Avocados are the best. Just look at Instagram. The hashtag "avocado" has been used over 1.6 million times. While eating them, you can tell people smugly, "It's a healthy fat." And then of course there's guacamole, which I think should be its own food group. It was only a matter of time before this magnificent fruit (yep, it's a fruit) started making the rounds as a beauty product.

DIY recipes for avocado hair and face masks abound, and it's easy to mash one up and spread it all over your face. But avocado oil, not the green mushy flesh itself, is what's being touted as the latest beauty miracle worker on forums like MakeupAlley, on beauty blogs, and in natural hair forums. I was tipped off to avocado oil's potential as it's used in Kiehl's recently launched "Creamy Eye Treatment." When I read that Lupita Nyong'o uses it on her hair and skin I knew I was onto something: Could avocado oil dethrone coconut oil?

Related: How to Get Shiny Kardashian Hair From an Avocado

I talked to some experts and tried it out for myself. Be warned, though: Avocado oil is nowhere near as ubiquitous as coconut oil yet. I found one attractive, metal bottle at Whole Foods, but it was on the bottom shelf. You can also order it online, which a lot of people seem to do, for $10 or less. Unlike coconut oil, which is usually partially solid and needs to be liquefied in the hands, avocado oil is a stable liquid that looks a lot like olive oil. Avocado oil also smells much more mild than coconut oil, which smells like, yeah, coconuts.