I'm a straight razor noob

I live in a very dry climate and I'm having trouble keeping my face and lather wet while shaving. I go slow using the SR, and need to keep adding lather to keep things wet. Eventually I need to add water and just start over with the hot towel.
The cold season is approaching and it gets worse because the hot air from the furnace has no humidity in it.
Are there any pre-shave oils or balms that will prevent this dryout? Just adding more water to my face doesn't seem to cause the lather to relubricate. Going faster is out.