Putting aside the thousand other things that made exile its own little hell, because of Tommy's skin changes we can literally see how c!Tommy's hygiene declined over time
This? This is not a healthy child. His hair is grimy, his clothes are filled with holes, he's missing a shoe. Hell, he slept in an open tent next to the ocean? A couple minutes away from the arctic? He barely ate, he was always on low health, his eyes were literally dimmer.
And then there's his limbo, which Tommy describes as being torn apart and then stitched back together over and over.
When he's revived, the sound of lava fizzling is enough to set him off, the elder guardian's cries hurt him. The slightest bit of pain felt like a punch, a punch like a stab. Just getting dressed in the morning must have been hell, the sensation of being present still foreign, especially for the first few weeks.
He thought so lowly of himself then, how do you think he felt about his reflection? Do you think he ever looked in the mirror and saw every scar, each one a memory of a past conflict, of a friend he's lost, etched onto his face and just? Broke down?
But, it's been a while since then
So do you think he takes a little longer in the shower now? Does he stand under the warm water just for a bit more than he would normally?
Do you think he washes his hair thoroughly, shampooing and conditioning until his curls really come through?
Do you think he wears a sweater more often, one he really likes? The chill of death is never far off, after all, and Tommy likes to chase it away with a blue wool coat.
Maybe he sticks a butterfly clip in his hair for fun, just because he wanted to? He's still a big man, just a big man with a butterfly clip that he thinks is really nice.
Do you think he hugs his friends just a little tighter than he used to? Just a little closer, until he knows they're there. Because if they're there, then so is he.
Maybe he can look in the mirror and smile now, because for the first time in a long time he doesn't feel like being himself is such a bad thing...