Hell no! Stay away from rubberbands. Rubberbands kill dreadlocks.
I'm around 9 months in and I wash three times a week, separating every other wash, once my hair is dry. I can't stand doing it when it's still damp. Sensitive scalp. Makes me cry.
I think the best way to know if you need to separate is to try to put all your hair up in a high ponytail. If you feel like your hair is folding up instead of gently all being pulled back toward the ponytail then that means you've got some work to do. You've got locks that are pulling in the opposite direction of how you're trying to manipulate them and that means they're caught in some way. Sometimes even some scissors are needed.
The more mature the locks get the easier separating becomes and you don't have to do it as much.
updated by @angel-frye: 07/02/15 10:53:46PM