Ive found that washing my hair/face and drying it/fluffing it up makes the gunging feel heavier and slimier - in my recent session I puffed my soft clean hair up before clobbering it with sweet sloppy pies

It is fun to look your best befor the mess and I certainly want to be "clean" before playing with my wife.

You know I never really have given this topic very much thought. My personal hygiene is always a consideration and so I've never really thought about it.
I don't per say clean up before I mess up... But if I was outside working on my car or doing yard work or coming home after deer hunting... I certainly wouldn't just slap on some latex rubber or PVC vinyl and go to town hitting myself in the face with pies.
I do like to be 100% clean before I indulge in my fetish, especially if I'm going out in public.
I've got a very sweet woman here locally to me that indulges throwing pies in my face. I have tiptoed around the reason why I want her to do this, and I can tell by her reaction that she knows that something is up but she doesn't care.
But yes, before our last pie in public episode happened, I took a shower and got cleaned up, put a vibrating butt plug in me, got dressed in pink PVC shirt and pants, with a purple PVC jacket, and a black tie. She absolutely loved the outfit. She asked me questions about where I buy my clothes. I was completely honest with her about why I wear rubber and vinyl clothing, and she was cool with that. Her biggest question was why I wanted her to throw cream pies in my face.
I told a little white lie and said that I have a female friend that likes to watch the videos of this happening to me when I'm dressed up in my best PVC outfits. And that's not a complete lie because that is true.
I'm not going to tell her the complete truth because that would just make things possibly creepy and gross for a straight person.
I have pictures posted of her last session together in my pictures. I cropped everything because I promised her it wasn't going on social media.
And that was not a lie because I had not rejoined this site at that point.
Anyway I'm way off topic here and rambling, sometimes that happens, but yes I clean up before I mess up.
I would like to think that a lot of people on the site like the fact that someone dressed up and looking good... Getting messed up and trashed is kind of the turn on and what you like to see.
I don't have anything against naked wam, but it doesn't do anything for me visually. I like seeing people that are clean and dressed up to the nines... Makeup and hair... Good looking outfit looking sexy... Getting hit with cream pies.
That's my niche.
I'm not really into mud, or savory, or slime, and paint.
I can appreciate all those things because I'm a part of this community and what does it for one person doesn't do it for another..... But I respect you all and I find your enthusiasm and your pictures fantastic.

Always best to get clean before you get filthy

Me! I love the added contrast between literally squeaky clean and dolled up, to absolute disaster zone.

Likewise, I always like to be squeaky clean for Mrs Piechap.

Me too - same reason as Candy. Showered and squeaky clean, clothes on hangers or straight from the packet then totally trashed!

Same - Always good to start off clean and fresh.
Even more fun if you maybe can't clean up too quickly afterwards too!

I shower prior to gettin' messy. It washes the skin oil so that goo sticks better.

I washed during a session, cleaned up and added more slop in which to wallow around and pour over my head. Never done that before. Added a whole new twist.

It varies for me - the couple of times I've been to gunge events with a group of people, starting out clean and fresh feels like basic courtesy, as I'd do in any setting where I'm physically close to others.
If I'm heading out for solo mud I won't always shower that morning as it seems a little superfluous but I do like to have my hair and beard recently trimmed, it just helps me feel confident sharing pics and video, and also feels good on the shaved sides of my head.