First time dreads :)

Hi. My name's Daniel. I've wanted dreads for a long time but never really known how to get them naturally, then I found this amazing site.
I'm 15 and hoping to get a start on natural dreads soon. I don't exactly know much about hair so I can't really tell you if my hair is thick or thin.. But it is just below my shoulders. Is it likely that my hair will start to dread itself as long as I don't wash/comb it for a time? I've looked around the site a fair bit and tried to gather as much info as I can but some actual responses with advice would be great and much appreciated.

Any sort of help that people can provide to me is welcome and I'd love to hear it, and apologies for the lack of info on my hair really.

updated by @daniel-ryan: 01/13/15 09:18:42PM

I just like pushing this forum, cause it hasn't seen much activity in a bit. Do a search for "top secret". It'll be one of the first if not the first to pop up.

As for starting. What do you mean you hope to start the natural method "soon"? To start the natural method, you just start. Toss out your comb, get a residue free shampoo for Dreadlockshampoo.com, or Dr. Bronners, or use the Baking Soda/Apple Cider Vinegar wash. There's all sorts of recipes for the amounts you should use all over this site. It's easiest to make a big batch of 1 cup BS to 1 gallon water and the same ratio of ACV to water. And WASH WASH WASH. 2-3 times a week for the first few months.

When you are first staring, use a liquid soap. It's gentler on your hair. As they mature to a point where scrubbing harder wont undo your locks, you can, if you want, switch to a bar.

ONLY FOCUS ON YOUR SCALP. This is very important. You do not have to wash your hair. Scrub your scalp, and when you rinse, it will run through your hair, cleaning it.

When you dry, do not run your head with a towel. This undoes knots that are trying to form. Just take a towel, wrap it around your hair and squeeze until excess water comes out. Then let it air dry. As they mature, you can use a blow drier to speed up the process. As they mature they take longer and longer to dry.

There's nothing special you need to buy or own except for the soap. Don't listen to people who talk about using wool pillow covers or wearing tams to sleep. Neither arenecessary. In fact, tams tend to fall off at night anyway.

You might find that a few are growing in flatter than others. Don't worry. They tend to flatten out over time.

If the process seems to be moving really slow, you can always put some beads in your hair to help the sections along.

And separate. You won't need to for a little while, but after a few weeks, they might start to tangle into larger chunks than you want, just rip them apart as you see fit. Usually every 2-3 washes.

It'll help us if you can post some pics of your hair too. Then we'll get a better idea of whether you have thick or thin hair. The more info, the better we can help you

I added some pictures, not too sure if they've been put up or not and I don't know if they're any help either lol.
I'm still a bit unsure about washing. Should I be using both the Baking Soda method & some sort of residue free shampoo or just 1 or the other? And thanks for the help so far.

Some people use just the BS method. Others use normal residue free shampoo and once in a while use the BS wash for a deep clean.

It's up to you.

The pics are a little washed out, but from what I can see, you shouldn't have any trouble locking.