diff --git a/wolfcrypt/src/sp_int.c b/wolfcrypt/src/sp_int.c
index af1c9c244..39684a232 100644
--- a/wolfcrypt/src/sp_int.c
+++ b/wolfcrypt/src/sp_int.c
@@ -12711,14 +12711,24 @@ int sp_tohex(sp_int* a, char* str)
             i = a->used - 1;
     #ifndef WC_DISABLE_RADIX_ZERO_PAD
             for (j = SP_WORD_SIZE - 8; j >= 0; j -= 8) {
-                if (((a->dp[i] >> j) & 0xff) != 0)
+                if (((a->dp[i] >> j) & 0xff) != 0) {
                     break;
+                }
+                else if (j == 0) {
+                    j = SP_WORD_SIZE - 8;
+                    --i;
+                }
             }
             j += 4;
     #else
             for (j = SP_WORD_SIZE - 4; j >= 0; j -= 4) {
-                if (((a->dp[i] >> j) & 0xf) != 0)
+                if (((a->dp[i] >> j) & 0xf) != 0) {
                     break;
+                }
+                else if (j == 0) {
+                    j = SP_WORD_SIZE - 4;
+                    --i;
+                }
             }
     #endif /* WC_DISABLE_RADIX_ZERO_PAD */
             for (; j >= 0; j -= 4) {