If you are having chaffing in the crease, you should definitely keep up the use of whatever balm/cream you are using. That's what the chamois creams & lubricants are made for. Chaffing is rubbing & redness caused by friction. The reason you use the lubricant is not to keep your skin soft & moist, it makes it slippery so that whatever comes in contact with it will glide past instead of grabbing & pulling. If you want to try riding without, give it a shot. But if you are already chaffing, I doubt it will be any better. And if it goes beyond rubbing to the point where the skin gets broken, you are now dealing with an abrasion.

My guess is you are heading in the right direction looking at narrower saddles. And don't assume that the saddle is narrow just because it is a men's saddle -- check the width. This was a major problem for me for months, I even had to buy boy-cut underwear to keep any elastic out of that area in the crease that just got rubbed raw. I ended up riding one of the narrowest saddles on the market.

And yes, I still use chamois cream. Some riders are lucky & don't need protection in that area. I am older, and I find it helps my skin to recover. I went out on a ride last week without lubing the chamois ahead of time -- big mistake, which will not be repeated.