I know this thread is over a month out, but I had the same problem when I started out. A couple things I do with good success is first, I use beard oil as a pre-shave. I use just enough to get a little lubrication to my skin. Not enough to be greasy, just enough to get rid of the squeaky clean fresh shower feeling. Let that sit for a few minutes. Second, most soaps don't cut it for me. I've found that thick creams work a lot better. Soaps take too much oil out of my skin for shaving and will leave me irritated every time. Also, some of the newer creams with caffeine in them leave a good feeling for some reason. YMMV on the caffeine but definitely try a heavy cream. If your skin feels dry at all after shaving, put a little more beard oil back on your skin to moisturize. Keeping your skin from drying out is key. I wore a full beard for years before getting into shaving on a regular basis and what I noticed was that my skin was a lot drier than it ever was when I was using beard oil every day, so I put that back into my routine and problem solved. I never use after shave. Just beard oil very lightly. Definitely nothing with alcohol. Once I started doing this, it no longer mattered what direction I shaved or how many passes. Hope this helps.