Thread: Soap/Cream advice for a newbie

I just ordered my first SR and strop ($35 SR from classifieds, $10 strop from eBay), but now want to make sure I have my soap/cream/etc. ready for my first shave.
About a month ago I bought something called a hair shaper from a beauty supply store, which pretty much looks like a straight razor, except with a small, replacable blade. I can shave pretty well with that now, but of course want my own straight razor now.
My main problem when shaving with this hair shaper was keeping my skin moist after my shower. I would get out of the shower and immediately apply some walmart brand shaving cream (which actually seemed to dry my skin out), and since I had just left the shower the first few minutes of shaving would go great (I always start with the chin and other hard areas to take of advantage of these conditions).
Anyways... long story short, I would like my face to stay moist and shavable as long as possible. Maybe this drying-out of the skin is natural, and subsequent shower/hot-towel-face-wraps are necessary, especially for beginners, but maybe a good product would help me. Sorry this is so long, but if you have any procedures + products that help make my before, during, and after shave experience better, please share them. Thanks very much, so far this website has been extremely helpful and motivating.