Able to absorb skin secretions, thereby reducing skin shine and providing an improved skin surface for makeup application. Acrylates copolymer also imparts a pleasant feel to the cosmetic preparation and helps reduce any feeling of oiliness the product may have. Its various applications include incorporation into skin cleansers, oil control treatments, makeup, and loose and compressed powders. Used with a variety of other ingredients, including glycerine, cyclomethicone, retinyl palmitate, and vegetable oils, acrylates copolymer prolongs the availability of these other ingredients to the skin through a time-release type of activity. It also helps counteract some negative properties when applied to the skin, or further enhance
positive ones. For example, acrylates copolymer reduces the tackiness and greasiness of glycerine while prolonging its availability in the interstitial network of the skin. When present with retinyl palmitate, acrylates copolymer improves the stability of the formulation and increases its skin contact time. It’s also used to suspend particles, such as exfoliating ingredients, throughout a product.

Acrylamide copolymers (similar to acrylates copolymers) function in skin care, hair care and cosmetics as:

• binders (concentrations may be as high as 25%)
• film-formers (concentrations may be as high as 25%)
• hair fixatives (concentrations may be as high as 25%)
• suspending agents (concentration may be as low as 0.05%)
• viscosity-increasing agent  (concentration may be as low as 0.05%)
• emulsion stabilizers  (concentration may be as low as 0.05%)

So basically acrylamide copolymers binds stuff, forms a film, stabilizes emulsions, makes stuff viscous, are suspending agents & hair fixatives.