A mixture having emulsifying and emulsion stabilizing properties resulting from the polymerization of (1) a water soluble vinyl monomer selected from the group consisting of acrylamide and methacrylamide, (2) a water insoluble vinyl monomer having an alkyl chain containing about 6 to 30 carbon atoms selected from the group consisting of alkyl acrylate esters, alkyl methacrylate esters, N-alkyl acrylamides, N-alkyl methacrylamides and vinyl esters, and (3) a polymerizable vinyl monomer containing a basic group or salt thereof selected from the group consisting of ##STR1## where X is --O-- or ##STR2## A.sup.- is an inorganic anion,R" is a divalent saturated organic group containing one to six carbon atoms, andR'" is hydrogen or an alkyl group containing one to six carbon atoms.