The present invention relates to surfactant-polymer blends that are useful as thickeners for a variety of personal care products. In one embodiment, the surfactant-polymer blends of the present invention comprises: (a) at least one anionic surfactant (b) at least one amphoteric or zwitterionic surfactant and (c) at least one hydrophobically-modified polymer formed from a mixture comprising: (i) an &alpha,&bgr-ethylenically unsatured carboxylic acid monomer (ii) a nonionic, co-polymerizable &alpha,&bgr-ethylenically unsaturated monomer and (iii) an ethylenically unsaturated hydrophobically-modified associative monomer. The surfactant-polymer blends of the present invention are useful as thickeners in a variety of products including, but not limited to, personal care products, health care products, household care products, institutional and industrial care products, and industrial applications.
