My henna looks too coppery?

[Budgie]

I'm aiming for a ruby/dark cherry color, rather than coppery reddish brown. The first henna I left in for 3 hours, and the second was overnight. The henna was also "diluted" with yogurt and egg yolk. My hair color is an ashy brown, and is now a deep coppery brown. I'm happy with this color but I was hoping for a cooler red.

Could anyone tell me why it's not the color I'm looking for? Maybe it's the brand? I have V-care.

[eadwine]

Not just what you put in but your starting out color determines a LOT what the outcome will be.

I just put lemon juice in my henna (al yamana) and love up the hair afterward with an overnight coconut oil treatment. The hair is fine with this and no other stuff ever goes in my henna, just lemon to maximize the effect it has on my hair.

[Anje]

I'm not familiar with the brand you're using, but diluting it definitely will reduce the intensity of the stain. If you want a strong deep red, you need full-strength henna. Rajasthani henna has a tendency to go cool but a little brown, I believe, partly just because it has a very high dye content. Lower dye contents like most Jamila tend to stay coppery more easily, and Yemeni has a reputation for being a particularly true red. It'll always be brown in some lights and will have some red-orange flare when the sun hits it right, though (henna is incredibly changeable with light conditions).

Personally, I recommend mixing it with nothing but warm water or tea, which will keep you from diluting it too much because it'll get too runny. Some people like lemon juice, but I find that extremely irritating to my scalp and drying to my hair, so I tend to suggest steering clear. It's possible that lemon shifts the color more coppery and/or inhibits some dye release too, based on comparative strand tests people here have done.

ETA: How long has it been since your last hennaing? It's worth considering that for the first 3-7 days, there tends to be an orange glow that fades.

[tbonita]

Rajasthani henna (red raj and regular Rajasthani from henna Sooq) got me to burgundy over dark brown hair with MANY overnight apps. It had no orange flare even in the sun. I, like you was trying to go to the darker burgundy side. I mixed with nothing but very warm water. You can also put manic panic over it if it just never gets to a cool color; I've used hot hot pink for this with great results! Pics are in my album if you want to check em out!