So saltwater is good for locking up?

I'm about a month in and I've got baby locs..will the saltwater help them lock up more?

How do I go about washing then?

So I'm a little under a month into dreading my hair...

My hair is about half way down my back (I'm 5'3") and I'm letting my dreads develop naturally. I use Dr. Bronner's (diluted 12:1) to wash my hair about every other day.

I sleep with my hair down and when I'm driving I have all my windows down to try and knot up my hair

My hair looks great, I love it. I have one pretty good dread starting to develop and I have one T&R dread that I made just to compare the maturation rate.

So my questions are...

1. I live near the PA/DE line and summer is starting to roll in. My hair is making me very hot so I've been just doing a simple braid down my back, does this retard the dreading process?

2. I touch my hair a lot, I just love how it feels - does this do anything to the process?

3. I'm worried about the one big dread that is developing, I know I will be able to split it but should I split it now or later?

4. For the dreads that are starting to form, I was thinking of putting some string/wrapping them just so they have a little containment and can start to form into a cleaner dread...does this sound like a bad idea?

*I'm loving this process. I think my hair looks so great when it's a big 'ole mess :D

I appreciate any help!!

AW

If you can't see the ingredients, they are water, organic coconut oil, potassium hydroxide (because it's liquid) organic olive oil, lavandin extract, organic deal hemp fun, organic jojoba oil, lavendar extract, citric acid, tocopherol.

Got it at a local organic harvest market for $6 and some change. It's fair trade, as you can see, meaning all the ingredients are from other countries and they were paid fairly for them.

There are no foaming agents, which means no suds and I can actually use it as a body wash as well.

I washed my hair about 2 days ago so I have to wait one more day to use this but I CANNOT WAIT! I absolutely love the scent of lavender and cannot wait to see how well this will work in helping my hair dread naturally.

I know soaring eagle suggested something else for me, but I'd rather choose something that's local and support my economic area!

I just started my dreads, I'm Caucasian with thick brown hair.I've been doing it in sections, my hands get ridiculously tired :/ gotta take a break. I've been using the twist and rip method.

but my question is: is it better to leave them down, leave them in a pony tail, or a messy bun - or does it matter?

When I get my whole head done I'll put a picture up But I'm so excited about dreading my hair, I can't wait to see how they turn out.