We have examined the fundamental mechanisms which drive the varied behaviors of advancing surfactant solutions. We show that surfactant concentration gradients and solution mobility are required for dendritic spreading, which occurs when an ionic surfactant,spreads on a surface of the same charge. When the surfactant has the opposite charge as the ionized substrate, it can strongly adsorb to the surface ahead of the advancing solution. Inhibition of the fluid advance by surfactant-adsorption at the contact line alters the dendritic pattern and can change the spreading to stick-jump motion. By tuning the strength of the surfactant-surface interaction, we have observed a spectrum of spreading behaviors from dendritic to stick-jump.