A magnetic head for data recording having a pair of heating elements that self regulate in response to temperature to distribute heat for thermal actuation. The head includes a first heating element located adjacent to the read sensor and away from the writer, and a second heating element located adjacent to the writer. The first and second heating elements have different coefficients of thermal resistance that cause the heating of the second heating element to increase relative to that of the first heating element when the overall temperature increases or when power provided by a power source increases. There, thereby prevents the read sensor from extending too much and possibly contacting the disk.