Hi Tara, sorry to hear about the smell, that really sucks. Out of curiosity, how fat are the thickest ones?
You will be able to afford this:
Mix 3/4 cups of white vinegar with 1/4 cup of water & 30 drops of lavender oil. Pour this entire mixture onto your head and let it soak for a good long time. Go watch the telly or do something and just let it sit. Rinse out after about 20 hours.
You should also do this as a spray for awhile after you the the above treatment. Mix the same ratios, then spray it onto your dreads. After you spray it on, squeeze it into the dreads so it penetrates the inside. Leave this in without rinsing it. The smell will go away fast.
Just remember Tara, fat dreads take more than 24 hours to fully dry, tying up wet dreads causes the smell, and going to bed with wet dreads will do it also. So, best to wash them first thing in the morining & let the fresh air help dry them throughout the day, as the inside of them can still be damp in the eve.
This will work for you, hope you can afford the lavender. If you really really can't, try it without the lavender, Do the soak. When you do the spray part, if there if no lavender oil in it, still squeeze it into the dreads, but rinse this out by about 10 hours since there is no oil to soften the hair.
It may take a few soaks for it to completely go away, so try the soak a few times just to make sure.
When you can afford more essential oils, here is a link to let you know what they are good for: http://www.dreadlockssite.com/forum/topics/essential-oils-for-dread...
Good luck Tara, let me know how it goes.......peace