Essential oils come from herbs. Whether the herbs are enfleuraged, steam distilled, expressed, ect., to make the essential oil, they still come from herbs. One just has to consult the dictionary for this. Thus, to call these 'herbal' recipes is not misleading. The benefit is that these essential oils leave the house, clothes, ect. with a harmless aroma that is soft, natural, and pleasant. And, they are a pleasing alternative to chemical smells while cleaning. We have many people interested in our cleaning supplies because of the aroma and the fact that they are effective.
The recipes in this book offer a wonderful alternative to products that are truly all 'chemical' in make up. It also provides the industrious 'beginner' with a place to start and adapt recipes to suit themselves. This is how we used the book and as one 'tool' in learning to make our own cleaners, it has been extremely helpful. An example of adapting to suit ones self is that if a person does not want to use SLS the castile soap can be used, whether in solid or liquid form, in its place. But, if one isn't even sure where to begin for making their own cleaning supplies, one has to start someplace and this book provides it.
I also was not happy to see that many of the recipes featured sodium laurel sulfate, which is a common allergen (it is in most shampoos, for instance). It is in fact in so many things that people often don't know that it is the culprit when their skin itches.
There are better books out there: Clean House, Clean Planet; and Better Basics for the Home, if you are interested in nontoxic cleaning, and neither of them call for Sodium Laurel Sulfate for any of their recipes.
