taking my first foray into de razors, and last night used arko soap for the first time.
i never use regular soap on my face at all, and during and after the shave my chops went a bit dry and tight.. when shaving it was verging on the unpleasant.
wondering whether i should try something for sensitive skin, maybe an oil, or man up with the arko and get something to whack on my chops after to moisturize?
bluebeards is ace, give it a try
I use arko, love the stuff,
you getting a good lather up ?,
don't let it dry out,
shave small fast strokes, couple of inches then switch edge, repeat, rinse, go again,
if your drying out, wash off lather then mix some fresh soap, go again,
other top tips,
shower prior to shaving,
fill the sink with hot water, drop your razor in it, drop your brush in it,
fill bowl or similar with around 10mm of hot water, sit the Arko in it,
take your hot brush, pour the water out the bowl and rub the arko on the brush and your beard after then mix your lather in the bowl.
(i find my second lather is always less effective, to counter i try and shave fast short strokes and finish before the bowl lather has dried out)
i use a slightly costly but very nice Chanel bleu aftershave lotion, bloody pricey but works really well on razor burn
and doesn't give me spots.
another top tip, buy the Jap 'feathers blades', they are so sharp ,i switched to them after around 10 shaves with other brands, by far the best don't be afraid to use then, they won't cut your head off.
At a guess for your 1st times you are going slow? Giving it time to dry out. Try doing it in sections/ halves - lather one side then shave. Then the other half. Or not enough water in the lather. Or youre putting the arko directly on your face? Or you're a sensitive type 
Palmolive shave stick is the other common readily available soap. Approx 50p in asda. Lasts 6 months. Not quiet as good for me but might suit your face better.
I put arko straight on my face... Rub a bit all over then attack with nice wet brush! Always enough lather on the brush for the second or even third pass but you need to dip the brush back in the water before applying lather as it can take a lot to get a really good thick foam.
How are you coming along with the Lord Gav, are you still on the original blade? I had my third shave with mine today after a week of growth and it was good but like you i found that my skin went dry before I was done. I am however using some standard Gillette foam and am not expecting it to be any good tbh but I had it so I'm using it all up.
I have some Gillette 7 o'clock blades to try soon to see if that makes a difference.
Alternatively you can also apply a slight amount of Jojoba oil to your face prior to applying lather then start shaving as described above.
All a personal issue i'm afraid:
I've got Tabac, P160 etc etc,, but my personal (personal opinion):
Hot shower
Proraso Shaving soap
Post shave cream (use like mosturiser)
Burns after the above, but a nice burn that stops shaving rash
Mitchells Wool Fat soap is good for dry skin (which I have) but TBH I've been using Akro for the past couple of months and prefer it. It does need to be properly lathered though and I rub it straight onto the whiskers then lather. It usually takes a couple of dips of the brush into water to get the lather the right consistency so it doesn't dry out mid shave.
To moisturise post shave I tend to use either Bluebeards Revenge post shave balm or Nivea's version. Bluebeards is very refreshing to the point of being mildly stingy. If face still feels tight after that, after a few minutes a small amount of Boots mens moisturiser (Botanic range) is cheap and very effective.
i_ache, yes original blade and also third shave. i wanted to see how different the soap was with a blade i knew. next up i'll pop a shark in. out of interest if you want to swap a couple of your 7oclocks for some sharks to try as a comparison drop me an email (in prof).
I think I will take you up on that gav. I will mail you later.
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