diff --git a/src/crewai_tools/tools/exa_tools/exa_base_tool.py b/src/crewai_tools/tools/exa_tools/exa_base_tool.py
index 6235ab57b..237af8f84 100644
--- a/src/crewai_tools/tools/exa_tools/exa_base_tool.py
+++ b/src/crewai_tools/tools/exa_tools/exa_base_tool.py
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@ class EXABaseTool(BaseTool):
 	headers: dict = {
 			"accept": "application/json",
 			"content-type": "application/json",
-			"x-api-key": os.environ['EXA_API_KEY'],
 		}
 
 	def _parse_results(self, results):
diff --git a/src/crewai_tools/tools/exa_tools/exa_search_tool.py b/src/crewai_tools/tools/exa_tools/exa_search_tool.py
index fe67c4fa2..d26357e8c 100644
--- a/src/crewai_tools/tools/exa_tools/exa_search_tool.py
+++ b/src/crewai_tools/tools/exa_tools/exa_search_tool.py
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import os
 import requests
 from typing import Any
 
@@ -16,7 +17,10 @@ class EXASearchTool(EXABaseTool):
 				"query": search_query,
 		}
 
-		response = requests.post(self.search_url, json=payload, headers=self.headers)
+		headers = self.headers.copy()
+		headers["x-api-key"] = os.environ['EXA_API_KEY']
+
+		response = requests.post(self.search_url, json=payload, headers=headers)
 		results = response.json()
 		if 'results' in results:
 			results = super()._parse_results(results['results'])