I always shower before shaving. Well almost all the time. On the rare occasion I don't I wash my face, load the brush up and lather up. Let it sit for a minute and then wash it off and lather up again. The thing here is the time it takes to do this is almost the same time as I need to shower. Plus the brush has to soak anyway. I have in the past done the hot towel thing. But it takes more effort to do that than to just take a shower.