I don't know if its true or not but I have been told that steel dies are not as harsh on your brass when resizing.
Not sure how whoever told you that decided that it was the case. Carbide is used because 1) it is very resistant to wear and 2) the surface is VERY smooth which reduces friction and almost completely eliminates the chance of brass galling to the die. If anything carbide pistol dies are easier on brass than steel dies.
I used lyman and rcbs lube forever, just discovered lees water based lube recently. It's kinda nice, its not as sticky and isn't supposed to dent your cases after its dry if you inadvertently leave too much around the shoulder. Also you can wipe it off the loaded cartridge with a damp cloth.
I used a lube pad and RCBS lube when I first started reloading. What a complete pain in the rear! More recently I was introduced to Hornady One-Shot. This lube is argued about within the reloading community like it was some hot-button, full of emotion political topic. Some think it's the devil himself, others think it's the best thing ever. I'll give you my experience.
I use it primarily for .223 and I've had fantastic results with the stuff provided that 1) it's the aerosol version not the pump spray 2) it's shaken up really well 3) it's applied fairly uniformly and 4) it's allowed to dry for a few minutes. I have a baking sheet with my reloading stuff that I lay cases out on. I'll shake the can until I feel stupid, and then shake it for another minute. I spray the cases on the baking sheet, making sure that I get them all and then shake the sheet a bit to roll the cases around and spray them again. Then I repeat the shake and spray once more. At that point I set them aside to dry and take care of any other prep work. I've stuck one case using this method. It was a .223 case and was with a die that had a habit of sticking cases no matter what lube I used including Imperial Sizing Wax.
The pump spray version of One-Shot actually is distilled devil, I think. No amount of shaking, spraying, drying or anything else will get it distributed on the case well enough or give it any desirable case lubrication properties. After sticking 2 of the first 3 cases I tried sizing with it, it got pitched and I went in search of another can of the aerosol.
If I don't have One-Shot or I'm only sizing a couple of cases or FL sizing large cases, I use Imperial Sizing Wax. Just set the tin next to the press, swipe the index and middle finger every 3-5 cases and run your fingers around the the case neck, shoulder and down about an inch on the case body. Slick as snot.
Both One-Shot and ISW are water soluble and can either be wiped off with a moist rag or cleaned off in a case tumbler. In the case of the One-Shot you really don't have to remove it since it isn't sticky and won't pick up dirt once it's dry. I clean it off just the same in the tumbler.