The short answer is it melts, sort of like plastic. Your skin is not as smooth as it looks to the eye, it has ridges and bumps ( think fingerprints ). When you burn yourself on something the heat melts the creases and bumps away, like ironing.

When you grow new skin quickly to cover a burn ( a blister ) that is also smooth - the skin is thinner and has less structure than normal skin grown under ideal conditions. Why? Because it tries to repair the body quickly since the best defense against germs and dirt is your skin.

It's worth reading the source articles for more details on what each type of burn does and how long until it heals, and even treatment for burns.

Oh, interesting photo below - the effect is from UV light being shone on a face to show sun damage. Pretty cool ( credit Ed Waring )
Source(s):
http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=~q2b8m7yQ.7a9dP

http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4564590_burn-affect-skin.html

http://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/beauty/sun-care/sunscreen.htm


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