Water softner's actually help produce more soap, or more lather. You use less laundry detergent, dish soap, etc...If you've never used one, you probably used too much soap. They're also friendly on your pipes. They leave no hard water stains on your faucets, etc... However, I hear the salt is hard on the enviorment. You get very used to having a water softner, once you get one, you wonder how you ever lived without it. When you first use them, you do feel "slick" after showering, that goes away pretty fast. You don't have that dried out feeling normally associated with soap.
Here ya go:
Why does soft water feel slimy or slick in the shower?
Water that has been conditioned by a water softener allows soap to dissolve more completely than in hard water. It is common for first time users of soft water to have a slimy experience in the shower. This is due to using more soap than is necessary. The amount of soap needed to lather up is very small in soft water. This is one of the benefits of soft water (less soap is needed in the bathing, laundry, and household cleaning). Also, the pores of your skin will no longer be clogged by the undissolved soap. Once a person has adjusted their soap usage and is used to the smooth clean feeling achieved by bathing in soft water, they will have a negative "ruff" feeling, if they bath in hard water again.