Natural feel polymers exhibit an advantageous blend of flexibility and a strong affinity to natural fibers imparting a natural feel when applied to keratin-based fibers, e.g. hair, skin, or textiles, e.g. cotton, wool, and are water-soluble and water-resistant. The polymers include repeat units of a monomer (e.g. -olefin) maleic anhydride alkyl half-ester or full acid, maleamic acid and maleimide, which are derivatized with a polyether amine.