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.

I would take a close look at the reviews sub forum. Most of the reviews there are expert reviews, ie the reviwers have tried many different products. I personally believe that Domenico Caraceni and Castle Forbes cannot be beaten. Then there is a wide range of products the will perform very well. In any event, Iwould recommend a cream rather than a soap.

Regards,
Robin

welcome to srp.
lather is the standard treatment for retaining moisture on your face. there are plenty of good products, so you'll have to experiment and find out what you like. many are reviewed in our review sections under soaps/creams
i find that almost anything works reasonably well for me, but i prefer soaps from thegentlemensquarter, the bulgarian rose soap from srd, alraz's cream-soap thingy, and few discontinued products that there's no point of me recommending.

First and foremost, welcome to the right way to shave!!

If I may make a recommendation, get a copy of Lynn's CD. It contains over 3 hours of most everything you will need to know about straight razors (including how to shave with them). I am so happy I got one!

As to creams and soaps, read as much as you can in the sub forums on this subject. Read any reviews you can find on this site, too. Personally, I use TGQ soaps and T&H creams. Their performance are the best I have found (for me). However, Mama Bear has a large following here as well, and has really nice soaps (excellent performance). Mine is a personal choice.

I'd be worried about the strop from eBay, unless you know the seller personally. Kenrup, Tony Miller, and SRD all sell great beginner strops for not much more than you paid on eBay. And, their strops are of unquestioned quality... :beer1:

You have received good advice in the prior replies. +1 to the Castle Forbes recommendation. I find Al Raz's products to be very similar in quality and results to the Castle Forbes products. He is a member here and you can pm him. He is very helpful - great customer service. Here is some good news. If you are already getting good shaves with what sounds like some type of a shavette, you will probably hit the ground running with a good STR8.

I like Tabac soap, Mama Bears soaps, Trumpers soaps and creams... Castle Forbes is also excellent, as others have said, and Mitchells Wool Fat soap is very good as well.

In terms of other products, I love Trumpers Sandalwood skin food as an AS balm. It works brilliantly for me, and I just cant imagine using anything else. It really soothes and protects the face after the shave.

I also use Trumpers unscented moisturiser under a hot towel as a pre-shave treatment and this is working very well for me at the moment. I'd certainly replace it when this bottle runs out..!

Do check out the reviews section, as Robin said. Theres loads of good pointers in there that should direct you to a product you like.

thanks very much for all the quick replies. I'm going to check out the reviews section before making my final purchase. And yeah, the strop I was going to buy from ebay kept getting the max bid increased in the last minutes, so I'm gonna go with one of the brands recommended above. Thanks a lot

I know this might be silly question but i dont see any mention of a brush which is a must to make good lather.:beer2:

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Originally Posted by pedro083

I know this might be silly question but i dont see any mention of a brush which is a must to make good lather.:beer2:

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Badger hair make the best lather. The more expensive the softer on your face. They start at $15, decent ones are $25, good are $50 and high end is $100+

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEX7BnD595A

As far as soap there a lot out there I got Tabac, everyone raves about it and its not that expensive $12. People like to acquire different scents to add variety to their routine.

I'm another Tabac fan, also haved used Proraso for years and really liked it.
Art of Shaving creams are really nice too but they are pricey.
Good luck. If you dont' have a brush and want to go with soaps you might pick up an Omega Professional Boars brush for $12. It works nice with many soaps and is super cheap.
Cheers

The only thing I didn't care for and to be aware of with Tabac is it has a strong scent. Unfortunately perfumes irritates my nose so I ordered Mitchell's Wool Fat to alternate with.

Thanks very much for all your help. I'm probably going to go cheap to begin with, probably a $25 brush, and maybe some Tabac soap. Thanks agian- no where else can I get instant feedback from experienced users- this place is priceless!