I'm pretty happy with the Proglide for the head (apart from the cost of the cartridges obviously) but I always find that it irritates and dries out my face.
I have been looking at a few cheap razors, particularly the Feather Popular. Would this be a good beginners one or would it be worth spending a bit more for something like a Merkur or Edwin Jagger?
I use the King of Shaves Shaving Gel, would this be suitable for DE shaving or is a proper shave soap/cream essential?
I started out with the Popular. It's not a bad starter razor, but I would go vintage. I would recommend starting with a superspeed or a tech from ebay.
Merkur. Proved to be good for a beginner.
The Merkur barber pole is a great beginner razor and a staple for wet shaving. You can go with that.
I use the Merkur 38C for my face and I really like it. I found that in this article (
http://www.primandprep.com/best-razor-for-shaving-head) it was listed as one of the best razors for shaving your head as well. I haven't tried it yet but I plan to. I'll give you an update once I have tried it.