Angry Doctor Is the Anti-Skincare Skincare Brand

Dr Howard Webster has worked as a plastic surgeon for 30 years. He says there are three things we can do to make our skin better: sun prevention (not just sunscreen, but also reducing time spent in the sun, and wearing physical protection like hats and shirts); general health stuff, like avoiding smoking, staying hydrated and taking any necessary vitamins; and skincare – especially skincare with science-backed active ingredients.

“Active ingredients are designed to make the skin more healthy, and the by-product is that your skin actually looks better,” Webster tells Broadsheet. “It looks brighter, the collagen thickens, the elastin thickens, and the person in general looks younger.”

There are numerous studies proving the effectiveness of active ingredients like vitamin A (retinoids like retinol, retinal and retinoic acid), vitamin C, vitamin B3 (aka niacinamide), vitamin E, glycolic acid and more to improve skin texture and appearance. But they’re not as easy to understand, or access, as they should be.

“This knowledge has been available for decades, but what’s happened? Unfortunately, it’s been hijacked by the cosmetics industry,” Webster says. “The industry makes things in five-step, six-step, 10-step processes, because they generate more revenue.”

But you can mix those ingredients into just three products. And that’s what he’s done.

Angry Doctor is a new skincare brand founded in Melbourne by Webster and his son Harrison Webster, alongside Bianca Shah, Max Reed and Emily Reed. Harrison came up with the name, inspired by hearing his dad passionately railing against the state of the skincare industry.

The brand launched this year with three core products. Clean Right is a daily cleanser with chemical exfoliants – glycolic acid and lactic acid – which work to remove dead skin cells and reveal fresher layers underneath.

For daytime, Morning Bright is a vitamin C serum that promises to protect from free radicals, increase collagen production and brighten the skin.

Young Night is an evening moisturiser with retinal (a form of vitamin A that’s faster, stronger and less irritating than retinol) to reduce the appearance of acne, pigmentation and fine lines; it’s also got niacinamide to help strengthen the skin barrier and manage acne, eczema and rosacea. Plus, there’s an Angry Doctor sunscreen in the works.

The main goal is to make accessible skincare packed with ingredients proven to work. (The team is so confident in the range, it’s offering a “Look at Me Guarantee” – if you don’t receive a compliment on your skin in the first three months of using the products, you can get a full refund.)

“You only need to think of a 25-year-old bloke walking into Mecca with a plan to improve his skin and having absolutely no idea where to start, and being incredibly overwhelmed, and then spending all his money on a few basic products that might have no proven efficacy at all,” Harrison says.

“We often talk about how we’re skincare for people who don’t care for their skin,” he says. “We ultimately are an anti-skincare skincare brand.”

This story is part of Broadsheet’s special Fashion Issue, proudly sponsored by Mini, which lays down the new rules for Australian style in 2025.