Okay, so I've decided I'd like to get dreads. Or rather.. I'm looking into it.

Does anyone know about how to go about it?
I'm aware that there are different methods; including a dread perm, which I'm wary of because I get the impression you need to get it maintained professionally and can be expensive..
I'm not really willing to go for the neglect approach as I'm far too impatiant to wait three years or whatever.
From what I gather the backcombing method is the best, instant dreads naturally. Would a salon speciallising in dreads do this for me, or do they only do dreads using chemicals?

Also, my hair is pretty short at the moment, about three inches long roughly. Would I need to wait until it's longer before getting it dreaded or will it be long enough now. Is there such a thing as permanent synthetic dreads?

And another thing.. Is it possible to bleach and/or dye hair that is already dreaded?

I'd be really appreciative if somebody replied to this now that I've went to all the bother of typing it out. :)