For a long time, doctors had no idea what was causing Jenny Witmyer’s sickness.
“After the birth of my third child, I started to get really sick,” Witmyer, of Sinking Spring, said. “I would just pass out. I was in and out of emergency rooms for about a year.”
In 2018, one doctor was able to pinpoint her issue: Thyroid cancer.
“My (thyroid hormone) levels were off the charts,” Witmyer said. “I could have just died at any point.”
A regimen of radiation therapy put Witmyer on the path to recovery, but it was a road riddled with caution signs — an ailing liver meant she had to be extremely careful about what she was ingesting.
“There were a lot of things I had to avoid that I never realty thought of,” Witmyer said. “I started immediately paying attention to the ingredients (in everything).”
She soon realized that finding a “truly clean” product free of contaminants that may pose a risk to someone recovering from cancer was a difficult task.
“They rinse cocoa butter and shea butter in ammonia,” Witmyer said. “I didn’t want that on my skin. So I started making my own stuff.”
An educational background in dermatology and chemical science equipped Witmyer with the knowledge needed to make her own skincare and bathing products.
“Shampoo, conditioner, soap, everything possibly that I knew how to make with my background,” Witmyer said.
At that point, Witmyer’s products were strictly for personal use. Until one day in 2025, when she came across a TikTok video where an influencer was making soap using ingredients known to cause cancer.
“That just boiled my blood,” Witmyer said. “So I texted my husband that I was starting a company. And I did.”
Her company, Archwood Soapery, was founded “for anyone who’s done with overcomplicated ingredient lists, harsh chemicals, and products that don’t do what they promise,” according to Archwood’s website.
Archwood sets itself apart by using beauty product standards set by the European Union. Far stricter than their U.S. counterparts, EU standards ban the use of various toxins, cheap fillers and artificial dyes.
“We don’t use formaldehyde-releasing cosmetic preservatives that have been banned in other countries,” Archwood Soapery’s website says. “We don’t use titanium dioxide to make things look ‘whiter.’ If an ingredient doesn’t serve a real, beneficial purpose for your skin or hair, it doesn’t get in the door. Period.”
Witmyer quickly found that the demand for Archwood’s products was ravenous.
“I had a wholesale order before I was a legal entity, I had to wait until my business license came in to drop it off,” Witmyer said. “Within a year, I was in Whole Foods Kimberton, multiple locations.”
Archwood’s products, as well as her associated Filthy Vegan skincare brand, are hand made by Witmyer.
In May, Archwood and Filthy Vegan earned a spot on the shelves of Kimberton Whole Foods in Wyomissing, Berks County and Uwchlan Township, Chester County.
“Kimberton picked up my hair care line, my sea salt soaps, my cream deodorant,” Witmyer said. “The director of Kimberton said I changed her mind about solid hair care. So that was awesome.”
In May, Archwood Soapery added its hair care, sea salt soap, and cream deodorant product lines to Kimberton Whole Foods in Wyomissing. Berks County and Uwchlan Township, Chester County.(Courtesy of Jennifer Witmyer)
Archwood Soapery’s growth was also recognized by the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance.
The company placed for the first time on the GRCA’s 2026 list of Business Excellence Award winners — ranking eighth on the list of top 20 companies making over $250,000 in revenue for three consecutive years. The awards recognize local companies with standout annual revenue and growth rates.
She said part of the reason for the spike in demand is her ability to back up every ingredient she uses with an analysis certificate showing they are free of unsafe contaminants.
“A lot of people don’t understand how these things affect us,” Witmyer said. “Especially the preservatives that are in cosmetics. Formaldehyde preservatives are so widespread in cosmeceuticals.”
Much of Archwood Soapery’s customer base was garnered via expos and product demonstrations, which have earned Archwood a loyal fan base.
“I have a lot of repeat customers and I love that. It makes me feel so good,” Witmyer said.
She noted that her own health has been on the mend since her diagnosis.
“I have not had any thyroid issues since,” Witmyer said.
Witmyer said the company’s success has enabled to her hire an assistant to help her manage the company.
She said the intention of the recent hire is to eventually handle the business end of the company.
“She is going to know how to do every single thing that I do except for make my products,” Witmyer said.
Witmyer said she sources her fragrance oils from a supplier out of Georgia who avoids parabens and phthalates, which have been linked to endocrine disruption and hormone imbalance.
“(Parabens and phthalates) are notoriously bad for you,” Witmyer said. “I found a supplier that doesn’t do that, made in the USA by a family-owned company.”
She also uses essential oils from NOW Foods, since they test their oils and certify the results with certificates of analysis.
“It took me a really long time to find certain suppliers that I liked their analysis certificate,” Witmyer said. “I try to go family-owned if I can.”
Witmyer said her eventual goal for expansion is to reignite cosmetic manufacturing in Reading.
“There’s so many skincare products that used to be made in the USA but then get shipped (overseas) because the shareholders say they want more profit,” Witmyer said. “(The area) used to be the mecca for manufacturing jobs. I want to bring cosmetic manufacturing back to Berks County.”
She said she aims to expand her e-commerce offerings, as well as bring on more people, especially with expertise in chemistry.