Generally it is true to say for most shaving preparations, the more lather a product produces, the more it will dry out your skin. It may feel good to have a lot of lather on your face, but the fact is that this lather is created by surfactants (similar to detergents) which dry out your skin.
As you are already scraping off natural oils when you shave, you do not want to further dry out your face. Lathering is also wasteful. That white peak of shaving foam, gel or soap isn’t actually touching your face or providing a lubricating barrier between your razor and your skin – so why is it there?
So “yes”, the low-foam shave gels and oils do work. You don’t need to cover your face in foam to get a good shave.
No-foam oils and low-foam gels provide a highly lubricating interface between the razor blade and your skin giving amazing glide and allowing for precision shaving so you can see exactly what you are doing.
With a clear or low foam shave prep, the more likely you are to see (and thus avoid) any problem areas such as spots, red or rough skin around the neck and so on.
Also, if you have a moustache, goatee or beard, you will be able to line-in and shave around it with pinpoint accuracy – something that is impossible with traditional lather based shaving products.