In this work, we study the mechanical properties of sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) and dodecylamine hydrochloride (DAH) micellar films at a graphite surface via atomic force microscopy (AFM). Breakthrough forces for these films were measured using silicon nitride cantilevers, and found to be 1.1 ±0.1 nN for a 10 mM DAH film and 3.0 ±0.3 nN for a 10 mM SDS film. For 10 mM SDS films, it was found that the addition of 1.5 mM of NaCl, Na 2 SO 4 , or MgCl 2 produced a 50-70% increase in measured breakthrough force. Similar results were found for 10 mM DAH films when NaCl and MgCl 2 were added. A model was developed, based upon previous work on lipid films and CMC data gathered via spectrofluorometry measurements, to produced the observed differences. The pH of the bulk solution was varied for both 10 mM SDS and DAH films, and was found to have little effect on breakthrough force.