eli5 why sunburns feel hotter than “unburnt” skin

Question

I know sunburns are literally your skin cells dying to prevent you from getting cancer, but that doesn’t explain the excess heat thing, does it?

In: 26

Answer 1

What you feel is the increased blood flow to the sunburnt skin to give it more nutrients to help it heal from the injury. Blood is slightly warmer than the rest of your body and under these conditions is closer to the surface of your skin than normal.