The ways in which common hair care products, such as conditioner, deposit onto hair and change hair properties are of interest in beauty care science, since these properties are closely tied to product performance. In this study, tapping mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) is used to generate surface height maps of hair, which are then compared to maps generated using contact mode AFM. The frequency spectra of both data sets are also compared. This comparison is made to determine the most appropriate method for imaging compliant biological, samples that may be subject to damage from interaction with the AFM tip during contact mode. Additionally, force calibration mode of AFM is used to obtain the local conditioner thickness distribution and adhesive force mapping of various hair surfaces. The conditioner thickness is extracted by measuring the forces on the AFM tip as it approaches, contacts, and pushes through the conditioner layer. Because the interaction of hair with skin is one of the most common in the real world, and clean skin is hydrophobic, a Si3N4 tip is coated with Z-TETRAOL to create a hydrophobic tip to measure friction and adhesion. These values are compared with those measured with the more common hydrophilic tips. Both chemically damaged and virgin (undamaged) hair samples as well as samples both treated with a commercial conditioner and those left untreated are compared. The location and thickness of the conditioner deposits are determined using this technique and relevant mechanisms driving the deposition are discussed. The effect of material contact angle on the tribological properties is also thoroughly discussed. (c) 2006 American Vacuum Society.