I'm considering dreads--questions from my research?

I have done quite a bit of research on dreads and I'm really excited to try them!! I love how they're different and share my personality, they give you a ton of volume, and you can decorate them with *ANYTHING*!!!!!!! Plus I love how you can just tie your hair in knots to "do" it in the morning

The questions I have though from what I've seen so far--when do dreads turn soft? I tried a practice one the other day (I'm doing twist and rip to keep my length, and I like the slightly braided look), and it was stiff and hard. I have really healthy hair so I think it's probably just because my hair is currently so thick and strong that the dread turned out stiff. Will they go soft when they mature? In 6 months?

Once they are soft does that mean I can start conditioning them again? (Oil and vinegar, it seems like, is what people use?)

My second question is: I want dreads that are bigger than a pencil but not as big as a marker (those seem to be the two most common sizes) Does that mean I should start with pencil-sized dreads so that they will be thicker and just slightly bigger when they're mature?

My final worry is: I might get an internship this summer that might involve daily swimming in the ocean. The chance that I actually get the internship is small, and I might not even be required to swim. Is this going to be a problem with dreads? If I can dry the out with a hairdryer or towel or something every day will it be okay... I feel like the salt would make it so that mildew can't grow in the first place??

Thanks so much!!!

updated by @fiddlesticks268: 01/13/15 09:41:29PM

tnr shoulent be stiff unless u used wax or did it extremely too tight
tnr dont need to be tight really only tight enough to stay together through a wash or 2

u wan t the root sections the size of the mature dreads u want
a/8th to 1/4 inch for pencillish 1/4-1/2 inch for markerish
a blend of sizes is best

salt water will help em dread fast as hell
tho u will want to rinse it out with fresh water end of day
walking on the beach for an hour will dry em between the sun and the wind
salt i dont think will prevent mold really i duno
but as long as u sit in t6hesun awhile to dry your fine

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

What Eagle said.

Whatever size you want your locks to be, just make the section that size. They will seem thinner at fisrt, but as they mature they take on the size of the section. A blend of sizes is best, though. Thick ones give your hair volume. Thin ones fill in the spaces.

Swimming in the ocean and salt water will really help them, but you need to wash out the salt water after ever time. And walking on the beach will help dry them out.

If you TnR'd them too hard, they will be hard. And if you redo it every day they will always be hard because they never untangle and never retangle in a more natural comfortable way. Once they tangle comfortable way, they will be softer.

yup well might not be..exactly but roughly that size too cli=ose to tell the diference anyway

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

yep. They are overly tight when they are babies. As they mature, they untangle and retangle. Then the new growth starts to knot the same size as the section.

The bottom of your lock may always be a bit thinner. But the new growth with be much thicker. Like you picture.