safe until proven otherwise.

• Sodium Benzoate : I would consider this a safe preservative, however found it interesting that the actual patent says “The modeling compound of claim 5 wherein the preservative is selected from the group consisting of calcium propionate, sodium benzoate, methyl paraben, ethyl paraben, butyl paraben, and borax. “

If it were to contain either of the two listed parabens  in lieu of sodium benzoate I would be more concerned ( due to the potential for endocrine disruption), as well as if they used Borax which, in slime, has been found rare cases to burn skin.   I will note I believe the original Hasbro play dough patent contained Borax but I believe this to be one of the changes they made so I don’t think this would be a risk in their current formulation

• Wheat Flour

• Waxy Maize Starch C-Gel 04230 : This is the company’s own corn starch which I would suspect is GMO corn based and could thus potentially have glyphosate residues

• PEG 1500 Monostearate: My concern here is that PEG compounds may be contaminated with ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane, which is a carcinogen. The company does not address if they test for these impurities. If they do then it would be fine of they don’t then not ideal. Again, this is not meant to be eaten but with kids you always want to be extra careful.

• Mineral Oil: used to make products feel silky-smooth and luxurious. Mineral oil consists mainly of saturated hydrocarbons (aka paraffins) and aromatic hydrocarbons. Per the Made Safe Certified website “ the manufacturing process, mineral oil products can be contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), some of which are known or potential carcinogens. When refined properly, mineral oil does not contain PAHs. Unfortunately, it is common for mineral oil products not to be fully refined in the United States, creating the potential for PAH contamination. And it’s hard to know if they’ve been properly refined, without the company providing the entire refining history of the product”

IF  they are properly refined they are safe but not great for the environment

• Water

• Vanilla Fragrance: fragrance chemicals can be made up of dozens of undisclosed chemicals. Often these will include phthalates which are known and well documented endocrine disruptors.

Now- to be clear as I mentioned earlier:  my kids have used and played with store bought playdoh. I do not believe that playing with this, on occasion, will cause true harm. However its important to realize that the harm of exposure to small amounts of chemicals shouldn’t be seen as a onetime or one product thing but as a cumulative exposure issue…. in other words this is just one more product that could contain certain chemicals that are not great…… and these are chemicals your child might be exposed to (also in small amounts) through other sources.

Also, the fact is that there ARE better options. And if there is a better ‘ cleaner’ option: why not use that one instead if and when you can?  ESPecially with little kids that we know are more susceptible to harmful chemicals than adults ?

So when possible I recommend either safer store bough brands or homemade play-dough.   

How to ID safer store bought brands

1. read the full ingredient list. If it is not on display contact the company and request it. If they do not share it with your then don’t buy it.

2. avoid play dough that smells like anything UNLESS the company can confirm and certify that natural essential oils are used

I like

LAnd of Dough: They are so cute and pretty (they come in rainbow and planet earth and other fun designs) and their ingredients are completely natural and colors come from fruits and veggies like beet root, crystal purple grape, turmeric, purple carrot and more
ECO KIDS ECO DOUGH: easier to find in some stores and totally legit ingredients

Homemade Play Dough

Homemade playdough is so easy and so clean that honestly you should try it if you havent. 

Note:  because it will not contain preservatives it will not last forever.  But store it in a tight jar and it should last 

This is my favorite recipe

SOURCES

https://www.freepatentsonline.com/6713624.html

Potassium dihydrogen phosphate (076413) Fact Sheet

https://www3.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/registration/fs_PC-076413_25-Nov-09.pdf

https://echa.europa.eu/substance-information/-/substanceinfo/100.029.012

Public Health Statement is the summary chapter from the Toxicological Profile for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs):  https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp69-c1-b.pdf

Campaign for Safe Cosmetics: https://www.safecosmetics.org/get-the-facts/chemicals-of-concern/petrolatum/

Made safe.org:  Mineral Oil : https://www.madesafe.org/mineral-oil-and-petroleum-jelly/#:~:text=Mineral%20oil%20and%20petroleum%20jelly%20are%20not%20allowed%20in%20MADE,humans%20through%20contamination%20and%20accumulation.