They will begin to lock up in about 2-3 months and they will be completely locked up by six months.

Just washing, the occasional waxing and palm rolling.

These are the two things you should make your decision by

If the dreads get really long they can pull on the scalp if they get really long which can make you loose more hair.

Another way to look at it is that you will get to keep the hair longer, because the dreads will hold the hairs together.

Yep, your hair will dread, you will probably want to use the backcombing method because you will have the best results. The hair might slip out a little, if you don't backcomb the dreads tight enough, so make sure you do, and make sure you put rubber bands at the tips.