Babylon is the famous ancient capital of southern Mesopotamia, in modern-day Iraq, and notable for some of the first examples of shaving cream. Often depicted with long, thick, curly facial hair, the ancient Babylonians placed such a high value on their beards that an oath was not binding unless it was "sworn upon facial hair." But when they did shave in the Babylonian empire, men used a mixture of fats and ashes to soften their beard–an early form of shaving cream.