Much like contouring, double-cleansing and balayage, coconut oil has become a staple in many people's beauty regimes. And if you don't use coconut oil, chances are someone has told you all about its benefits (even though you probably didn't ask).

Whether frying vegetables in it (hashtag health) or slathering it over our dry skin to combat the effects of too much hand washing, the world has gone loco for all things coco.

Celebrities like Kourtney Kardashian and Miranda Kerr have been preaching the benefits of the all-natural oil for years and brands have created entire beauty and haircare ranges infused with the stuff.

Skincare aside, it seems people are constantly finding new ingenious ways to use coconut oil. In fact, if you haven't used it to shave your legs or whiten your teeth, you're seriously missing a trick.

Plus, if you're thinking about making some no-bake brownies or protein balls, coconut oil could be the next best (and healthier) alternative to vegetable oil to slip into your kitchen cupboard.

That said, before you start getting carried away and slathering it from head to toe, you might want to heed our expert's advice. After news broke that coconut oil could be bad for certain skin types, we were keen to find out whether the same was true for our hair. Especially after we witnessed a huge surge in people Googling it.

We called on Ross Charles, Owner of Ross Charles Hairdressing, to weigh in on the topic... and his verdict was seriously insightful.

Is coconut oil good or bad for our dry?

"People often use hair oils to moisten their hair, but I often say that when hair needs moisture, it is thirsty and needs a drink. In fact, oil and water don't mix. Oil actually repels water and either pushes it out of the hair or stops it from getting into the hair."

What exactly is coconut oil doing to our hair, then?

"If your hair has been damaged from over-processing from colour, or is weak and fragile, you need to get amino acids into the hair shaft, so definitely don't want to coat your hair in oil.

"Hair oils - and especially coconut oil - tend to seep into every tiny hole in your hair shaft and disguise the real problem to act as a quick-fix; this won't help your hair in the long-run and is one of the main reasons I advise against using oils in your hair."

What should we be using to hydrate our hair instead?

"Instead of using oils to fight frizz, always use low PH products on your hair. This will keep the cuticle flatter, meaning less tangles. Tangled hair is often the cuticle scales of your hair interlocking with each other.

Use moisturising masks on a regular basis as an alternative to oils to really penetrate dry, damaged hair and begin a long-term treatment process to healthy, strong hair."

Looks like we'll be sticking to only using coconut oil for baking, then, and letting our hairstyles flourish without. Here are some of the best hair masks that you might fancy using, instead...