The Importance of Getting the Timeline Right Through Makeup
Because Loki takes place before Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Noe needed to take Hiddleston back in time a bit.
"Loki's evolution through the last two Avenger films technically hasn't happened yet because we pick up back in 2012," Noe said. "Since we were backing up in time, we had to have Loki with those wounds created by Hulk at the climax of the first movie."
Re-creating those wounds in episode one, "Glorious Purpose," was crucial in establishing a cohesive storyline and making Loki fit into the Marvel Universe franchise — as was having the wounds heal in a reasonable timeframe. "Much discussion was had about how much time he has for his rapid healing before he enters the TVA, where he has no powers," Noe said. "A time gap between episode one and episode two allowed for them to completely heal."
The rest of the makeup, or lack thereof, was purposefully left timeless. "As we all know, time is different in the TVA."