Our hot processed soaps are currently made with non-organic food grade vegetable base oils in order to keep them affordable. We are reviewing the possibility of using organic base oils in our soaps. However, we feel that most of the plants used to make the oils used in these are not generally fertilized (coconut, olive, palm, castor etc). Soap batches noted as "Very Fresh" are made within the last 30 days. Use right away or air dry another week or so for them to last approx 5% longer. Many of these batches are very fresh! They're very luxurious when used right away and can be air dried a bit longer. Most of the milk soaps are wonderful for facial use. If you can squeeze the bar gently, air dry a bit longer if you have sensitive facial skin. Any of the 100% cream or milk soaps and many of the clay soaps are really nice facial bars and may need a little air time before becoming their mildest. We have not changed our formulas. We've changed the way we list ingredients. We've always used lye to saponify our soaps but did not list it as an ingredient because there should be none left when the soap is finished cooking. These " lye soaps " are gently heated the old fashioned way (heated for up to 3 hours or more). Total batch prep time is approx 6 hours and these are made in 30 - 35 pound batches, and then cooled down before adding essential oils, fragrance or botanicals. This keeps the oils, botanicals and scents true and retains as much as possible of their beneficial properties. The scent does not fade with time, and often intensifies - especially for those containing Patchouli and the woody oils. These are " art soaps " in that we may add in bits of other batches, natural (or food colors) and botanicals to create interesting and therapeutic effects. The process is quite involved and takes longer than that used for conventional lye soap. (As a comparison, many "glycerin" soap products are generally "melt & pour" meaning that it's purchased in blocks, remelted with fragrance etc and repoured in molds. Melt & pour soap is always packaged in plastic. ) We think a good soap should look as nice as it smells and feels. The bars are priced by weight and ingredients and weigh from 4 to 5 oz +. Weights, appearance and prices may vary slightly by batch. Some are 100% natural and others contain a bit of our custom blended fragrance (1-2%) to enhance the scent. Our soaps are sometimes only a week or so old when shipped because they're made fresh monthly. They harden up quickly when stored in paper or open air, and can be used right away or left to dry a bit more. Either way they are large and long lasting, with a luxurious feel, and can be cut as desired for guests, etc. These look wonderful sliced and displayed on a small plate or soap dish in your guest bath. All contain saponified oils of coconut, palm, olive, soybean, cottonseed, castor and we also use beeswax or prime pressed cocoa butter in some of our formulas. The milk soaps all contain fresh whole cow milk or dairy cream and honey. If color is used, it is in very minute quantity of a few drops per 15 lb batch, and is FDC glycerin food based confectioners. All contain natural glycerin, which is a byproduct of soapmaking when vegetable oils are used. We stir all of the glycerin back into the batch. We do not skim any off for other uses. We do NOT use animal products other than milk, honey, beeswax and occasionally lanolin. Additional ingredients are included with each description, and are usually added after the soap is heated and cooled down, just before it goes into the molds. These also all contain lye (sodium hydroxide) at the beginning of the process. We use a 5% lye discount so approx 5% of the food oils are left unsaponified in the bar and the lye is all "used up". This percentage, together with the oils we select and our process makes these very moisturizing. Please NEVER use plastic or airtight containers to store your very natural HP soaps as they love to breathe! Tissue paper, brown or white bags work very well.