diff --git a/addlicense/main.go b/addlicense/main.go
index fe7cf93..e082bb1 100644
--- a/addlicense/main.go
+++ b/addlicense/main.go
@@ -307,6 +307,10 @@ func walk(ch chan<- *file, start string, logger *log.Logger) error {
 			return nil
 		}
 		if fi.IsDir() {
+			if path != start && FileMatches(path, ignorePatterns) {
+				logger.Printf("[DEBUG] skipping directory: %s", path)
+				return filepath.SkipDir
+			}
 			return nil
 		}
 		// Skip symlinks — broken symlinks cause os.ReadFile to fail with
diff --git a/cmd/headers.go b/cmd/headers.go
index eb0bf67..abe394d 100644
--- a/cmd/headers.go
+++ b/cmd/headers.go
@@ -259,7 +259,13 @@ func updateExistingHeaders(cmd *cobra.Command, ignoredPatterns []string, dryRun
 				return nil
 			}
 
-			if err != nil || d.IsDir() {
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil
+			}
+			if d.IsDir() {
+				if path != "." && addlicense.FileMatches(path, ignoredPatterns) {
+					return filepath.SkipDir
+				}
 				return nil
 			}