It's probably the blade sharpness
When I started shaving all those years--two months ago to be exact. I got terrible irritation on my first shave. The razor shaved like a cheese grater. I honed the razor and got a great shave with almost no irritation.
Today I shave with razors that give no irritation. I don't think it is my skin getting used to it. It is improved honing and stropping skills. If one starts being a little less smooth, I hone it. BTW, today I would not even consider my first great shave as acceptable, much less great.
I do use Feather pre-shave, Proraso pre-shave, Truefit & Hill and Coral Skin Food. All are good but none will compensate for a dull blade. On the other hand a shave with a sharp blade is only slightly improved by pre-shave oil.
One of the smoothest shaves I get are with Kiss My Face shave products. They hardly lather, no preshave and the smoothest shaves in a single pass with touch up. I would use them exclusively if I did not love using the brush.