Dreadlocks are simply felted locks of hair.
Human hair is more course than most animal hair and therefore it takes longer to felt properly.
You "can" help it along the way, but human hair is somewhat brittle unfortunently so any strain on the hairs (such as with backcombing and croceting) will break hairs and ultimately weaken the locks while wax simply glues the lock together and impedes the hairs from moving and knotting which means they won't actually felt, they'll just "stick".
If you want actual "dreadlocks" you have to let the hair felt.
This will mean a considerable period of time during which it'll tangle and frizz and you'll have to put in the time and effort to separate locks you do not want growing together.
The least damaging way to help start the locks is by using the twist and rip method (you can find it described in lots of places on here and I'm pretty sure there's a few vids showing it on YouTube), but you don't "have" to do even that.
Just remember to wash your hair 2-3 times a week (it doesn't need more, you can rinse it every day, but too much soap is bad for your skin anyway and most peopleover-washtheir scalp, leading to all kinds of problems) and make sure to let it dry before you cover it with anything.