The work is devoted to the different techniques of rock softening (loosening) and a method of selecting surfactants to increase drilling performance. Emphasis is placed on rock mass of higher hardness and influence of different factors. The aim is to improve efficiency of hard rock destruction in drilling wells. The paper describes mechanical, thermal and chemical techniques for rock softening. It is the latter that are capable to reduce hardness due to reagents-detergents. These are different surfactants. The analysis of different methods is supplemented with data on effects of the different surfactant solutions on the parameters analyzed. There are a number of ways to intensify the rock destruction process but application of reagents-detergents proved to be the most advantageous and reliable. The results may be useful in well construction, i.e. in designing a drilling mode, a flush fluid (including adding specific surfactant in a required concentration) and rock destruction tools. The given methods of selecting surfactants allow only qualitative assessment of detergent effects, hence it is a need to further research into development of the methods of quantitative assessment of the effects produced by different solutions in terms of higher hardness rock destruction.