I'm in the camp of just use it. I'm also one that just wears new blue jeans vs. pre-washing monkey business
I use the brush to make a lather. Leave the lather on/ in the brush and leave the brush on the shelf overnight, that seems to help to break it in and get rid of any smells. Sent from my LG-V480 using Tapatalk
For beak ins I use the boar brush and then do this method on a dry towel. I've seen this method described before so I've use it. Not sure if it sped the process but I think it did.