We present examples of measurements of dynamic properties of various surfactant systems (monolayers, lamellar phases, tubular micelles) whose microstructure presents similarities with those of the cytoskeleton elements. The measurements are done with several optical techniques: surface light scattering, excited surface devices, quasielastic bulk light scattering and fluorescence recovery after fringe pattern photobleaching. They allow one to obtain information on diffusion processes and on the viscoelastic behavior of the surfactant systems. The importance of the characteristic frequency of the measurement is discussed.