Embodiments disclosed herein generally relate to a head slider within disk drive data storage devices. A head slider comprises a head body having a leading edge, a trailing edge and an ABS. The ABS has a leading portion and a trailing portion, the trailing portion having a tail section disposed adjacent the trailing edge. The head body has three surfaces recessed from the ABS: a first surface disposed a first vertical distance, a second surface disposed a second vertical distance that is greater than the first vertical distance, and a third surface disposed a third vertical distance that is greater than the second vertical distance. A first plateau disposed at the third surface is bound between a second plateau at the first surface and a trailing pad of the tail section. Between the first plateau and the trailing pad are one or more notches disposed at the first surface.