Everything worth knowing about squishies, in one place. How they are made, what slow rise actually means, how to keep one alive longer than a fortnight, and the tricks people do with them.
The seven kinds of squishy
Almost every squishy sold today falls into one of these. Knowing which you want saves a lot of scrolling.
Slow rise
Squeeze it flat, let go, and the shape returns over several seconds. This is the one most people picture. Denser foam rises more slowly, and a large piece rises more slowly than a small one made the same way.
Fast rebound
Springs straight back. Better as a fidget than as a display piece, because you can squeeze it again immediately.
Jelly and bead-filled
A soft skin with gel or beads inside. Stretchier and cooler to the touch, but the skin is the weak point: a fingernail catches and it splits.
Jumbo
Anything over about 12 cm. Display pieces. More material means a slower rise, which is why jumbo and slow rise usually go together.
Mini and keychain
Under 5 cm, often on a clip. Party favours, bag charms, pencil-case fillers. Watch the age rating on these: small parts are a choking risk.
Mystery and blind box
A sealed box, one squishy, you do not choose which. That is the whole appeal, and it is why they sell out first.
Stress and fidget
Built to be squeezed hundreds of times a day rather than looked at. Thicker walls, plainer shapes.
How do you make a squishy?
The homemade version is paper, not foam. Draw your shape twice on paper, colour both sides, tape around the edge leaving a gap, stuff it with cotton or torn tissue, then tape the gap shut. It squishes, it costs nothing, and it is a genuinely good rainy-afternoon project.
What it will not do is rise slowly. Slow rise comes from open-cell polyurethane foam released under a controlled cure, which is a factory process. Anything online promising slow rise from kitchen ingredients is selling you a video, not a method.
How do I keep a squishy alive?
Squishies do not wear out from squeezing. They die from dirt.
- Wash it in cool water with a little mild soap. Squeeze gently, do not scrub. Air dry completely before storing.
- Never use a washing machine, a dryer, or hot water. Heat collapses the foam structure permanently.
- Keep it out of direct sun. UV yellows the surface and hardens it.
- Store it loose, not crushed at the bottom of a bag. Foam takes a set if compressed for weeks.
A squishy that stops rising slowly is usually just clogged with skin oil. A wash brings most of it back.
What does the rebound time mean?
It is the number of seconds a squishy takes to return to shape after a full squeeze. We measure it where we can and print it on the product page, because it is the one spec that tells you what the thing actually feels like. Nobody else publishes it.
Roughly: under 2 seconds is a fidget, 3 to 6 seconds is the classic slow rise everyone wants, over 8 seconds usually means a jumbo piece.
Things to do with a squishy
- The two-hand test. Squeeze with both hands, release, and count. It is the simplest way to compare two squishies honestly.
- Desk anchor. One on the desk beats a phone during a long call.
- Blind bag swap. Buy two mystery boxes with a friend, open at the same time, trade if you both prefer the other.
- Shelf run. Line them up by rebound time rather than colour. It looks better than you would expect.
Before you buy anything
Check the pack for a batch number and a named seller. A toy with neither cannot be traced if something goes wrong, and that is exactly what happened with the squishy dumplings withdrawn from sale in 2026.
We cover what we check, and why, on our safety page.