Got afro hair, really dry, really curly. December 2016, decided to get into dreading, i was 5 months into getting an afro. but it was hard to comb, as expected, and i used normal shampoo and conditioning. By this time my hair felt in bad shape, so i thought of dreading. 
That's why before that i'll try to deep cleanse my hair first, from residue and whatever else might be there. but that will have to wait as i don't have what's required for it yet. i'm thinking baking soda since i know some people who've already done it.
Today's event : normal shower, just used shampoo and dried my hair with a towel, not too much, with a circular clockwise motion. then let it air dry. By the afternoon i already had something that felt like dreads, though it might not be since i don't know much yet about dreads. But the feel was there, little clumps of hair locally curling up everywhere on my scalp. I might be correct into thinking that i'll be surprised at how soon i'll be able to see actual baby dreads. this is encouraging so far