Do Copolymers hate my face?

A question from a guy in the UK for the wonderful Brains, and anyone else who can help.

Do Copolymers hate my face / does my face hate Coplolymers? Is this a thing, or am I alone / a lone freak?!

Is it possible that “Sodium Acrylate / Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer” and “Hydroxyethyl Acrylate / Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer” two in particular, in creams/lotions/serums just will not play nice with my face? 

I think I had a light bulb moment, after a few years of seemingly random product annoyance, when I recently purchased two day creams, which both rubbed off and so led me to my investigation.

I am SO sick and tired of wasting my money, and having my hopes dashed with products that just rub off, or don’t even rub in. Could I finally have got to the bottom of it?

In two of my latest same brand day creams containing Sodium Acrylate / Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer I can sometimes apply the product OK, but an hour or so later (if I’m lucky) if I touch my face it all balls, piles, rubs off, turns into white crumbs etc. In an effort to get to the bottom of it, I applied it over my usual serum, no serum, bare skin, I rubbed it in, I patted it in, and smoothed less on, and if I overworked it on initial application it would come straight off! It makes no difference if it’s on freshly shaved smooth skin or two day stubble either. 

I’m wondering if it may well be an oily skin compatibility issue? I have crazy skin, which definitely veers on the oily side, but it doesn’t happen at all when I apply it to my hands for example.

My buddy, with (annoyingly) very normal skin, can use the same products and experience no rubbing off at all, either immediately or at the end of the day when I rubbed and rubbed his forehead and nothing happened. I however can sit watching TV in the evening and make face dandruff balls (my party trick!).

I was tempted to say it was perhaps a dual issue with Silicones, but, I think I have had other products with silicones that don’t cause such a problem. And one or two of the evil suspicious problematic products don’t contain any silicones. 

I used to assume that sometimes two products just didn’t play well with each other, and would present compatibility issues, but now I’m thinking that wasn’t the case, and it was a copolymer in one (or both?) of them that just came straight off?

For the record, I also have tons of other products, without any coplolymers (or silicones for that matter) that work as one would expect, so I know my skin can’t be entirely to blame for everything.

What are they? 

Why are they?

Are the in anyway beneficial, or is it just all about the slip and feel? And if so, and many other brands don’t use them, is it just a quick and easy ‘feels good’ formula?

I’m also wondering if I’m getting any benefit from any of the other ingredients if it’s balling off? Or, is it just the copolymer itself that’s coming off? 

Have I made this whole thing up?

I now feel like I’m on a mission (a very tricky one it seems) to avoid all Copolymers in anything, to save my sanity and my wallet!