Nasal tip projection (Goode ratio): a real rhinoplasty standard, read only from a level side profile.

The Goode ratio (also called Goode's method) measures how far the nasal tip projects forward from the face, seen in side profile. It divides two distances:

• Tip projection — from the alar-facial groove (where the nostril wing meets the cheek) out to the tip-defining point.
• Nasal length — from the nasion (the bridge's starting point between the eyes) to that same tip point.

The commonly cited range for a balanced tip is roughly 0.55 to 0.60; lower reads as underprojected, higher as overprojected. It's a ratio between two profile distances anchored to the nose itself, not a comparison against the width measurement on the nose bridge ratio page — that page reads frontal bridge height against bridge width; this one reads profile tip projection against nasal length.

The method is named for rhinoplasty surgeon Dr. Robert Goode, and it's used as part of standard preoperative nasal analysis in rhinoplasty and orthognathic-surgery planning — a diagnostic tool for surgeons deciding whether a tip needs more or less projection, not a beauty scale. It remains cited in current peer-reviewed literature evaluating tip projection and rotation before and after surgery.

The 0.55-0.60 range circulating on forums and calculator sites was derived largely from Western/Caucasian nasal-anatomy studies. Peer-reviewed research on ethnic-specific rhinoplasty documents real, systematic differences in average nasal anatomy across populations:

• Research on Asian rhinoplasty describes a preference for a more obtuse nasofrontal angle and a smaller, rounder tip projection than the classic Western-derived Goode range — a difference in average anatomy and preference, not a shortfall against one population's figure.
• African nasal anatomy is documented with its own distinct proportions — commonly a wider vertical middle third and shorter middle-third height — that a single universal tip-projection target doesn't account for.
• The clinical literature itself states this directly: nasal analysis should apply ethnic-specific norms rather than one universal Caucasian-derived standard.

That's the same caution this site applies to any single quoted ideal figure — a published reference range describes what one study sample averaged, not a universal target, the same point made about the Ricketts E-line and the ethnic-norm variation covered on the SNA/SNB angle page.

Mogalytics does not compute or display a separate Goode ratio reading. Its six-measurement composite reads live from a front-facing camera feed, and the closest measurement in the same nose family is:

• Nose bridge ratio — bridge height relative to bridge width, read frontally rather than as profile tip projection.

Bridge ratio and the Goode ratio both anchor to the nose, but they're not the same measurement — one is a frontal height-to-width proportion, the other is a profile projection distance referenced against a level Frankfort horizontal plane, a camera setup none of Mogalytics' six live measurements use. Mogalytics makes no claim of parity between the two, or with any clinical rhinoplasty analysis.

Tip projection sits alongside the other side-profile-only terms this site covers, plus the closest of the six live measurements. If you're auditing the rest:

• Nose bridge ratio — the closest camera-read analog, a frontal proportion rather than profile projection.
• Ricketts E-line — another profile measurement anchored to the nasal tip, reading lip position instead of tip projection itself.
• Nasolabial angle — another side-profile-only term near the nose that Mogalytics doesn't compute directly.
• SNA/SNB angle — a related skeletal-projection angle, but one that requires an actual X-ray rather than just a photo.
• Accuracy — what a camera-based reading can and can't tell you, generally.
• ZygoNasal distance — another profile projection measurement anchored to the nasal radix, reading zygomatic projection instead of tip position.