When North Carolina native Ric Wagstaff opened The Falls Salon in the Village Center in January 1980, his salon was the first salon to open in Great Falls.

Thirty years later, The Falls Salon, owned by Wagstaff along with his partner Mark Bursick, is still running strong. 

“We’re busier than ever,” said Wagstaff after listing off the late hours that the two had worked the day before.

“Our customers not only come from Great Falls,” said Bursick. “We have customers that come from as far as Charlottesville and Middleburg.”

One customer even lives in Munich who still comes to them on her visits to Great Falls.

Owner Wagstaff, whose grandfather was a barber, went to college and majored in art, then managed a few salons in the area before opening his own.

Bursick came into the business 18 years ago after he met Wagstaff while on vacation in Key West.

Bursick majored in graphic design at Carnegie Melon, after which he worked as a freelance artist and in the hotel business for more than 11 years.

He then learned about salon work under Wagstaff’s guidance of the Virginia State Apprenticeship Program, where Bursick found coloring as his strength. 

IN THEIR 30 YEARS OF BUSINESS, Wagstaff and Bursick have worked to keep their salon up with the times, both in their services and in the salon’s appearance.

“We are constantly educating our staff through classes and workshops,” said Bursick. “The technology is always changing, as well as the demographics of people we are servicing.” 

In addition, the owners have remodeled the salon over the years, always keeping in mind the interests of their customers. Seventeen years ago,

Bursick saw the blank white walls of the salon and asked himself, “What make the customers most comfortable?”

He then painted murals on the walls of the salon that are still there today in order to help keep their customers comfortable and have something to start up conversation.

While a lot of their business comes from referrals, both men claim that their best advertising tool has been their Web site, which they developed by themselves about a year and

a half ago. Thefallssalon.com offers detailed descriptions on the salon’s services and products, and even includes a description on the music played in the salon.

Many of the professional hair care products sold in the salon are unique in the area, including Privé’s environmentally friendly products and The Fall’s Salon own product line. 

Ann Miller from McLean started going to the salon 15 years ago after her neighbor recommended The Falls Salon to her. Since then, her entire family has gone to

The Falls Salon to have their hair cut and the two men have developed “a long and rich relationship with the whole family,” according to Miller. 

When Miller’s daughter, Abby, was in school at Great Falls Elementary, Bursick would style Abby’s hair for the annual “Wacky Hair Day,” when students would wear their craziest

hairstyles to school. “I really admire Ric and Mark’s ability to adapt to a wide range of people and styles. They can do fabulous work on anybody from the third grader who wants

wacky hair to a grandmother looking to color her hair.”

Great Falls resident Robyn Maselli started going to The Falls Salon about 12-years ago and has developed a friendship with Wagstaff over the years. “He always knows what I like

with my hair. I find myself wanting to call him up weeks after I get my hair cut just to tell him how much I love what he’s done for my hair.”



TO CELEBRATE their 30 years of business, The Falls Salon is offering a 10 percent discount on the purchase of a gift card through the end of March,

and hope to hold some sort of celebration in conjunction with other Great Falls businesses in April to commemorate their many years of business and service to the community.

Wagstaff and Bursick said they would like to express their sincerest gratitude to all of the employees and clients who have supported the business over the past 30 years.