These instruments can include soft-tissue fillers to compensate for the atrophy of fat and bone, neuromodulators or anti-wrinkle injections such as Botox to smooth over lines, and moisturizers and retinoids to treat skin lesions.

Syneron’s new eMatrix technology is particularly useful for dark-skinned women. The system uses radio frequency waves to penetrate into the deeper layers of the epidermis without disturbing the outer layers of the skin and leaving dark blotches, a temporary by-product known as hyper inflammation on darker skin types.

“As opposed to other fractional lasers, you can go out afterwards and need no post-operative care and it gives very good results with less downtime,” says Bal Harbour cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Diane Walder, who began using eMatrix for some of her patients earlier this year. Traditional fractional laser treatments can leave swelling that usually subsides in a few days.

“These devices increase the elastic tissue and things that give your skin snap,” Walder says.

Acne in adults

Skin care isn’t always about wanting to look younger, however. Sometimes ailments that traditionally target the young need to be addressed, such as acne.

“There are a couple new studies over the last few years trying to battle the misconception that only teens have acne,” says Dr. Mariana Blyumin-Karasik, a staff physician at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood. “As dermatologists we have been seeing signs that more individuals are having acne, especially women, but there have not been studies to prove that until now.”

A 2007 study of 1,013 participants aged 20 and above by a team of physicians at the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that 73 percent reported having acne. Half of the women ages 20-29 had acne compared to 42 of the men in the same age group. The figures declined with each decade of life, but women still outpaced the men two to one, even at age 50 and over when 15 percent of women had acne compared with 7 percent of the men.

“There’s no clear indication of why,” says Blyumin-Karasik. “There are some suspicions that there are hormonal influences in women compared to the men.”

Teenagers experience acne because of raging hormones in this time of life. Young men’s testosterone-surge tends to stabilize as they mature but women have surges through life during menstrual cycles, pregnancy and the use of birth-control pills.

Home maintenance

While age will eventually have its way, there are things you can do to keep your skin as healthy as possible.

Avoid too much exposure to the sun, don’t smoke, eat a diet of low-glycemic index foods such as vegetables, lean meats and fish, and whole grains, Walder suggests.

Having a good skin-care regimen begins before and immediately after visiting a doctor’s office for treatment. Much like brushing and flossing your teeth between dentist visits is a daily habit, so should skin care.

“It’s not just treatment but homework they can do to maintain their skin the same way they maintain their teeth,” Camacho says, suggesting the use of retinoid creams, moisturizers and antioxidants and sunscreens.

“What’s exciting now is we will soon, in the future, start seeing treatments that will use things like stem cells and special growth factors and hormones in more direct ways to stimulate our cells to stay more vital for longer,” Camacho says.

There’s hope for that MetroRail gentleman who may one day find his eligible traveling beauty.

Follow @HowardCohen on Twitter.