The invention relates to acrylate polymers comprising a K-value ranging from 10 to 60, which can be obtained by the radical polymerization of: 30 to 99 wt. % of tert-butyl acrylate and/or tert-butyl methacrylate designated as monomer A; 1 to 28 wt. % of acrylic acid and/or methacrylic acid designated as monomer B, and; 0 to 60 wt. % of a radically copolymerizable monomer or of a radically copolymerizable monomer mixture designated as monomer C, whereby at least one of monomers C yields a homopolymer with a glass-transition temperature lower than 30 °C, with the provision that the wt. %'s total 100. The radical polymerization is carried out in the presence of alkane thiols with a C chain length of C 14 to C 22. The invention also relates to acrylate polymers comprising a K-value ranging from 10 to 60, which can be obtained by the radical polymerization of: 30 to 99 wt. % of tert-butyl acrylate and/or tert-butyl methacrylate designated as monomer A; 1 to 28 wt. % of acrylic acid and/or methacrylic acid designated as monomer B, and; 0 to 60 wt. % of a radically copolymerizable monomer or of a radically copolymerizable monomer mixture designated as monomer C, whereby at least one of monomers C yields a homopolymer with a glass-transition temperature lower than 30 °C, with the provision that the wt. %'s total 100. The radical polymerization is carried out in the presence of alkane thiols with a C chain length of C 10 to C 22 followed by a hydrogen peroxide treatment. The invention also relates to the use of these acrylate polymers as film formers as well as to their use in cosmetic preparations.