I've had a few that did that. The part of the tip that looped up just made a bigger and bigger loop on the tip until it came all the way through the knot and was wispy again. Those few are now looping again, but in a slightly different manner.
They change their mind a lot, the loops you have now may come undone, as they kinda figure out they want to do something else instead.
I don't know about the Lockin' up, I live in Serbia so it's kinda impossible for me to get it anyways.
As for the washing, you can start doing the BS right away, it will help your hair section, so when you get them, you can use the sections created naturally on your head, use it's natural pattern.
Well, hard water has a lot of minerals in contrast with soft water. It depends on where you live. You can google your area and try finding out, there are usually maps of some sort.
If you do have hard water, BS will not rinse out completely, so you should either buy a shower head with a filter for soft water, distill water, or wash with something else that rinses out in hard water.
To distill water, you need to have two containers, one that's bigger, that one will be black, and a smaller white one. Connect them with a tube and fill the black one with the water you have. Leave it out in the sun, and as the water evaporates, it goes through the tube into the white one. The water in the white one is distilled.
Baking soda gets the best reviews from people here, it removes oils, dead cells... But it doesn't work if you have hard water. In that case, you should distill or boil it.
You need to wash your hair as often as you need to wash your hair. When you feel it should be washed, you do that. Usually every 3 days is okay. It can be more often, but the hair needs to have enough time to dry before you wash it again.
As for the time it'll take you... It's individual, it happens at a different pace for everyone. It's kinda better if you don't have the time on your mind, otherwise you might feel discouraged if your hair doesn't 'perform' as 'well' as it is 'supposed' to. No matter how much time it takes you, it will happen eventually. You just have to be patient with it.
You will have to rip them apart to prevent congos (two or more dreads combining into one). And yes, if you want them thinner, separate more often.
From what I see, they do seem natural.
But no matter how you do them, whether you decide to go natural, tn'r, or whatever, you don't really know how they'll turn out. Everyone's dreads are unique, and are a product of your own hair, your sleeping habits, and many other things.
That doesn't matter, though.
The point is, if his are natural, and I think they are, you could have dreads like his. You could also end up with dreads completely different than his, but if that happens, I guarantee, you'll love your own babies much more than you love his. 
Most of the people here will recommend the natural/neglect method. But from what I see, you've already chosen that as your path, so that's covered.
You have probably you'll ever need to know right here.
http://www.dreadlockssite.com/forum/topics/dreaducation-comprehensive#.UCo43aHiaSs
Read it all and decide for yourself.
The most common recommendations are natural/neglect (I already said that), BS+ACV wash, and separating when needed.
You should be able to move them around, to avoid them getting stuck in there forever. If they move, but not fall off right away, they're okay. And they do fall off sometimes anyways, but that's okay too. Pick them up and put them back on.
If you have a bead that means something special, I would suggest putting a smaller bead under that important one, so you wouldn't lose it.
Everyone's hair is different. I have a lot of hair (really, A LOT), but my hair refuses to dread. Well, it doesn't really refuse, but it takes my hair much more time to dread than it does some people.
I have been dreading for a year, and it still has a loooong time to go before it actually locks up.
There are really no rules. What people say on here - having mature dreads in a year and such, those are just some average points, but they do not have to apply to everyone. One person may have mature locks in, say, 10 months, someone else (like me) might have to wait for over a year.
All I know is that I would be lucky if my dreads looked the way their (those guys from the articles) did at a one-year-mark (though I do love my own slow-pacing mess more), and I would beat the person who would dare make my dreads look like those in the after 'repair' photos. Take note, I am a pacifist. But would beat them anyways. :D
The dreads will thicken up to about the width of the section. So, if your dreads are, say, half an inch thick now, but the section of the hair you used to make them is 3 inches, they will thicken up to about that much.
You don't want the sections to be over an inch, that will cause many troubles later.
If the sections you have now are over an inch in diameter, you should take them out and do it all over again, having the 'limitation' in mind.
