Cacheado vs. encaracolado
Both encaracolado and cacheado translate to "curly" in English, but their usage depends heavily on the region. Generally, cacheado is the standard term used in Brazil, while encaracolado is the preferred term in Portugal to describe the same hair texture.
Cacheado
A2This is the most common word in Brazil for curly hair. It comes from cacho, which represents a bunch, cluster, or lock of hair. In Brazil, cacheado is a specific category of hair texture (distinct from wavy or afro-textured), whereas in Portugal, this word is rarely used.
Eu uso um creme específico para cabelos cacheados.
(I use a specific cream for curly hair.)
A atriz ficou famosa pelo seu cabelo cacheado e volumoso.
(The actress became famous for her voluminous curly hair.)
Muitas brasileiras estão a assumir o cabelo cacheado.
(Many Brazilian women are embracing their curly hair.)
Encaracolado
A2This is the standard word in Portugal for curly hair. It stems from the word caracol (snail), referring to the spiral shape of a snail shell. While Brazilian speakers understand encaracolado, they perceive it as slightly old-fashioned or referring specifically to very tight ringlets, rather than the general hair category.
O meu filho nasceu com o cabelo muito encaracolado.
(My son was born with very curly hair.)
Ela tem uns caracóis dourados lindos.
(She has beautiful golden curls.)
Quando está húmido, o meu cabelo fica logo encaracolado.
(When it is humid, my hair immediately becomes curly.)
Summary
To sound like a local, use cacheado when speaking Brazilian Portuguese and encaracolado when speaking European Portuguese. While cacheado focuses on the definition of the curls, encaracolado references the spiral shape similar to a snail shell.