Troubled dreads/scalp

Hey all, my name is Aaron and I'm not too sure my dreads are in the best of health
2016 in November I was introduced to a 'Locktician' who had 15 years experience using the crochet hook to dread peoples hair. Not knowing how bad the hook can be I continued to have my dreads maintained every month and a half-ish since the start of the process Last November until about June. My dreads then proceeded to loosen up a little and were no longer so stiff which I was happy about, however now it seems I have a lot of worrying loose hairs and some of my roots don't seem to look in the best of conditions. 
I have read a lot of mixed opinions on most of the methods I've heard about for maintaining dreadlocks, the most surprising for me was reading that palm rolling or root rubbing could actually weaken your roots.
On top of this I have been struggling with what I consider severe dandruff - literally if i shake my head about on the spot side to side for a couple of seconds it is literally snowing, it doesnt even take much of a shake! coming into summer down in Australia this doesn't seem very fun. 
I have tried multiple 'dreadlock' shampoos that use mixtures of essential oils and other things that just don't seem to do anything, i actually had the thought that maybe using these shampoos is not doing my scalp any good and possibly causing more dandruff? I am also using a mixture of water. rosemary oil and tea tree oil in a spray bottle on my scalp multiple times a day and this seems to have no effect. however i am not experiencing any scabbing or more severe conditions that evolve from dandruff.
I have tried ACV+Baking soda wash, it helped a bit for 2 or 3 days but then the dandruff was back in full force. I didnt want to do ACV+baking soda wash more than once a week incase that would cause dreads to weaken or be worse off. I read about using only water and nothing else to wash dreads (other than occasional acv and baking soda wash) and this is the only thing I haven't tried. Oddly enough, when i was having my dreads maintained i was told dishwashing liquid is good to wash with and I didn't seem to notice any dandruff back then?
So from what i have gathered the only thing you can do to 'maintain' or get your dreads in better health is to literally let them be without being bothered by loose hair and what not - i mean the dandruff could be my scalp adjusting to natural dreading? but its a little uncomfortable knowing i can make it snow where ever i am, and i'm not particularly keen to have messy looking dreadlocks from too much loose hair as my hair tends to curl right up to the scalp.
Don't get me wrong though, i really do enjoy having some loose hair - it adds some character to the dreads, but i feel i am gaining too much loose hair and not enough is dreading into the dread in some areas.
I fully understand the possible consequences of crocheting - but it still seems somewhat of a good idea to start the process off that way as i feel it could still decrease the time it takes to attain fully matured dreads
Thanks for taking the time to read this if you have!! Any suggestions on what i should do is greatly appreciated.

actually the crochet  drasticly delays dreading that's why the roots are the way they are.. they are at the stage they should have been at around 4 months in

the loose hairs are extra with crocheted dreads cause they were all broken hairs that popped back out

thaty will get better in time... just will take a lot longer cause of the crochet

on to the dandruff

1st baking soda and acv is no longer recommended long term use severely weakens hair

you can try a few options

1 stop using hot water.. coolk to cold 

2 dreadlockshampoo.com teatree rosemary or patchouli (depending if its dandruff or proriasis) these are the only things that work well for me

3 wash twice as often.. for me i get dandruffy around day 6  i accept it a day or 2 because mine are so long  its a pain to wash, but if i washed every 4 days..no more issues

4 heres a catch 22  jojoba oil or argon or anything like that applied to the scalp will stop all dry flaky skin, but will make the roots and loose hairs harder to dread a sea salt  soak or the liquid dread shampoo will make it dread much faster and tighter but  dries the hair and scalp out.. i generally use the bars till i get too much loose hairs then use the liquid just once and bamn i get a dozen new dreads just like that

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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

Thank you so much for the detailed reply, I believe I will head to the dread recovery section and begin asking questions there to speed up my process, I understand it delays the process but hearing that they look at about the 4 month stage gives me a glimpse of hope as I haven't crocheted in some months I will give the jojoba oil and sea salt a go as well and wash more often - do you think I should still use the dreadlocks shampoos or wash with only cold water? My current shampoo is this http://www.dreadlocks.com.au/en/shampoos/119-dread-empire-anti-dandruff-shampoo.html

Also out of curiosity how long does it take you to dry your dreads? I have recently been letting them dry on their own in the air and it takes about 2 hours, just as I don't enjoy standing for 45 mins with a blow dryer :p

mine take a real long time  most of the day toi get fully dry

that shampoo might be ok never tried it but the company lacks ethics (i believe they also push wax?) so for that reason don't recommend them

i didn't see a ful ingredients list though

how often are you washing?

--
My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1

At this point in time I have been washing just once a week as I have read more often than that can be detrimental to dreads as well, but i am keen to try washing more often for the dandruff as it is pretty bad and I'm sure it won't hurt for a little while

nah its not detrimental some wash every day but because of drying times every 2-3 days is typically the maxx 

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My new book Ban The Taboo Vol 1