The latest cleansers aim to smooth lines and protect skin from pollution. Do they work — or is it all just suds?

Scanning the labels of new cleansers making big skin boosting promises, we find ourselves inexplicably thinking of the X-files movie that came out this year — the one subtitled, “I Want to Believe.” Since we have to wash the day’s grime off our face anyway, wouldn’t it be swell if we could also fight wrinkles or protect our skin from environmental abuse at the same time?

Who wouldn’t want their cleanser to do that? Let’s go out and buy some! And that’s right about when our inner Dana Scully shouts, “Hello, have you forgotten that you rinse it all off with water? That cleansers literally go right down the drain?”

This might have been true in the past, but the latest generation of washes may win over even the biggest skeptics. Some new ingredients have rinse-resistant staying power; others offer the more subtle bonus of increasing the effectiveness of your other creams and serums. And while any benefits will be gradual, there’s no question that “it certainly can’t hurt to use them”, says Joseph Cincotta, a cosmetic scientist. “Every little bit helps.”

So, which of the new washes are worth believing in?

MINIMIZE WRINKLES AND BROWN SPOTS:

Anti-aging ingredients such as glycolic acid,vitamin C, and retinol are now popping up in cleansers. But can they be effective when they’re on and off the skin in a flash (or rather, a splash)? The answer is a resounding yes.

In a cleanser, glycolic acid binds with water and exfoliates skin, softening lines and reducing pigmentation. Since it helps remove the layer of dead skin cells, whatever you apply next will have enhanced penetration.

DDF Glycolic Exfoliating Wash - Beauty.Com - $32.00

Other anti-aging ingredients, including vitamin C and retinol, don’t work as well in cleansers as they do in moisturizers, because they aren’t in contact with he skin long enough to be effective. Premoistened cleansing wipes, which don’t typically get rinsed off, can deliver these ingredients to the skin, especially for people who want a gradual introduction to retinol.

L’Oreal Paris Revitalift Radiant Smoothing Cleansing Towelettes - Ulta - $6.99

REPAIR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE:

The free radicals that skin encounters on a daily basis from sun and pollution reduce the collagen and elastin in the underlying layers of skin, causing dullness and sagging. And while cosmetics companies have been throwing traditional antioxidants like vitamin A and E into cleansers for years to counteract the free radicals, these are oil-soluble vitamins, so they are generally found at extremely low levels in water-based cleansers.

Experts are more intrigued by a new ingredient Chanel recently introduced in its Precision line of cleanserws; a tulip-tree leaf extract intended to target the residue that pollution can leave on skin.

Chanel Precision Line - Chanel - $45.00

HYDRATE DRY SKIN:

Many women with parched skin wait until after they’ve washed their faces to address flakiness and tightness with hydrating serums and rich creams. A new cleanser packed with peptides (strings of amino acids frequently found in anti-aging products) may be the solution.

When used in cleansers, peptides may have a hydrating effect, which can help alleviate the itchy feeling skin may have after washing. The added moisture can plump the skin and keep its protective outer layer intact and able to resist the forces that lead to aging, like free radicals, better than unmoisturized skin.

Olay Regenerist Deep Hydration Mousse Cleanser - Drugstore.Com - $9.99